Here are some of the stories we covered this week.
Brookings has issued a report suggesting that maybe we’re looking at STEM education the wrong way. Spoiler alert: It’s not all about 4-year engineering degrees. For the complete story, go here.
In shopping news, MatrikonOPC has acquired OPC Unified Architecture (UA) Software Development Kit (SDK) software technology from Embedded Labs Ltd., the world's leading provider of the technology. MatrikonOPC hopes this purchase will put it at the forefront of the emerging device-to-enterprise open data connectivity segment. For the whole story, go here.
Meanwhile, ABB announced that it wants to acquire Dynamotive Ltd. U.K.-based Dynamotive designs, commissions and upgrades systems of drives, controls and motors. ABB expects the acquisition to expand its service offering in low- and medium-voltage drives and motors. The full story is here. And on the other side of the planet, Invensys has acquired the SmartGlance mobile reporting product of Sarla Analytics, LLC, a privately held company headquartered in Barrington, R.I. The SmartGlance product will be part of the Invensys Wonderware portfolio of software product offerings. See more here.
Thursday was a bad day at Williams Olefins in Geismar, La. In a massive explosion, one person was killed and 77 injured, although most of them have already been released from the hospital. The cause of the blast is presently undetermined.
In the lighter side of the news, LEGOs do the London Underground. London Underground signage is iconic in the design community, and LEGOs only make it better. The LEGO maps are part of the 150th anniversary celebration of “The Tube.”
Speaking of travel, our friends at Invensys offer some helpful tips for road warriors worried about having their electronics hacked while they’re on the road. It originally comes from a site for working journalists, but the tips make sense for anyone who spends a lot of time on the road. Clip and Save.
For your doing-well-by-doing-good story of the week, here's a report on how Panera makes its "pay what you can" policy at some of its sandwich shops work.
And finally, our favorite picture of the week. All the noise you heard coming from the southwestern corner of Lake Michigan Wednesday night wasn't just related to the Blackhawks' triple-overtime win over the Boston Bruins in the first game of the Stanley Cup finals. We were also in the middle of what we like to think of here as a "weather disturbance"; i.e., massive rain, lightening, thunder and hail storm. Here's what Chicago looked like. For the tourists among you, the building taking the direct hit is the tower formerly known as "Sears" (aka, "the Willis Tower")
