USF innovator coming to TBIC this Wednesday, August 28th

Hello Inventors,

     The next Tampa Bay Inventors Council meeting features an innovator who is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Florida, City Commissioner of the City of Safety Harbor, and the Program Director of the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System at the University of South Florida.  Dr. Clifford R. Merz received B.S. & M.S. degrees in Ocean Engineering, a M.S. degree in Civil Engineering/Water Resource Engineering, and also the Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science from the University of South Florida.  He will share his experiences as the President and founder of Dialytics, Inc., a technology start-up company focused on research and commercialization of salinity gradient based ocean energy technology.  Dr. Merz’s research focuses on providing advance severe weather warning to coastal regions and enhancing the water/energy nexus technical knowledge - including the application of renewable energy and water purification techniques. 

He will discuss what USF brings to the research/inventor community - with a look at groups such as the newly forming Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, Patents and Licensing, the National Academy of Inventors, the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator and USF Connect.  Although some of the USF resources are only for USF personnel, other services, workshops, and presentations are available to the public as well.  He will help define these opportunities to public inventors, including potential collaboration with USF researchers/inventors/start-up companies.  Dr. Merz is working to strengthen community development through closer connections between local businesses and surrounding school and educational training programs.  Please join me in welcoming him to TBIC this Wednesday, August 28^th at 7887 Bryan Dairy Rd, in Largo from 7-9 pm.  Get connected with the people who are making things happen right here in our community!

See you there,

Wayne

P, TBIC

Awesome inventors meeting next week 8/14/13 7-9pm

Hello TBIC inventors,

we have a special treat for you at the next TBIC meeting on August 14th.  The Tampa Bay Inventors Council will have two amazing guests to share their stories and knowledge.  First we have the Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Alexis Muellner talk about what makes a great news story and how the press is still the most influential medium in generating a positive image.  Most anyone can pay for an advertisement to raise their profile but a legitimate news story has the effect of elevating the subject with creditability.  If you have some news to share with the business community in Tampa Bay, Alexis would like to know about it!  He will discuss what it is that reporters look for in a story and what it takes to get in the news.

Next we welcome a legend in the direct response / infomercial industry.  Recently named one of the top ten speakers in North America, we are thrilled to welcome Forbes Riley.  Forbes divides her time between Tampa Bay and Los Angeles and has appeared on TV too many times to count.  She came to global fame selling juicers with Jack Lalanne.  The daughter of an inventor, Forbes was named Miss Teenage New York at age 16, and her TV debut was with Bob Hope on NBC in the Miss Teenage America pageant.  She graduated from the University of Rochester in three years with two degrees, the first in Political Science with a minor in History, and the second in Film Studies with a minor in Communication.   A regular on and HSN, Forbes is selling her own line of branded lifestyle product, the SpinGym®.  She will share her story of the SpinGym and the starts and stops leading to her success selling it.  She has all the right connections in the industry and still had to walk away from a deal.  Learn what it takes to control your innovation and the passion it takes to be successful.

This will be a great meeting and I hope that you will do all you can to not miss it!  Join us from 7-9pm on 8/14/13 at 7887 Bryan Dairy Road in Largo, suite 220 for the opportunity to learn from the top of the game!