Blockchain Gains a Foothold on Connecticut Campuses

Blockchain is soon to arrive on Connecticut’s college campuses, with new initiatives imminent at Southern Connecticut State University, University of Saint Joseph, and the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus. A six-week boot camp for individuals who would like to widen their computer programming skills to include Blockchain – a cutting-edge form of encryption technology – has been developed at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.  The SCSU Blockchain Academy launches on January 23 and runs though March 6.

Blockchain refers to the technology behind the development of secure digital databases that are accessible to the public, but cannot be altered by anyone other than the person posting the data. It is a shared, distributed ledger that improves the process of tracking and recording a transaction.  Blockchain can be used for a variety of purposes, including financial transactions, supply chain management, luxury goods or anything of value. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies use this technology.

“Southern intends to become a leader in educating people about the ‘Internet of Value,’ which is the fastest growing market the world has ever seen,” said Colleen Bielitz, SCSU associate vice president for strategic initiatives and outreach. A promotional video posted by Southern (below) has already been seen more than one thousand times.

“Blockchain is going to be increasingly important to businesses, and during the next decade is expected to have a major impact on the economy and the world. The goal of this academy is to grow the community of decentralized application developers and to make New Haven a hub for Blockchain technology and innovation as companies look to take advantage of this growing market.”

The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) announced last week that it has developed the Greater Hartford area’s first two-part certification program for future blockchain technologist, in collaboration with DappDevs, which is also collaborating with Southern and UConn.

President Rhona Free, Ph.D., remarked, “With this certificate program, USJ continues its commitment to providing educational programs aligned to our regional economy. The Greater Hartford community will benefit from this newly-created training program that offers skill development and career advancement in blockchain application development.”

The USJ pre-certificate program geared toward faculty, current college students, and college graduates in the Greater Hartford region, begins on Feb. 2, 2019, and runs over four weeks as one three-hour evening session per week. The full certification program is a six-week session that runs from March 5-April 11, as two three-hour sessions per week.

UConn’s Connecticut Information Technology Institute (CITI) is sponsoring the creation of a blockchain chapter in Stamford in order to facilitate the development of an education-based micro community designed to connect decentralized application developers. This community, in hand with Stamford’s established financial enterprises, will play a key role in further establishing Connecticut as a USA crypto capital, according to the university’s website.  UConn is offering a two-day Blockchain Development course, with its partners, DappDevs and the Werth Institute.

UConn’s first-ever blockchain symposium was held in Stamford in August.  The conference drew top scholars and Ph.D. students Stanford, Princeton, Virginia Tech, and from 10 nations, including England, Israel, Switzerland, China and Norway. State-run news agencies from Vietnam and China also covered the two-day event, called “Blockchain Technology & Organizations Research Symposium.”

These initiatives reflect that blockchain is increasingly taking academia by storm, not only in Connecticut but across the nation.  This past summer Columbia University and Stanford University both launched blockchain research centers, following in the footsteps of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Digital Currency Initiative, which launched as part of the MIT Media Lab in 2015; MIT was among the first institutions to create such a program, according to industry publication Inside Higher Ed.

The Center for Blockchain Research at Stanford University launched in June.  Miami University launches a course in blockchain technology for undergraduates in the Spring 2019 semester.  Montclair State University’s center for continuing and professional education recently spearheaded the launch of three professional blockchain certificates -- one covering the basics, one for developers and one focusing on applications of blockchain in the financial sector.

https://youtu.be/_8X_wr1tCNI

Progress Cited on Integrating Pedestrian, Bicyclist Safety Into State Transportation Projects

What comes next at the Department of Transportation was on the minds of more than 150 advocates and enthusiasts gathered for the Annual Meeting of Bike-Walk Connecticut  at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain this past weekend.  The fast-approaching close of the Malloy administration may also mean the end of the tenure of DOT Commissioner James Redeker, who has not only walked the walked, but rode the ride in “building and delivering a comprehensive pedestrian and bicycle program.” The accelerated change in attitude at DOT since Redeker took the helm in 2011 was evident in his being warmly introduced as a friend prior to his keynote address – not the adversary that previous vehicle-centric commissioners may have been.  He went on to highlight the department’s work on state projects, and in concert with municipalities, that is steadily transforming Connecticut into a more pedestrian and bike-friendly state.

Redeker’s presentation demonstrated why.  Among the highlights:

• Connecticut has or will be constructing 97 miles of multi-use trails along side road construction or reconstruction through 2021, and 35 miles of sidewalks accompanying road construction.
• A vendor-in-place resurfacing program has meant that 94 percent of roadways reconstructed have been restriped with wider shoulders, and roadway safety audits have been conducted on 145 miles of roadway and at 917 intersections.
• Enhanced pedestrian signage and pavement markets at uncontrolled crosswalks have been included in 1200 locations on state roads, with an additional 1500 locations planned for local roads in 2019. In addition 133 locations are planned for upgraded pedestrian controls at signalized intersections by 2020.
• 125 projects have been reviewed for Complete Streets design in 2017, with an additional 97 projects reviewed thus far in 2018. More than 80 Road Safety Audits have been conducted.

Driving the “absolutely amazing statistics” is a changed policy, Redeker said.  Now, supporting “safe access for all users by providing a comprehensive, integrated, connected multi-modal network of transportation options” is ingrained at DOT.  He noted that integrating trails is occurring regularly on major projects, with the goal of building a statewide trail system.

“Complete streets is now part of the DOT DNA,” Redeker explained.  Responding to some who question the lack of such plans as part of the agency’s manual, Redeker cited the statistics, adding, “look at us for outcomes, not manuals.”  The numbers – and the accomplishments - drew solid reviews in the room.

The agency’s Complete Streets program, established in 2014, established a new unit to review every project specifically for bicyclist and pedestrian needs, and requires project designers to evaluate and prepare a written assessment of pedestrian needs on every project.  A standing committee was also formed to guide and implement policy and practices, Redeker pointed out.

He noted that the changes are evident in large cities and small towns in Connecticut, from Hartford New Haven to Waterford and Washington.  He also highlighted the introduction of roundabouts in Connecticut communities, including Monroe, Seymour and Ellington, and Community Connectivity Grants that have funded 40 small-scale local projects totaling $12 million, with another 40 to be requested for upcoming State Bond Commission agendas, with an estimated cost of $13.4 million.

Upgrades in school warning signs include the replacement of traditional yellow signage with fluorescent yellow-green to enhance visibility was completed in 2015.  Pedestrian warning signs were replaced on state routes in 2017, and are on schedule to be upgraded on local routes in 2019 and include greater use of yield bars on pavement.

Upgrades in school wanting signs include the replacement of traditional yellow signage with fluorescent yellow-green to enhance visibility, and greater use of yield bars on pavement.  Signs were replaced on state routes in 2017, and are on schedule to be upgraded on local routes in 2019. 

Traffic signals are also being replaced along state roadways, with “pedestrian safety our number one concern,” Redeker stressed.  It is an extensive task.  Connecticut has more traffic signals that exceed 30 years old, more than any other New England state and the 10^th highest volume in the U.S.

Mention of the state’s “Watch For Me” campaign drew extended applause – the comprehensive initiative seeks to alert the public to the presence of pedestrians and bicyclists, to underscore the importance of assuring safety and police enforcement.

UConn Analysis Has Role in Ensuring Integrity of State Elections

Little known even by University of Connecticut advocates across the state, the flagship university’s Voting Technology Research Center (VoTeR) advises the state on the use of election technology, investigates voting solutions and voting equipment, and develops and recommends safe-use procedures for electronic systems used in the electoral process. VoTeR will be at it again as a follow-up to Election Day, analyzing the technology and tabulations, as they’ve done before.

The Center’s website notes that “starting in 2008 the Center has performed technological audits and assisted in the hand-counted audit procedures in all statewide elections in Connecticut.”  Stated goals are “to ensure the integrity of the election outcomes conducted with electronic voting systems and to continuously assess the security and dependability of such systems.”

Alexader Russell, a Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Connecticut, leads the Center. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University and both an M.S. and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The mission of the VoTeR Center is to advise state agencies in the use of electronic election technologies, to investigate voting solutions and voting equipment, and to develop and recommend safe use procedures for electronic systems used in the electoral process.

“Of course, the most sensational attack against an electronic voting system is one which undetectably changes the reported outcome of an election,” Russell recently told UConn Today. “While the James Bond-appeal of these attacks elevates them to a common topic of conversation, the fact of the matter is that along the spectrum of various attacks those are comparatively difficult, expensive, and high-risk.”

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Election Technology and Systems concluded that “audits are a critical procedural component of the electoral process to guarantee the proper conduct of an election.”  The study, by Laurent D. Michel, Alexander A. Shvartsman and Nikolaj Volgushev of the Center, noted audits “can be valuable in the forensic analysis of data collected from voting terminals” used during an election. The system referenced in the study “was rigorously tested against several thousand event logs collected in real elections in the State of Connecticut.”

The statistical analysis of the post-election audit data for the November 2016 presidential election undertaken by the Center was released earlier this year, in June.  The analysis of 615 records “revealed no indication suggesting inaccuracy in the tabulator counts in the audited districts.”  The analysis, of 10 percent of the districts randomly selected by the Office of the Secretary of the State, was performed at the request of that office which oversees Connecticut elections in conjunction with municipal officials.

The analysis indicated that “445 records (72.4%) show no discrepancy, 85 records (13.8%) show discrepancy of 1 vote. There are 58 records (9.4%) showing a discrepancy of 2 or 3 votes; 14 records (2.3%) showing a discrepancy of 4 to 6 votes; 6 records (1%) showing a discrepancy of 7 to 10 votes; 3 records (0.5%) showing a discrepancy of 11 to 20 votes and 4 records (0.6%) showing a discrepancy of more than 20 votes.”

“The main cause for discrepancies between the hand and machine counts,” the review concluded, “appears to be human error in counting as reported by the auditors.”

Steps like training voting staff in best practices, and teaching them what to look out for in terms of suspicious activity, are key to safeguarding the entire voting system, UConn Today reported, indicating that Russell believes Connecticut has done a good job in these areas.

“One present difficulty is that vendors are primarily focused on functionality and ease-of-use rather than security,” Russell added. “In fact, we even lack clear standards for exactly what ‘security’ means for voting equipment.”

Connecticut makes certain that optical scan tabulators are not connected to the internet, and that each town performs logic and accuracy testing before each election or primary, to ensure that the voting equipment and ballots accurately collect the votes and tabulate the results, he noted.

More than 20 states – including Connecticut - faced cybersecurity threats in the 2016 election.

National Startup Analysis Sees Potential, Standout Efforts Underway in Hartford

A new analysis of the status of the business startup community in six American cities – including Hartford – has found that Connecticut’s Capitol City has “strong startup potential,” and in some ways is already standing out among peers and competitors. Startup Genome, with support from the Kauffman Foundation, selected six U.S. metropolitan areas that are not in the top 40 most populous and which have been faring less well economically than the country as a whole for a deeper analysis.  In addition to Hartford, the analysis includes Albuquerque, Fresno, New Orleans, Reno and Springfield, MA.

“In each of these metros, efforts are underway to support entrepreneurs, create more startups, and generate stronger economic trajectories. Like many other American cities (and elsewhere), they’ve been through economic ups and downs and now see startups as their next best hope for sustainable and broadly-shared growth,” the report, released this week, points out.  Startup Genome works to increase the success rate of startups and improve the performance of startups across more than 30 countries.

“Every startup ecosystem shows room for growth and improvement, and Hartford has key strengths to build on. The city's strong heritage in insurance is already being leveraged by many stakeholders and the ecosystem is clearly attracting experienced talent to start and join companies,” Dane Stangler, president & chief policy officer of Startup Genome told CT by the Numbers.

In Hartford, reSET, which specializes in encouraging and assisting entrepreneurship and social enterprise, was among several local partners with whom Startup Genome worked to gather data from more than 300 respondents.  Additional partners were the MetroHartford Alliance, Wesleyan University, UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Upward Hartford,  as well as Launch EZ, the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce and others.

“More broadly, Hartford shows greater diversity than peer ecosystems and already has a few hundred startups operating. By continuing to strengthen the local culture and focusing on startup success in key areas, the Hartford economy will enjoy higher levels of job creation and growth,” Stangler added.

Hartford and the other cities were determined to be in the Early Activation phase of the Ecosystem Lifecycle, with a mix of prominent attributes and areas with potential yet to be realized.  In its analysis, the report indicates that “just in the span of a few years the startup scene has exploded,” in Hartford, noting that:

• investors and experts in Hartford provide more hours of help to founders than in the other cities, and more than the global average. (Experts include university faculty, corporate employees, mentors, and others.)
• nearly four in 10 founders in Hartford are women, which is twice the global average across all ecosystems in the Startup Genome database.
• 11 percent of startup founders in Hartford are immigrants, the second-highest in the sample.

“We’re so grateful that Startup Genome was able to include Hartford in its recent analysis of early-stage ecosystems, thanks to support from the Kauffman Foundation,” said reSET Managing Director Ojala Naeem.  “Our great city is too often overlooked, and with local and state funding being what they are, national attention on all of the amazing businesses making an impact here is more important than ever. We have so many smart and motivated entrepreneurs who are worthy of investment consideration. They just need a spotlight.”

The comprehensive assessment of Hartford’s ecosystem also noted that “Hartford’s [startup] founders claim to have the right ambition to go global,” concluding that “Hartford’s startups have more potential to strengthen Global Market Reach and Global Connectedness.” In a number of areas analyzed in the assessment, Hartford is seen as having potential to strengthen the local startup community, its reach beyond Hartford, and the demographic of startup teams.

During the past seven years Startup Genome has provided a way for entrepreneurs everywhere to “tell us about their journeys and their regions - giving their local expertise a voice at the policy-making table.” The organization’s primary research with founders, supplemented with secondary research and data from global and local partners, helps create the world’s most comprehensive research on startups. Approximately 10,000 startup founders fill out global survey providing direct input each year.

“Hartford has some record of successes – generating more will help ecosystem size and performance,” Startup Genome observed in its assessment of Hartford.

Israeli Speech Communication Firm Earns $1.5 Million Investment at State's VentureClash

An Israeli company developing “a revolutionary mobile application that translates indistinguishable speech into understandable language” won praise and the top investment award of $1.5 million in VentureClash, Connecticut's $5 million global investment challenge for early-stage companies in digital health, financial technology, insurance technology and the Internet of Things. Connecticut Innovations (CI), the leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut’s innovative, growing companies, runs the annual competition. In all, nine companies from six different countries participated in the final pitch event. VentureClash judges awarded six companies with investments, mentoring and customer introductions to help them grow and succeed.  The winning companies are required to establish a presence in Connecticut.

The top placing company, Voiceitt, points out that the market for their product, in the U.S. and worldwide, is vast.  In the US and Europe, a combined 10.4 million people suffer from speech disabilities, and 8 percent of all children suffer from a consistent or temporary communications disorder. (see video, below)

Voiceitt’s core mission is to “make voice recognition technology truly accessible to everyone. Our principal aims are inclusion and independence, and we are committed to helping children and adults around the world communicate freely, spontaneously, and naturally by voice.”

Through a hybrid of unique statistical modeling and machine learning, Voiceitt is working to enable “tens of millions of people to overcome communication barriers and help them connect with the world.”

Two second-place winners were each awarded a $1 million investment:

• DOZR: A Canadian company that has developed a marketplace for the online rental of heavy equipment, enabling business owners to earn additional revenue from their idle equipment and allowing contractors to rent equipment at lower rates than traditional rental companies.

• IronYun: A Stamford-based next-generation, AI deep-learning, big-data video search business-to-business software company providing enterprise customers with hyper-converged, private cloud computing and big-data video software products.

Three additional finalists were selected to each receive a $500,000 investment award:

• CloudKPI: An Irish company developing an insight engine that enables SaaS businesses to predict likely outcomes.
• Invixium: A Canadian manufacturer of modern biometric solutions for markets needing strong user authentication, convenience and data analytics.
• Paygilant: An Israeli technology company working to prevent mobile payments fraud on mobile devices in the preauthorization phase.

The finalists pitched their ideas in front of a live audience and a panel of judges at the Yale School of Management in New Haven on October 18. The other finalists were:

• Kasko: A London-based digital insurance intermediary bridging the gap between the digital and insurance economies.
• Panoply: An Israeli startup developing a smart data warehouse, using machine learning and natural language processing to automate data integration, data management and query optimization.
• SnapSwap: A Luxembourg-based company offering white-label end-to-end know-your-customer (KYC) services for financial institutions and businesses.

“The VentureClash competition continues to introduce some of the world’s most innovative and promising early-stage companies to all that Connecticut has to offer,” said Matt McCooe, CEO of CI. “From the initial application period through to the finals, we were so impressed with the caliber of leadership and the depth of innovation represented by the companies involved in the competition. We thank them for their efforts and commitment and look forward to working with the companies to help them make Connecticut a center point of their growth strategy.”

The VentureClash competition started with applications from 300 companies from more than 15 countries. After two rounds of judging, nine finalists were named, and they then went on to compete at the live pitch event.  The judges included investors and subject-matter experts from Greycroft Partners, Oak HC/FT, Real Ventures, Stanley Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures, Travelers and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Event partners and sponsors included Aetna; aventri; Bernstein; Boehringer Ingelheim; Diameter Health; Disruptive Technologies; Elm Street Ventures; FML; Harman; Hartford Healthcare; Magellan Health; MasterCard; Medtronic; Nassau Re; NatWest Markets; Payflex; Pitney Bowes; Health Venture; ISG; Stanley, Black & Decker; startlab powered by Bank of Ireland; The Hartford; Shipman & Goodwin; Sikorsky Innovations; Synchrony Financial; Teamworthy Ventures; Travelers; Updike, Kelly & Spellacy; Voya Financial; Webster Bank; Yale University; and Yale University’s Office of Cooperative Research.

https://youtu.be/6-rng3rGYws

UConn Adds Major in Arabic and Islamic Civilizations; Southern Expands Drone Applications to Academic Minor

If you’re wondering about the degree to which Connecticut universities are keeping up with world trends, the University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State University seem to indicate the answer is yes. UConn has approved a new major in Arabic and Islamic civilizations, developed to equip students with a working knowledge of the Arabic language, and allow them to explore classical Islamic civilizations, as well as the literature, culture, heritage, and intellectual life of the modern Arab world.

The program, housed in the Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, stresses the many different aspects of the Arab world, and the different linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions that shaped it.

At Southern, a new interdisciplinary minor in Drone Applications has a decidedly journalistic flavor, but extends to provide a basis for careers utilizing the rapidly unfolding drone technology.

Approved by the UConn Board of Trustees this summer, the Arabic and Islamic civilizations major appeals to students who are studying in many other areas, including the sciences. Some students are native speakers of Arabic or have a Muslim background; others are not sure what it means to be “Arab” or to be “Muslim,” and so come to learn, according to program director and assistant professor of literatures, cultures, and languages Nicola Carpentieri, who spoke recently with UConn Today.

UConn is unusual in offering such a robust program in the language.  “The program is unique in the U.S. in that we delve so much into Arabic literature, poetics, and other cultural aspects such as music, science, art, and architecture,” Carpentieri noted. “That’s what sets it apart.”

“Students in our classes come from all majors, but they are curious and motivated students,” Carpentieri said. “They may have seen bad press about the Arab world. But they’re open-minded, and aware that simplistic divisions are fabrications. We want to shatter the binaries of East and West.”

Students in the program take courses in both classical Arabic, or the formal version of the language used in education and literature, and other dialects, like Media Arabic and Levantine Arabic. It’s especially useful to learn these types of “street language,” Carpentieri points out.

Unlike most other languages, Arabic gives its speakers access to many different nations and cultures, including Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and others. In addition, students in the major will learn about the many influences that Muslim conquests had on the Europe we know today.

The Journalism Department at Southern now offers an interdisciplinary minor with the Geography Department in Drone Applications. Students study how drones (small unmanned aerial systems) are employed for geography, environmental sciences, journalism and other industries. This interdisciplinary minor prepares students with the fundamental knowledge, skills and experience in the technological, legal and ethical considerations and applications of drones in various fields.

The minor is aimed at students who are interested in learning about emerging drone technologies and how they can be applied to professional settings. It complements environmental sciences, geography, journalism and communication programs.

The 18-credit minor requires courses such as Basic Drone Technology, Drone Journalism, Introduction to GIS and Remote Sensing or Advanced Drone Journalism.

The coursework focuses on flying drones for the purposes of news gathering in both image and data applications and includes the legal, ethical, and safety requirements for flying drones and reviewing necessary requirements for getting licensed by the FAA.

The drone courses are taught by Assistant Professor of Journalism Vern Williams, who has more than two decades in news photography and served as photo director of the New Haven Register for 15 years, where he supervised the photographic and video coverage of the news. His teaching experience includes work at Southeastern Associated Press Managing Editors Association, University of South Carolina, and Cornell University.

Cigna Looks to Invest in Start-up Insurance Ventures, Establishes $250 Million Fund

Health services organization Cigna has launched Cigna Ventures, a corporate venture fund with an infusion of $250 million in capital to be invested in healthcare technology startups and early-stage companies. Cigna has committed $250 million of capital to Cigna Ventures, according to officials, to invest in promising startups and growth-stage companies that are unlocking new growth possibilities in health care and will bring improved care quality, affordability, choice, and greater simplicity to customers and clients. Cigna Ventures is focused on companies across three strategic areas: insights and analytics; digital health and retail; and care delivery/management.

“Cigna’s commitment to improving the health, well-being and sense of security of the people we serve is at the front and center of everything we do,” said Tom Richards, senior vice president and global lead, strategy and business development at Cigna. “The venture fund will enable us to drive innovation beyond our existing core business operations, and incubate new ideas, opportunities and relationships that have the potential for long-term business growth and to help our customers.”

Cigna Ventures was created to help Cigna identify, assess and sponsor early-stage innovation ideas that warrant deeper exploration through focused pilot and test-and-learn activities with the goal of realizing meaningful business value.  The initiative’s newly launched website suggests that “Cigna Ventures is the strategic corporate venture capital partner of choice in the health care industry. We work closely with entrepreneurs to accelerate growth and innovation through strategic use of capital and deep partnerships.”

Companies in the portfolio, according to published reports, include Omada Health, a digital therapeutics company treating chronic diseases; Prognos, a predictive analytics company for healthcare; Contessa Health, a home-patient care service; Mdlive, which provides remote health consultations; and Cricket Health, a special kidney care provider.

CIGNA’s interest in the rapidly-evolving health care field is also reflected in the company’s membership, presence, and investment in insurance technology start-ups at Upward Hartford, the co-working and innovation center in Hartford that was the site of the city’s inaugural Insurtech Hub earlier this year, and is now home to the winning participants in Hartford’s first annual insurance accelerator, held in April.

Amidst the start-ups are a number of Hartford’s longstanding insurance giants, including Cigna.

Bloomberg reported last week that overall investment in health-care startups has increased this year. According to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and CB Insights, $10.6 billion was invested in health-care deals in the first half of this year. Two of the seven largest venture-capital rounds in the second quarter involved health-care firms, the report shows.

“Our partnership with Cigna has been about so much more than capital,” said Sean Duffy, co-founder and CEO of Omada. “The ability to collaborate with, learn from, and integrate deeply with a health services company so dedicated to delivering a 21st-century care experience to its customers and clients has enabled us to accelerate innovation, advance our capabilities, and grow our customer base.”

Cigna Corporation and Express Scripts received approval this week from the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice for their pending $50 billion plus merger, which is expected to close by year’s end. “Quality health care and competitive pricing for health care services and pharmaceutical drugs is critical to U.S. consumers,” said Makan Delrahim, the head of the antitrust division, in a statement announcing approval of the deal.

CT's Blockchain Working Group Strives to Drive State Policy in Emerging Field

It was established in the final hours of the 2018 legislative session, and held its first meeting the following month, back in June.  Special Act 18-8 created Connecticut’s Blockchain Working Group, with little fanfare and less notice.  The objective:  make recommendations to the incoming 2019 legislature that will “help promote innovation and economic growth by reducing barriers to and expediting the expansion of the state's blockchain industry.” While the Task Force was getting started, another blockchain initiative was grabbing headlines.  Seven Stars Cloud announced in early  July that it was planning to purchase the former University of Connecticut campus in West Hartford to develop a $283 million financial technology hub that would attract more than 50 companies, along with a research institute and training center, with blockchain technology being the centerpiece.

Local zoning approvals are pending, and the state has agreed to loan the company $10 million for renovations to the 58-acre property, and to forgive the loan if the company employs 330 people there over five years. In late August, the company changed its name to Ideanomics.

The legislation calls for the leaders of the legislature’s Commerce Committee – Republicans and Democrats – to  jointly appoint and convene a working group to develop a master plan for fostering the expansion of the blockchain industry in the state and recommend policies and state investments to make Connecticut a leader in blockchain technology. It calls for the “master plan” to:

• Identify the economic growth and development opportunities presented by blockchain technology;
• assess the existing blockchain industry in the state;
• review workforce needs and academic programs required to build blockchain expertise across all relevant industries; and
• make legislative recommendations that will help promote innovation and economic growth by reducing barriers to and expediting the expansion of the state's blockchain industry.

A final report and recommendations is due on January 1, 2019.

The Working Group, which met initially on June 28 in Stamford, is chaired by Nick Kammerman of Westport-based Chateaux.  Members include David Noble (UConn Business School), Don Tirea (Checkmate Inc.), Jamil Hasan (Blockchain Consultant), Kevin Hart (Green Check Verified), Emily Goodman Binick (Blockchain Consultant), Margaret Feeney (Nat West Markets), Bryant Eisenbach (DappDevs), Spencer Curry (Trifecta Ecosystems), Philip Bradford (UConn Engineering School) and Stephen Ehrlich (Crypto Trading Technologies).  Legislators participating in the Working Group are Senators Joan Hartley and L. Scott Frantz and Representatives Caroline Simmons and Dave Yaccarino.  State Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith serves as an ex-officio member.

Among the tax treatments the Working Group discussed preliminarily at the meeting, according to the  official Minutes,  were creating “tax incentives for companies that create blockchain products or use them who are currently in the state or coming to the state,” “changing laws to give blockchain industries access to banks in order to pay taxes,” and “figuring out how the state of Connecticut can implement a system to help blockchain/cryptocurrency companies and individuals pay taxes and fees.”

Testifying in support of the legislature this spring, Spencer Curry, CEO and co-founder of Trifecta Ecosystems, explained that “blockchain stands to revolutionize global industries by creating new revenue models and driving costs down on existing revenue models, automating processes with smart contracts, increasing traceability/visibility, and hardening security to malicious attackers.”

Supriyo B. Chatterjee of West Hartford noted that “blockchain has arrived in the Connecticut industries andwith it brings high-vbalue jobs that will contribute significantly to the Connecticut economy.” He pointed out that blockchain will have a “profound effect on the health sciences industry,” as well as the insurance industry and STEM jobs, and will “fundamentally change the distribution of goods and services worldwide.”

Curry went on to suggest that “supporting this technology will benefit Connecticut’s workforce through an infusion of excellent talent from around the world.  If the State does not embrace blockchain technology, it … will only hasten the corporate flight from our state.”  He said that “if the State chooses to empower companies exploring blockchain technologies, then a new wave of prosperity and success awaits these tried and true Connecticut industries,” such as insurance, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial, agriculture and military supply chain.

Commissioner Smith, one of the seven people to submit testimony on the bill, told the Commerce Committee at the March public hearing that the department lacks “the in-house expertise to conduct an informed analysis” of “all facets of blockchain technology.” The original version of the bill included $200,000 allocation for the Department of Economic and Community Development to conduct the study.  The Senate amendment eliminated the funding allocation.

Don Tirea of DappDevs indicated that a blockchain initiative that “incentivizes research and development for enterprises and startups, coupled with a highly skilled tech talent pipeline is a recipe for economic revitalization across Connecticut’s historic industries.  He added that embracing blockchain technology would create a “shift in our nation’s perspective of Connecticut’s ability to innovate”

Co-sponsors of the original legislation (Senate Bill 443), which was later amended in the Senate, included Senators Michael McLachlan, Heather Somers, Scott Frantz, and George Logan.  House co-sponsors included Caroline Simons, Michael Winkler, Livvy Floren, Laura Devlin and Linda Orange.

4 Renowned CT Manufacturers to be Inducted into Hall of Fame; Timex, Cheney Brothers, Farrel, Handy & Harman to be Honored

Timex Group USA (Middlebury), Cheney Brothers (Manchester), Farrel Corporation (Ansonia), and Handy & Harman (Fairfield) will be inducted into the American Manufacturing Hall of Fame in Connecticut this fall, in the fifth annual ceremony. The American Manufacturing Hall of Fame (AMHoF) celebrates the innovative history of American manufacturing, raises funds for educational programs and promotes awareness of advanced manufacturing, which is critical to the economy.

The Hall of Fame is affiliated with the Housatonic Community College (HCC) Foundation in Bridgeport, which also serves as fiduciary.  BlumShapiro will serve as the Founding Platinum Sponsor of the ceremony for the fifth consecutive year. The 2018 AMHoF Induction Ceremony will take place on October 9 at the Trumbull Marriott.

The AMHoF has also announced that Robert Klancko is the recipient of its 2018 Leadership Award. Klancko has been a manufacturing leader in Connecticut’s manufacturing community for several decades. He has been a partner in his consulting firm of Klancko & Klancko LLC, and held key managerial positions for 20 years in the brass industry and another 15 years in the utility industry.

Timex began as the Waterbury Clock Company in 1854, and initially gained success with its dollar pocket watches. Renamed Timex in 1941, the renowned world-wide brand has its headquarters in Middlebury.  Cheney Brothers was a center of the silk industry in the late 19th and early 20th century in Manchester.  The 175-acre historic district in Manchester, includes over 275 mill buildings, workers houses, churches, schools and Cheney family mansions.

Founded in 1848, Farrel Corporation is based in Ansonia. During the American Civil War, they produced bayonets and cannon barrel.  Today, they manufacture process equipment for the plastics industry, and employ roughly 100 people.  Handy & Harman leveraged an early market advantage in silver bullion through acquisitions to provide not only bullion but alloys and prefabricated silver bands, wires, and moldings, as well as reclamation services to leading jewelers.

Klancko has contributed tirelessly to the field of technical education since 1972. He served as an educator at both the former Hartford Graduate Center and Waterbury State Technical College, and more recently at Mattatuck Community College. More recently, Klancko worked to educate educators in the Materials Manufacturing Summer Teachers' Institute at Southern Connecticut State University. He has also chaired and co-founded Environmental Studies and Materials Technology Advisory Committees at a number of state public and private colleges.

2017 inductees into the American Manufacturing Hall of Fame were Better Packages, MacDermid Performance Solutions, R.C Bigelow, Stanley Black & Decker and Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Specialty Metals. In 2016, the inductees were Bead Industries, The Benedict & Burnham Mfg. Co.; C. Cowles & Co., Chance Vought & Platt Brothers & Co.

The manufacturing firms added to the Hall in 2015 were Bridgeport Brass, Moore Tool, Inc. and Wheeler & Wilson/Singer, from Bridgeport, and A.C. Gilbert, Brewster Carriage and Auto and Sargent Co., from New Haven.  In the inaugural year of the Hall of Fame, the inductees were Bridgeport Machines, Bullard Machine Tool, Hubbell, Inc., Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Warner’s.

The American Manufacturing Hall of Fame is comprised of “a group of passionate citizens and manufacturers who believe it is important to appreciate and understand the proud history of American Manufacturing as a catalyst to take advantage of the distinct opportunities that advanced manufacturing can bring to American lives today and in the future.”  It was launched in Bridgeport at HCC, because the city was a “hub of manufacturing leadership and innovation in America for over a century, the organization’s website points out.

The site highlights that the first practical submarine, the first practical carbon electric light bulb filament, the modern automobile assembly line and the first robot all have their roots in, or were invented, in Bridgeport.

Any company engaged in manufacturing for at least ten years can be considered for induction. Companies considered have made “significant contributions to the field of manufacturing either by innovation, the improvement of a manufacturing process or by creating a product that has advanced humankind.”

Founding sponsor BlumShapiro is the largest regional accounting, tax and business advisory firm based in New England. The HCC Foundation was founded in 1990 to provide financial assistance to the College and its students beyond the fundamentals provided by the State of Connecticut.  Tickets to the induction ceremony event are now available.

Transportation Infrastructure in CT Among Nation's Worst; Including Structurally Deficient Highway Bridges

When the Mianus River Bridge on Interstate 95 in Greenwich collapsed 35 years ago, killing three motorists and putting an unprecedented focus on road and bridge infrastructure in Connecticut, it was apparently not preceded by public warnings about the poor condition of the state’s roads and bridges. Today, the warnings are abundant, in Connecticut and elsewhere, including a new ranking which underscores that New England and the Northeast are the epicenter for transportation infrastructure in need of improvement.

The latest comes from a ranking developed by CNBC, which found that 73 percent of Connecticut roads are in bad shape, giving the state a grade of D, while noting that nearly 8 percent of Connecticut's bridges are deficient.  Data from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)  earlier this year indicated that 332 of the state’s 4,238 bridges were deemed deficient, six fewer than the previous year.    

Connecticut is not the only state in the region with acute infrastructure problems in need of costly solutions.  From the bottom up, the states ranking lowest in the analysis are Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Maryland and West Virginia (tie), New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Mississippi.

The CNBC report said of Connecticut:  “The infrastructure situation in the Nutmeg State is so bad, you could say Connecticut is moving backward. With the state facing a fiscal crisis, Gov. Dannel Malloy had to cancel $4.5 billion in transportation projects last year, proposing instead to restore tolls to the state’s highways for the first time in more than 30 years. That idea, so far, has gone nowhere. As politicians continue to debate, Connecticut roads continue to deteriorate.”

According to data published by ARTBA, Connecticut’s most traveled structurally deficient bridge – and the 60^th most traveled structurally deficient bridge in the nation – is on I-95 in Norwalk, over the Norwalk River at Hendricks Avenue, between exits 15 and 16.  Additionally, highway bridges in New Haven, Fairfield and Hartford are also among the 110 most highly travelled and structurally deficient in the United States, the ARTBA indicates. 

The Connecticut Business and Industry Association has noted that the state's Special Transportation Fund faces insolvency by 2020—despite Connecticut having the seventh highest gas taxes in the nation, adding that this fall, voters will consider a constitutional amendment creating a lock box to protect dedicated transportation funding from being diverted to other uses.

According to Ballotpedia, the measure would require that all revenue placed in the state's Special Transportation Fund (STF) be used for transportation purposes, including the payment of transportation-related debts. The state legislature would be prohibited from spending the fund on non-transportation purposes.

The STF is funded by the motor fuels tax, motor carrier road tax, petroleum products gross earnings tax, certain motor vehicle receipts and fees, motor vehicle-related fines, and a portion of state sales tax.

The top five states with the best transportation infrastructure, according to the CNBC analysis, are Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, and Tennessee.