Month: September 2023

Originally published on Illumina News Center

According to the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for students to develop STEM skills, the United Kingdom is experiencing a shortage of 170,000 or more STEM workers, impairing innovation and growth.

EDT is working to remedy this through its Industrial Cadets programs, which facilitate age-appropriate STEM projects. Students can start participating in grade school and continue through high school graduation.

A recent collaboration with Illumina in Cambridge, England, targeted local students age 14 to 16. Volunteers from Illumina worked with them on biodiversity assessments to learn about genomics applications in ecological conservation.

“We are here to connect industry and young people,” says Amy Adamthwaite, head of Programme Development and Delivery at EDT. “We want to help them see potential career pathways and understand what is available for them.”

The program applied skills-building exercises to environmental challenges. These projects gave students opportunities to study biodiversity in their own backyards and highlighted genomics’ unique ability to support sustainability.

“This project was a collaborative effort between Illumina and EDT from the start,” says Vanessa Light, CSR STEM lead at Illumina. “The program was designed and implemented in partnership with Illumina staff, and directly connecting employees with students has been a key aspect to students finding personal connections and seeing themselves in the career journeys of our employees.”

The 15-week project paired 60 students with Illumina mentors. Students received master classes on project management, STEM career opportunities, and other topics. While all the projects had one goal—investigate local biodiversity—the approaches varied by team. One studied a pond on school grounds.

“They have this pond, which is quite pretty, but their science department had never done any experiments with the young people there,” says Adamthwaite. “They look at this pond every day, but they didn’t know anything about it, and this gave them the nudge to actually investigate. Now the students are asking their school to incorporate the pond into their lessons so they can learn more about the natural environment around them.”

Concerned about climate change and other environmental issues, the students were highly motivated. After their project was completed, one team wrote their member of parliament, asking the government to dial back grass mowing, as it was damaging biodiversity.

“We could see the impact it was making on the students,” says Adamthwaite. “It wasn’t just doing a project—their passion really shone through.”

Illumina mentors feel the impact 
Senior Information Security Engineer Rob Williams was one of the Illumina mentors.

“One of the big drivers for me to volunteer was that I never had anyone come to my school and tell me I could achieve like that,” he says. “I think I really missed that kind of support and role model exposure.”

His team’s project researched biodiversity in the school’s playing fields, which had been affected by development, pollution, and other issues. The goal was to catalog existing plants and wildlife and envision alternative ecosystems.

“We wanted to identify which plants were growing and the wildlife they attract,” says Williams, “as well as explore plants that could attract different species. The students were passionate about identifying issues and enhancing the biodiversity. They photographed and cataloged plants, cross-referenced them online, categorized seasonals and annuals, and looked up the Latin names and the wildlife each one attracts. They were really switched on.”

The project culminated in an awards ceremony at the Illumina Centre in Cambridge. One of Williams’ groups was honored for Best Overall Assessment, as well as for their report and oral presentation. It was an emotional moment for Williams, who had become far more engaged than he expected.

“I felt a real sense of achievement that we had made a positive contribution to their education,” he says. “But it also helped me develop as a professional and as a human being. I was not expecting that. I honestly did not anticipate the profound impact this would have on me.”

Illumina is committed to inspiring the next generation of genomic leaders, and we are working to nurture a diverse and inclusive STEM workforce for the future. To do this, we collaborate with community partners like Engineering Development Trust that are empowering learners and engage employees like Rob Williams to reach and inspire students of all backgrounds.

Click here to learn more about Illumina’s commitment to STEM education and our goal of reaching 5 million learners by 2030.

September 11, 2023 /3BL/ We are extremely saddened by the devastation in Morocco’s Al-Haouz region and surrounding areas including the historic city of Marrakesh following last night’s earthquake — the country’s strongest in 120 years. Our deepest condolences are with those affected by this tragedy. As Moroccans and others in the area face significant challenges, T-Mobile is offering assistance to customers who need to stay connected to friends and family during this critical time.

Starting today, September 9 through September 15, 2023, T-Mobile is waiving international roaming and international long-distance to and from Morocco and the U.S for T-Mobile and Sprint postpaid consumer and business, T-Mobile Prepaid and Assurance Wireless customers. We’re also waiving international long-distance to and from Morocco for our Metro by T-Mobile customers.

This includes calls made from within Morocco to local numbers. As a reminder, customers with Simple Global have free unlimited texting and data in Morocco.

If you need assistance or have questions about your service, please reach out to us by calling 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset and we will be happy to help.

The polyurethane adhesives made in Henkel’s Elgin, IL production facility are utilized across markets and applications – from food packaging to building construction and from kitchen and bath fixtures to recreational vehicles (RVs). As the highest volume polyurethane manufacturer in Henkel’s North American network, product manufactured in this plant serves multiple customers worldwide. Learn more in this segment of #AViewFrom: Elgin, Illinois.

Constructed by Henkel, the Elgin, IL site located on Gasket Drive broke ground in the late 1980s and has been an essential contributor to the company’s success ever since. Today, nearly 100 employees from engineering, product development, quality management, logistics, and operations make this vibrant, five-day-a-week, three-shift site a powerhouse of production, technical expertise, and innovation. Both liquid and hot melt polyurethane adhesives are produced here at massive scale – totaling thousands of tons annually. The adhesives – sold under the LOCTITE®, LIOFOL®, TECHNOMELT®, and TYCEL® brands – are used to build flexible food packaging like drink and coffee bean pouches, provide structural stability to RVs, encapsulate electronics for protection, and enable engineered wood products used for mass timber building assemblies among others.

Unique among production facilities, Elgin is in the product development and innovation business, too. We have a product development lab, are working actively with the innovation team on exciting initiatives for the water filtration market, and of course, are focused on manufacturing advanced liquid and hot melt polyurethanes. The collaboration is invaluable and the feedback loop very short!

Drew Thaler, Director of Operations at the Elgin Plant

Dwight Heinrich, Product Development Senior Manager, agrees: “I like that we have R&D on-site and work with innovation teams across the Henkel organization on special projects. This enables Elgin to showcase some of our important customer partnership initiatives and highlight the significance of the materials made here.”

Having been an integral part of the Henkel operations footprint for over 30 years, the 165,000 sq. ft. Elgin plant has seen several expansions and incredible transformation. Current and upcoming investments and improvements include decarbonization efforts, integration of digital capabilities, and water efficiency enhancements.

“One of the most impactful additions has been our distributed control system,” says Thaler. “This helps automate our production process, taking manual controls – like pressure regulation and material additions – out of the equation. Our operations team is then free to focus on other important manufacturing tasks.”

The plant is investing in technology to support the sustainability goals of the organization. A focus on water conservation includes a planned electrolysis system which will maintain clean water, reduce consumption, and remove corrosion from piping to improve overall water cleanliness and efficiency.

COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION ACROSS THE REGION:

Polyurethane chemistry has uses in a variety of markets. One of the new applications has been in the water filtration market. The Elgin manufacturing team worked with Henkel’s R&D specialists in Rocky Hill, CT, to scale a game-changing liquid filtration product. “LOCTITE® UK 8050/5050 has been one of our biggest commercial successes in filtration and the foundation for many other formulation developments,” shares Alyssa Beebe, Innovation Program Manager in Rocky Hill, emphasizing that the collaboration between development, application engineering, and manufacturing was vital to this achievement. “It was the first adhesive to achieve blister-free performance on membranes, which is tremendous in the filtration space.” Blister-free bond lines mitigate the potential for bacterial growth which prolongs the life of the water filter.

DID YOU KNOW:

“Polyurethanes are used for many lamination applications,” says Heinrich. “Did you know that United States passports are coated in materials made here?! That’s pretty cool!”

KeyBank’s Angel Rodriguez has been honored as a 2023 Notable Latino Leader by Crain’s Cleveland Business. Rodriguez, a Senior Vice President and Business Banking Sales Leader for Key in Northeast Ohio, was honored for his commitment to leading and coaching teammates, and involvement in many community initiatives and organizations.

Rodriguez joined KeyBank in 2021. He serves as the board chair for The Spanish American Committee. Under his leadership, the committee has bolstered its financial position and focused on leveraging its Latino Construction and Mi Casa programs to deliver high-paying jobs and affordable housing to Clevelanders on the near West Side.

Learn more about the 2023 Crain’s Cleveland Business Notable Latino LeadersLearn more about KeyBank’s commitment to helping clients and communities thriveLearn more about how KeyBank can help small businesses

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

Six-year-old Daniel Teague loves everything about outer space and has his sights set on becoming an astronaut. He is being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia but will not let that slow him down in his pursuit to blast off to the stars in a few years. In the meantime, Daniel and his family recently visited Kennedy Space Center in Florida to learn what it takes to be an astronaut, thanks to Aflac and Make-A-Wish South Carolina.

Getting ready for takeoff 
On Aug. 1, Aflac granted Daniel’s wish at a surprise celebration hosted at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia. Gen. Charles “Charlie” Duke, a retired S.C. astronaut, who walked the surface of the moon during the Apollo 16 mission in 1972, shared a special video message to get Daniel ready for takeoff. Bob Ruff, senior vice president, Group Voluntary Benefits, helped deliver Daniel’s wish and give him a few travel essentials — Aflac luggage, an Aflac plush duck, packing cubes, a water bottle and a blanket.

“Making this wish come true for Daniel is another way for Aflac to celebrate his strength and courage — and to give him extra joy and hope,” said Ruff. “Aflac is happy to work with Make-A-Wish South Carolina, as we continue our 28-year commitment to supporting children with cancer, their families and health care teams.” 

Make-A-Wish South Carolina grants wishes that bring hope, joy and support to local children with critical illnesses. Since 2018, Aflac has donated nearly $50,000 to grant seven wishes.

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