Networking in Las Vegas for the Week Ended May 24, 2014 (Dr. Bob Odell, NevBio-Dr. Renee Coffman, Mark Goldfogel, NBAA, TBAN & K2 Energy, SXSW V2V, Asian Chamber, UNLV)

Met with Dr. Robert Odell and Dr. Richard Singer of the Neuropathy and Pain Centers of America.  Dr. Odell has a PhD and MD from Stanford University. He has developed a new way to treat neuropathy and chronic pain along with Richard Sorgnard, PhD. He uses a combination of a local anesthetic and an electro-magnetic device that delivers Medium Frequency (MF) current without the electrical charge. The device also delivers frequency-modulated and amplitude-modulated electrical cell current in the MF range. The new treatment appears to reach deeper into tissues structures. The treatment combines a local pain killer and the electrical currents to create a chemical and electrical pain blocks that have shown clinical success. One should read their article on the clinical success, especially, if you or someone you know has neuropathy or chronic pain. The article is "New Technique Combines Electrical Currents and Local Anesthetic for Pain Management" 'Combined electrochemical nerve block reduced pain in 80% of patients with neuropathies and 50% of patients with intractable back pain' by Dr. Robert Odell and Richard Sorgnard, PhD, in Pain Management, June 2011. It is great to see this technology and treatment available in Las Vegas.

Ran the Nevada Biotechnology & Health Science Consortium (NevBio) meeting featuring Dr. Renee Coffman, President of Roseman University. Dr. Coffman and Dr. Harry Rosenberg started Roseman over 15 years ago, which was the first stand-alone pharmacy school in more than 50 years. Besides just starting the school, they decided to build a school that worked better for all students. They had the belief that no student attends school to fail and that it is their job to help that student to succeed. They developed a method of teaching which has became known as the "Roseman Method". First, all classes are taught in blocks. A student takes one class at a time, 6 hours a day, for five days a week. Typically, the class runs for two weeks but can be several weeks depending on the difficulty of the subject. The second key element is the "Assessment-Feedback-Reassessment Process". Students received formal and informal assessments during the day to gauge their understanding. Assessments are given as individuals and as peer groups. The tests and results are discussed, challenged and learned. Every two weeks, a formal assessment is given. Students are required to achieve 90% on all tests to pass the class. Roseman does not have grades per se, just a 90% pass or fail. Students must achieve a deep understanding of the subject. Third, to help students understand the content, Roseman employs a number of teaching methods - lecture, hands-on, experimental, real-life and peer group sessions. Students are encouraged to ask questions and the classes are long enough to accommodate a vigorous Q & A. Fourth, students are encouraged to work together in groups and help each other learn. Roseman has high first-time passing rates for Board Licensure Examinations: DMD Programs 97.5%,  ParmD Program 97.9%,  BSN 100% and Orthodontic Residency 100%. Over 50 attended the meeting including Dr. Barbara Atkinson, the planning dean of the UNLV Medical School; Tim Porter, Dean of the UNLV College of Sciences; Dr. Joyson Pekkattill, Comprehensive Cancer Centers; Dr. Ron Fiscus, Roseman University; Dr. Martin Schiller, UNLV College of Sciences; Dr. David Cohen, Elutin; Dr. Constance Brooks, Nevada System of Higher Education; Dr. Liam Leavitt and many others.

Met with Mark Goldfogel, President of C4Ever Systems. Mark's company has developed a cash kiosk for the Medical Marijuana industry. Currently, banks are not allowed to work with medical marijuana businesses. C4Ever Systems has develop a way to take in the cash - through the kiosk and give credit to the dispensary with full complete tracking of the cash. He has also signed a local bank, First Security Bank, to handle the cash.

Attended the Nevada Business Aviation Association (NBAA) meeting. I missed the first talk from Ken (Chip) Thompson on the Nevada Test and Training Range which is used by Nellis for the Red Flag events in which the US and Allied Forces fly simulated combat situations.  According to Nellis Air Force base, typically, in a year, more than 1,200 aircraft fly 20,000 plus sorites while training more than 27,000 personnel.

Sunrise High School's Aviation Club was also being honored at the meeting for coming in first, out of 79 schools across the country in a airplane design, build & fly competition (the future UAV workforce). Reza Karamooz, President of the NBAA, also worked with the aviation club. About 40 attended the meeting which was held at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (train individuals to repair and maintain airplanes).

Attended the Technology Business Alliance of Nevada (TBAN) which featured Randon Hansen of K2 Energy (a battery plant located in Henderson, NV).

The title of Randon's talk was, "Tesla's Giga Factory. Is Nevada the Next Battery Technology Hub". Randon made a compelling case that if the Tesla Giga Battery factory comes to Nevada (Reno has a better shot than Las Vegas), the whole state would benefit from it. The most obvious companies that would relocate to Nevada would be the suppliers to Tesla but also other companies that develop batteries for other purposes would move here. The $6 billion Tesla factor would hire over 6,000 employees. Tesla can reuse its car batteries. Once they have been used in their cars, they can be reused as backup for solar panel systems. Companies such as Solar City can use the batteries. Randon believes that Nevada had a very good chance of landing the factory. Randon also talked about his company, K2 Energy, which started out of a garage in Henderson and now has its own building. K2 Energy sells Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries which have an advantage over other lithium batters in safety, environmental friendly, long lasting and power. Their markets ranges from flashlights, medical devices, cordless drills, scooters, back-up power systems to electric cars.  Over 120 attended the meeting.

Attended the SXSW V2V meetup at the bar atop the Inspire Theatre. These meetings are a build-up to the V2V conference in Las Vegas at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, July 13th -16th. Talked with Nathan Rowe of Full Spectrum Laser. The company has received numerous awards as the top startup in Las Vegas for its 3D Printer which uses lasers. Also met Brea Silva from Stratus Werkz, an IT consulting firm. Later, talked to Michael Terpin of Social Radius and founder of Startup Grind (next meeting Tuesday, May 27, 2014).

Took the back stairs out which led to the Downtown Cocktail Room, the bar that helped start the movement toward downtown. On the way out, stopped at Michael Cornthwaite's new bar, The Scullery, at the Ogden, which was having their grand opening. Ran into attorney Dayvid Figler and Jonathan Warren, Honorary Consul of Monaco. Great jazz band in the back.

Attended the Asian Chamber of Commerce Meeting which featured Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller. Ross talked about the success his office has had in the 8 years since he was elected. One of his achievements was setting up the Silver Flume website, a one-stop portal to set up businesses in Nevada. His office has also created a free service to help customers set up LLCs. Customers can create operating agreements and conduct meetings on line through the service. Nevada is the only state in the country with that capability. He also talked about his office's work to keep the elections clean in Nevada, noting how his office prosecuted ACORN for voter registration violations. Over 200 attended the meeting.

Met with UNLV President, Don Snyder, UNLV Vice-President of Research, Tom Piechota and Dr. Francis Tsang, Co-founder of Global Medical Isotope Systems (GMIS). The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the UNLV president to one of the preeminent nuclear physicists in Las Vegas. GMIS has developed a system in which the company uses a neutron generator and depleted uranium to create medical isotopes. Most medical isotopes are in short supply in the world and must be made using aging nuclear reactors. This method would be a huge breakthrough in the development and supply of medical isotopes. GMIS is working with UNLV's radiation chemistry department and plans to renew their contract with UNLV.

Dr.Tsang made the point several times with stories, examples and personal experience that in order to have a robust research program at UNLV, the university must not micro-manage the researchers. Researchers need to have room to experiment and change courses, similar to a new business. Dr. Tsang is very supportive of UNLV's goal of a Tier 1 institution and agreed to work with the university in any way that he can.

The UNLV accelerator project was also discussed. Varian Medical Systems donated two linear accelerators to UNLV, an M-6 and a K-9, which are the basis for the new linear accelerator center. Dr. Tsang has worked with linear accelerators and the co-founder of GMIS, Zane Wilson, worked on linear accelerators at Varian. Dr.Tsang said that he would bring to UNLV some of the top researchers with linear accelerators to advise UNLV.

We also talked about the upcoming NevBio luncheon at UNLV's Stan Fulton Building on June 10th at which the former director of Procter and Gamble's Researcher & Development department will talk on "Radical Innovation". Don Snyder wants to make sure that this luncheon was on his calendar and agreed to help encourage key people to attend. Dr. Tom Piechota, Vice-President of Research, is leading UNLV's involvement with the luncheon. He said that if fits perfectly with our direction of a Tier 1 research based institution.

John Laub