But Baltimore also has islands of great strength.

Our universities are producing new research, technologies, and talent. Our creative community is a force locally and beyond Baltimore.  A renewed entrepreneurial spirit is catching fire.  Our manufacturing heart is still beating. We have untapped sources of human talent too.

What can be done to connect these points of strength? Can we marshal our individual and collective resources to build the Baltimore we’d like to see?

Appealing to charity will not save Baltimore. Large-scale help from beyond our region is not likely.

What can we do ourselves? What can *you* do?

This August gb.tc will host an event we’re calling Baltimore Unwired.  We will convene Baltimore’s leaders in the public, private, and social sectors. We will gather innovation community members, the creative class, and representatives from the neighborhoods most in need.  Combining traditional and “unconference” elements, we will stir together these seemingly disparate groups in search of new connections and fresh approaches to persistent problems.

How can we use new technologies to empower business, social service providers, neighborhood residents, and policy makers?  How can networked citizens join together to improve our city and our region?

We will inventory Baltimore’s resources (human, financial, creative, and more), then find ways to leverage, grow, and multiply those strengths through mutual awareness, collaboration, and innovation.

Watch this space for updates, and make plans to join us in August for some creative disruption.

So lucky for me when Andrew Hazlett, Kelly McKew, and I went to the cyber briefing at UMBC’s bwtech incubator, a familiar face was there to cast some light on what cyber security really is. No, it’s wasn’t Matthew Broderick. (How weird would that have been?) It was BmoreFail speaker, Hart Rossman, VP/CTO, Cyber Security Services & Solutions at SAIC.

Are IT security and cyber security the same?

IT security is anything that is part and parcel with commodity hardware and software. As more security is being pushed to the server, into the backend of the infrastructure, that’s IT security. Anybody can do it because there is a checklist or a specific button you can push to make “security” happen.

Cyber security is the area of risk where we do not have a canonical, well-trodden, well-established answer for what someone in the company should do. There’s no checkbox or button.

How can you maximize your cyber security?

So what you have to do, in some sense, is balance the way you push your cyber security solutions (the most exquisite things you are doing) to deal with risk and threat in the marketplace. As that becomes more commonplace, you can push that down into IT security. It becomes a commodity in the enterprise, it’s run of the mill, anybody in the organization can support or drive that. That way, you can be sure that your security team is only focused on those most challenging risk areas for which there is no canned answer.

The problem is we have most of our security teams focused on those canned answers, which is a huge waste of time and resources.

Are cyber security successes visible?

There is the huge myth in cyber that when we are doing our job, nobody notices, because nothing’s happening. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, when we are doing a great job, business moves forward at an unheralded rate.

The reason we know that is because companies, more and more, are entering markets with a great amount of risk and they are doing it with confidence because their security, financial, and legal teams are in a position to mitigate that risk. No company would enter a new market where they knew they were going to be clobbered. They wouldn’t do it. So when cyber security experts are doing their job well, we are truly enabling business.

Cyber security is the reason that the largest growth sector for your company is in some of the countries best known for stealing intellectual property. You wouldn’t move into that market if you thought you’d be fleeced and your cyber security team wasn’t up to the task. Of course not.

Cyber security is not like insurance, where it works best when nobody’s using it. Cyber works best when we are putting confidence in our businesses to go out and do risky things and get tremendous returns.

Where is cyber going next?

App stores are driving the user experience on the internet. That’s where company intranets need to go too. By taking a smart approach to developing an intranet app store, you have an opportunity to actually implement good security and risk management in your entire software supply chain.

You don’t want to go device-by-device, app-by-app trying to protect the enterprise. That’s ridiculous. You want to remake the intranet as the hub of a safe enterprise where you are driving innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration in your company — through the intranet, through the app store, through the tablet, and, if you still have a couple of PCs and laptops lying around, get those on there too.

So now we need to develop apps for security. The idea is to make security relevant data and APIs available to promote open, collaborative entrepreneurship. When you have app stores in the company intranet, it’s great to have vendors pushing apps out there. But, what’s better, is to actually give your employees the tools to innovate and develop apps that are going to drive growth and revenue for your organization. And drive security, as well.

How about a nice game of chess?

[This question is merely a comic device and was not answered by Hart.]

The whole place is historic, beautiful, and a great resource for the community. Of course there are books and computers, but you’ll also find helpful librarians (like Andrea) who’ll research pretty much whatever  you need. Enoch Pratt also houses some uniquely Baltimorean collections, including artwork and some of Edgar Allan Poe and H.L. Mencken’s personal effects.

If you’re looking for open and free coworking space. It abounds. But please, keep you voices down. This is a library.

Our gb.tc roundtables are always looking for interesting, dynamic speakers who can present on a variety of topics. We figure, our community is full of experts who are willing to share their knowledge with others.

Experts like you. Aren’t you brilliant something and willing to talk about it with tech community leaders? Of course you are!

So we’re rolling out a gb.tc speakers bureau.

If you have expertise you’d like to share with founders, CXOs, and up-and-coming leaders in the Baltimore business community (and won’t shill), please complete our quick and easy speakers bureau application.

Questions about the speakers bureau and gb.tc roundtables should be directed to Sharon, s@gb.tc.

We need a better connected Northeast Tech Innovation Corridor. That is the goal of Geeks on a Train (aka, GOAT.)

On May 24th, gb.tc will host a rolling tweetup (#geektrain) on Amtrak between DC and Boston.  At each stop along the way, we’ll collect interested representatives from each tech community. There will also be meetups in Baltimore, New York, and Boston with opportunities to stretch your legs, network, and maybe have a little something to eat.

Check out the itinerary and learn more here.

So why is Nanotechnology important?  Well, it is revolutionizing the way new materials and devices are being developed.  You see, as scientist work at the nanoscale (think small, very small, like atoms and molecules) they are discovering new behaviors and properties for matter of this size.   Some are better for conducting electricity or heat, some are stronger or have different magnetic properties.  According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, these discoveries have led to the creation of products that address some of the world’s biggest challenges such as:

• clean, secure, affordable energy
• stronger, lighter, more durable materials
• low cost filters to provide clean drinking water
• medical devices and drugs to detect and treat diseases more effectively with fewer side effects
• lighting that uses a fraction of the energy

The exhibit includes several hands on experiments and interactive activities like the Lego Scanning Probe (pic below) to introduce visitors to world of Nanotechnology.

Cool right? To learn more, check it out for yourself.   The exhibit will be on display through October 2012.  For more information, visit www.portdiscovery.org.

We’re in search of a name for the podcast and content. So, if you have any thoughts about information, events, interviews, or just how to improve in general, please let Andrew or me know.

Stay tuned for more!

Video streaming by Ustream

In a way, it’s a step back in startup time to enter the BTS Software Solutions offices. Like it’s 1999 all over again. The government subcontractor is housed in hip, loft-like space at The Foundry on Fort Avenue. There’s a big screen TV, a ping pong table, and a fully stocked fridge.

When you join the team, they give you a company hockey jersey, which everyone wears on Thursdays — the same day the company brings in pizza for lunch. On Fridays, before work, the staff hangs out at Koba Cafe. This month, there’s a pushup contest and dogs are always allowed in the office.

But there are big company benies, too. Employees get stipends to buy renovated homes in Baltimore and tuition paid for their Master’s degrees. There are free gym memberships and a company condo in Florida BTS encourages everyone to use gratis. Plus, everybody gets an iPhone and laptop to stay connected to the office.

While BTS sets up their employees to be effective, Executive VP, Stu Gott is quick to point out that “big brother is never looking over your shoulder.” Pretty much everyone works a 40-hour week and the time is flexible. (Want to work four 10-hour days in a week? Do it.) There are no performance reviews at BTS.

Sounds good, right? (If you’re a programmer, they are hiring!)

But be prepared for an unusual interview process. Stu likes to ask brain teasers or test Rubix your cube skills. “The point isn’t to solve the puzzles, necessarily,” Tim Ryan, VP of Engineering explains, “it’s to see how you think. We want you to go to throw something up on the white board. Try. That’s how we work around here usually.”

The laid-back camaraderie of the BTS team “makes us kind of a family,” according to Abby Stone the front officce manager. Who adds that “everyone is super responsive, no task is too small, and everyone is extremely appreciative.”

Who wouldn’t be happy in such a work environment? Only the pushup contest loser.

Just a decade ago, the Poppleton area of Baltimore was mostly vacant, crime ridden, and seemingly light years away from the University of Maryland Medical Center which sat only on the other side of Martin Luther King Blvd. Today, it is home to the 12-acre, 470,000 square foot University of Maryland BioPark. Home to numerous biotech startups, BioPark is responsible for the creation of 550 jobs, $180 million in capital investment, a community of science and technology. And and the rebirth of a neighborhood.

Last week, the BioPark broke ground on The Maryland Proton Treatment Center. When complete, it will be a 110,000 square foot facility providing state-of-the-art cancer therapy. The Center will treat approximately 2,000 cancer patients a year and bring in another 175 jobs and $200 million in capital investment to the BioPark.

Proton treatments precisely target radiation at tumors, decreasing the incidence of side effects and damage to neighboring tissue. There are only 11 other proton treatment centers in the US, so the one in Baltimore is expected to treat patients from all over the east coast.

As the BioPark continues to evolve, it plans to add a hotel, housing, retail outlets, and park spaces.

If you are interested in learning more about the future of the BioPark or the great work being done there today, there is an open happy hour (called Science in the City) the last Thursday of every month. Registration is required, so please email events@umbiopark.com if you plan to attend.

Randy Rippin, President of RTR Technologies  and his team explain how people, skills, resources, infrastructure, and other information can be evaluated and analyzed to project complex operational requirements before implementation begins or optimize existing processes.

How did RTR Technologies get started?

The business started in 2003 with three partners myself, Reed Rippin, and Earl Thies – three technical guys starting out in the basement and able to acquire a customer within three months.  After six months, we were notified and allowed to enter an incubator in Harford County.  Now we have grown to approximately 35 people with home office space in Aberdeen, MD.  We also have space in Roslyn, Va to service our homeland security customer in addition to Lexington Park, MD to service our Navy customer.

The work that we do has to do with discrete modeling and simulation.  It’s an analysis tool that allows you to evaluate questions that are typically difficult to answer because there are so many variables.  It allows you to probabalistically look into the future and ask questions about existing systems.

What tools do you use to translate the vast amount of data collected?

One of the things that we pride ourselves on is the ability to develop tools internally.  We have some really good modelers and simulators as well as  software developers to create the tools that we need.  One of the tools we are currently developing – Simport 3D allows us to take the results of the model and present them in a way that the user can understand change.

What is the benefit of simulation over traditional methods of delivering captured data?

Instead of delivering analytical results by spreadsheets with explanations, our goal is to deliver better value to our customer by visualizing our results in a 3D environment.  It’s something different when you can see and experience it.  What we have found is that our customers were concerned with seeing the model results or the effect of applying different scenarios in real time.   It was also important for customers to see the facility design in an environment that they could spin around.

 Check out the video with a demonstration of Simport 3D.