The next time you stroll into Starbucks for your favorite brew, enjoy a meal at Panera Bread or relax at a Marriott Hotel, take a look around at the woodwork. That’s right; there’s something special about the flooring, wall cladding, and wood accents that you’ll find in these locations and…
Imagine a plant with the strength of a tree that can yield two mature crops in one growing season versus the decades it takes a tree to grow to maturity. It can then be used for everything from industrial textiles to cooking to makeup products and beyond. It may seem…
In the course of your day, how much do you use technology? If you’re like most people, a cell phone, tablet, laptop, and personal assistant device like Alexa are usually within reach. Technology also spills over into our work lives. Whether you work for a mom and pop shop or…
Right now, as you read this, there are hackers hard at work trying to infiltrate everything from bank accounts to medical records to top-secret Department of Defense files. As you go about your day, the threat is present. In the business world, size isn’t a safeguard against hackers either. Small…
Have you ever had trouble sleeping and reached for a warm mug of chamomile tea or made a point to soak up a few minutes of sun because you know vitamin D is good for you? Perhaps you’ve inherited a longstanding family tradition of using an herbal salve on a…
Where does a Navy Seal go with an idea to improve the treatment of critical wounds on the battlefield? How do you ensure one-hundred percent accuracy of a guided missile? What can you do to make sure critical components can withstand the extreme environment of outer space? All of these…
*Please note: There’s been an exciting update to the Blue Ridge Bucha story. Please read the entire article for the full story.* Over a decade ago, Ethan Zuckerman started an interesting hobby. He began homebrewing kombucha, a fermented tea that’s flavored and served cold. Kombucha is heralded as a lower-…
When Brian Mininger was a kid, something exciting happened in his Waynesboro neighborhood – a construction crew began working on his street. To many, this may seem like an ordinary, even unnoteworthy scene, but young Brian was fascinated. He’d rush through breakfast and make his way to the site, passing…
Cael Kendall’s lifelong sustainability journey has landed under the soaring beams of a heavy-timber warehouse in Waynesboro, Virginia. But once, it began in the mists of the coastal Rocky Mountains, in the old growth forests of British Columbia. Born into an era of clearcutting booms, Cael spent his childhood watching…
Inventing the Perfect Bagel When Janet Dob wanted to invent a bagel that could build a better world, she had a few things in mind: healthy and nutritious food, a worthy business plan, and a winning strategy to avoid the up-before-the-sun hours of traditional bakeries. Fortunately, Janet loves a good…