Making a difference by pursuing new ideas.
by Rick A. Richards
Innovation starts as a spark of inspiration. And once the fire is lit, there is no putting it out.
The idea that you can create something new or do something in a different way motivates innovators. It may take years before an idea blooms, but what matters to innovators is exploring their idea as fully as possible.
It's that spark of inspiration that binds seven business, government and political leaders together as the 2011 Fellows of the Society of Innovators of Northwest Indiana.
The society was created in 2005 by Ivy Tech Community College Northwest to honor the individuals who have created products, processes or services that make a difference in the lives of others, not only in Northwest Indiana, but across the nation and around the world, says Managing Director John Davies.
The Society of Innovators is helped by principal sponsors ArcelorMittal, Bukva Imaging, Horseshoe Casino, Krieg DeVault, NIPSCO, Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly and the Times Media Co.
Innovative ideas from Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Pulaski, Starke and Newton counties are examined each year and individual fellows are selected along with a Chanute Prize winner that recognizes team innovation.
Chanute Prize Winner
IVDiagnostics at Entech
Valparaiso
Presented for launching a new diagnostic tool to fight cancer that provides identification of rare circulating tumor cells “in vivo” that is non-toxic and eliminates the problem of current methods that suffer from high false positives and negatives.
Early detection of cancer is the Holy Grail of treatment. Catch the disease early enough and it's easier to eradicate. It's a solution Frank Szczepanski, cofounder and CEO of IVDiagnostics in Valparaiso, has addressed as a personal mission since his wife was diagnosed with cancer.
“This is personal for me. Right now, oncologists can't tell patients if their cancer really is in remission. What we're doing could change that.”
Szczepanski and his team at IVDiagnostics have developed a device that could improve early cancer detection and virtually eliminate false positives that result from current diagnostic tools. But to bring it online, the company needs $5 million to cover the cost of clinical trials and additional research and development.
In comparing what IVDiagnostics has developed with the invention of the automobile, Szczepanski says, “The analogy is that we have the car, which is the device called the IVDxTx platform. We have the method of fueling the car. All we have to do is get approval to get on the highway so we can go to the medical centers so they can start ordering tests.”
The concept used by IVDiagnostics was invented by Dr. Wei He. In it, the body is used to analyze blood, creating a non-invasive way to diagnose cancer. The concept is to use circulating tumor cells in vivo as biomarkers to track cancer.
Those cells come from a primary tumor, which produce between 1 and 4 million cells that circulate in the bloodstream. The IVDiagnostics procedure can monitor a liter of blood at a time, allowing doctors to either isolate or eradicate the cells without doing anything invasive.
The device is the size of a small projector, but ultimately, Szczepanski hopes to create a handheld device similar to what diabetics use to monitor their blood sugar. Once perfected, the process could save money. The IVDiagnostics test costs $400 while a CAT scan that does the same thing is $8,000.
“When I learned the company was nominated for this honor, I thought it was well deserved. It is self-satisfying, but also for our whole team,” says Szczepanski. “I've always believed you can't do anything alone. I think this is a launching pad for a much bigger impact beyond Northwest Indiana. What this shows is that Northwest Indiana is more than steel mills. The people who work here are motivated and passionate. There is no reason this area can't be a center for biomedical research and engineering.”
Gerald I. Lamkin Fellow for Innovation and Service
Pete Visclosky
U.S. Representative
Merrillville
Presented for launching the Marquette Project in 1985 with the goal of reclaiming at least 75 percent of the lakeshore for public use. Today, through investments by local communities and the Regional Development Authority, it continues to transform our lakeshore.
Sometimes an innovative idea takes time. Just ask U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky. After he took office in 1985, he unveiled his Marquette Plan, a proposal to reclaim the Lake Michigan shoreline for public use.
In a speech to region political leaders then, Visclosky said: “Nearly 50 percent of our lakeshore is locked away from public usage by industrial sites. Decades of poor planning have filled in floodplains and stressed our natural drainage systems. Careless, and at times criminal, misuse of our resources has poisoned land, air and water. A radical physical change is needed to again put us in an advantageous position for economic development and growth.”
Reaction was not good, says Visclosky. The reason was because Visclosky erred in thinking public officials were onboard. “I thought I was going to effectively convince these public officials that this was the future of Northwest Indiana. And I found to my horror within a day that several public officials walked out and said bad things about it. They were absolutely right. I didn't call them, I wasn't a mayor, I didn't own the property.”
It wasn't until 2003 that five cities embraced the plan, and since then, it has taken off. The goal is to recapture 75 percent of the lakeshore for public use.
When the Regional Development Authority was created by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2005, it helped direct federal funds toward the effort. It was a classic instance of bipartisan support for an effort to benefit an entire region.
“The plan started on a napkin in a conversation with an architect I had never met in a restaurant in Hammond that no longer exists. I have it somewhere in my files,” says Visclosky. “I tell people they will have to beat people off with a stick to keep them away from moving to those cities along the lakeshore if you do the lake right.” One example is the Portage Lakefront Pavilion, built on a former waste site at National Steel that was cleaned up and opened for public access.
“I must tell you that as time has passed, and recognizing this will be an intergenerational effort, I see it as my responsibility to encourage good decision-making habits,” says Visclosky. “I am really honored to be nominated as a fellow. I'm gratified and heartened that people think this corridor along the lake is their own.
“This region is my home. I grew up here. We all live literally on the shore of one of the greatest natural resources in the world. All I'm able to do from where I sit is persuade people and set a tone. It's up to them to move forward.”
Fellows
Robert E. Johnson III
CIMCOR Inc.
Merrillville
Presented for developing cutting-edge IT security software that takes real-time file change detection to the next level by offering instant remediation of unauthorized changes.
Anyone with a computer knows that viruses can cripple the system. If you're responsible for the defense and security of the nation, viruses can't be allowed.
Robert E. Johnson III, president and CEO of CIMCOR Inc. in Merrillville, has taken on that challenge. His security software development company has created CimTrak, which prevents unwanted modifications to government computers, including those used by the U.S. Army and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
“The typical approach of security software systems is knowledge ahead of time of the nature of the threat,” says Johnson. “But the problem is the never-ending stream of new threats for which there is neither signature nor identification.”
Johnson grew up in Gary and founded CIMCOR in 1997. “Before our product, if you were hacked, you would spend countless man hours to identify where the change is. A single system could have 400,000 files. The only way to restore it is from a backup tape if you have one. Or spend countless man-hours trying to figure out what, if any, of the 400,000 files have changed. That's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Think about it–we are talking about one server. A large organization has thousands.”
What sets CimTrak apart is that its monitoring process is done in real time. Instead of getting notices to update a security system, Johnson turned that idea on its head so that security systems are automatically updated and repaired.
“I'm very flattered that we've been recognized as innovators. I've always viewed what we do that way, but it's nice to see someone else recognizes that,” says Johnson. “It's validation that we're doing things that are unique and that people are paying attention.”
Johnson hopes the honor will lead other companies to view Northwest Indiana as a good place to do business. “I grew up in the region and saw the decline of manufacturing and its effect on families and business. I don't want anyone else to go through that.”
Jon Costas
Mayor
Valparaiso
Presented for creating a “culture of innovation” which has led to a number of innovative best practices citywide, including a revitalized downtown and a new urban park and gathering place.
When Jon Costas began his first term as mayor of Valparaiso in 2004, the city's downtown, he says, “was on life support.”
Declining tax dollars made it difficult for Valparaiso to move ahead with some of the ideas Costas had for the city, so he created “a culture of innovation.”
“We took that vision and turned it into a strategic plan, created a culture of innovation and change in the city, and we have methodically accomplished virtually everything in the strategic plan.” Many areas of the city have been renovated, Central Park Plaza, a downtown urban park, has been created and streets and public transportation have been improved.
More than 3,000 people attended the dedication of Central Park Plaza, an open space and focal point of the downtown that Costas says is unique in the region.
“We worked hard to gather funds from the public sector and the private sector to pay cash for that park, approximately $3.5 million,” says Costas. “It is a symbol for our value of being creatively frugal–being creative by having a bold vision for the future and being frugal by following the sound principles of fiscal management and operating within those, and still accomplishing your goals and values.”
Costas says the city had to rethink what its downtown was supposed to be. “The old paradigm for downtowns no longer works so we had to set a clear vision for what we wanted to accomplish. I saw a city of great potential that was not moving forward. I saw and felt that the citizenry were yearning for the city to look better, function better and be much more progressive than it was.”
Costas surrounded himself with creative thinkers, people who weren't afraid to express an idea that was out of the ordinary. “Great innovators unlock the potential in the key people around them so it is not just them innovating. These leaders have created a culture of innovation and change and they have brought out the innovative instincts in their key people.”
When he learned of the honor from the Society of Innovators, Costas says he was happy for his city. “It celebrates innovation and that's what changes people's lives. One role of innovation is to look to the future. You simply have to have a vision, describe that vision and then put it into a plan. You have to follow through in order to bring it to fruition.”
Angela Hambling, principal
Rolling Prairie Elementary School
Rolling Prairie
Presented for creating an off-site activities center that lifted the educational outcomes for more than 100 underserved minority students in a mobile home community, and helped raise her school to “exemplary” status.
As an educator, Angela Hambling strongly believes every child deserves the best education possible, which is why she approached Superintendent Philip Bender and asked to become principal of Rolling Prairie Elementary.
The school had gone through five principals in five years. Hambling described the 25 teachers at the school as “discouraged,” but also knew they wanted to help children, especially the 102 Latino youngsters who lived in a mobile home park who were falling behind their schoolmates.
Using federal stimulus money, Hambling set up an activity center in a 1,200-square-foot building near the mobile home park. It's open after school and during the summer and it has become the tool that has made learning fun for the children.
“There has been a transformation in the entire school,” says Hambling. “Today we shine like the sun. Test scores are greatly improved, we have an activity center and the reputation of the entire school has dramatically changed for the better.”
ISTEP scores are up for all students and the school has achieved “exemplary” status for two straight years.
“I was really surprised when I learned I was nominated,” says Hambling. “When I read of the accomplishments of everyone else, mine didn't sound that impressive. It validates what we're doing behind the scenes. It brings attention to the kids who don't have the advantages of some other youngsters. I don't claim responsibility for this; the idea wasn't even mine. But the idea needed leadership. My challenge was to make it happen,” she says.
“What pleases me is how the effort has rippled into the relationships with the families in the trailer park,” she adds. “They're excited about learning now and they're involved. It has exposed the children to other ideas. I'm so happy to be a part of this.”
Janet Brown, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Nursing
Valparaiso University
Presented for launching overseas “cultural immersion” experiences for nursing students, combined with turning around the performance of the nursing college.
When Janet Brown took over as dean of the Valparaiso University College of Nursing in 2000, former VU President Alan Harre gave her two choices: either grow the nursing school or close it gracefully.
At the time, there were just 25 students in the program and it wasn't viable. Brown didn't want to close it, so she got to work. Today, the school has 200 undergraduates, 45 master's degree students and 28 doctoral students.
It has become one of the nation's leaders in providing students with hands-on overseas nursing through the university's international programs. Brown says the turnaround wouldn't have been possible without innovative thinking.
“Innovation in changing the way that students were educated in the nursing laboratory for example, innovation in moving to a simulation model, innovation in changing the kinds of clinical experiences and the time spent in these experiences, innovation in changing the role of faculty and the kinds of activities that they were doing with students,” says Brown.
There has been new programming, along with upgraded facilities and new teaching methods. She added international experiences for students in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Chile and Thailand.
Brown, who has been at VU for 35 years, says the goal is to prepare students to enter the health-care field, “ready and understanding what is going on. It was very obvious if we were going to recruit students to this program, then we had to improve our facilities. That was a no-brainer to me.”
By having students spend time overseas, Brown says they come back with new ideas. “If the U.S. system is all you know or have ever experienced, there is a real tendency to think that everything else is substandard or there is no ability to have any ingenious thinking if you have nothing to compare it to. It didn't take the students very long to realize that public health care in Chile is miles ahead of ours; they have neighborhood regional clinics outlined with maps targeted with at-risk families. Incredible.”
Brown says the honor is a true team effort. “To have this considered innovative is truly an honor. I'm overwhelmed and a bit embarrassed by it. I hope this exemplifies to the faculty that we're all innovators, that we're laying the foundation for people to go forward and do wonderful things.”
Julie Rizzo
U.S. Greenworks and My Choice Recycling
St. John
Presented for seeing the value where nobody else did–in scrap granite. Rizzo launched the first 100 percent granite recycling center in the U.S. and has built a national network of granite recycling centers.
Who thinks about recycling granite? Well, until Julie Rizzo came along, nobody. But with half a million pounds of granite tossed into landfills every year, Rizzo saw a need to create a new industry to use that waste.
In 2008, Rizzo was a countertop salesperson and when she visited contractors, she saw Dumpsters filled with granite and stone remnants. Thirty percent of the granite that arrived at a job site was tossed.
At a stone show, she persuaded a client to buy a stone recycling machine that cost $25,000. It cut granite pavers, but the backside of the stone was “an awful grey” color. Rizzo then worked to figure out how to make that suitable for indoor use.
“One of the biggest problems with leftover granite was that you could only use the polished side for interior projects. If you placed polished stones outside, it is like walking on ice if it rains,” says Rizzo.
Shot blasting was the best way to do that, but it wasn't environmentally friendly. “So I experimented with many methods to try and remove the grey matter off the backs of the stones. I used muriatic acid, bleach, expensive sealer. Being a green sustainability nut, I wasn't comfortable utilizing chemicals. After about six months of research, I finally found a process that was eco-friendly and didn't use any chemicals or pollute the air.”
Rizzo saw value where nobody else did–in scrap granite. Through U.S. Greenworks, she is licensing her business model to other companies. Meanwhile, she runs a local recycling center called “My Choice Recycling.” For more information, visit www.RecycledGranite.com.
Today, her company recycles about 25,000 pounds of discard remnant stone from local granite fabricators. Rizzo, 47, a graduate of Bishop Noll Institute, says she couldn't believe it when she was nominated.
“To be identified with the Society of Innovators is a surprise. This will put granite recycling on the map,” says Rizzo. “I hope it creates jobs and boosts recycling. Innovators and inventors are obsessed and won't stop what they do.”
