Month: May 2017

Federal Court Holds Hobby Drone Users Need Not Register Their Drones

On Friday, May 19, 2017 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of a drone hobbyist who had challenged the legality of the FAA’s drone-registration program.

Previously, the FAA required hobby drone owners to register their drones through a website for a $5 fee. Drone hobbyists were then issued a unique identification, which they were required to mark on their drones.

The court held that the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama, “codified the FAA’s longstanding hands-off approach to the regulation of model aircraft.” That rule provides that the FAA “may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.”

While the court’s decision applies to hobby users, it does not apply to commercial drone users.

Magnuss—Wind Propulsion for Maritime Shipping—Saving Fuel, Money and Emissions

The global shipping industry is practically invisible to most people. But in fact, it is a huge industry and one of the biggest emitters of Greenhouse Gases in the world. If it were a country, its CO2e emissions would rank #6.

Magnuss is preparing to slash those emissions and cut costs by applying tested and proved technology with some high-tech additions. Its secret? Rotating, retractable cylindrical sails on ocean-going vessels.  
 
The Magnuss VOSS (Vertically-variable Ocean Sail System) sails are not your ordinary “billowing sheets” sails. Arguably the most powerful sail ever conceived, the Magnuss VOSS is a 100-foot tall, spinning, hollow, metal cylinder that propels a ship, thereby enabling the ship’s main engine to be throttled back while maintaining voyage speed.
 
Magnuss delivers three benefits: (i) fuel savings of 20-35% on average and up to 50%, for an industry breaking its back to save 2-4%, (ii) a differentiated means to reduce carbon emissions in the face of tightening regulation, and (iii) a patented and class-approved design of proven technology applied in a different way to meet the needs of global shipping today.
 
It is important to note that fuel is costly and represents a high percentage (60-80%) of a bulk cargo ship’s operating costs, and, to repeat: the shipping industry ranks among the world’s largest producers of carbon emissions.
      
———————————————————————————– 
 
Register at the GIF Eventbrite page: Greentech Investors Forum, May 12, 2017
Or contact Gelvin at gelvin.stevenson@gmail.com.
———————————————————- 
Currently, Magnuss is looking to close a $2.7 million angel round of common equity shortly on the heels of strong interest.  Proceeds from the remainder of the raise are for ongoing engineering, ship integration classification, strategic partnerships, international patent expansion as well as ongoing company operations. 
 
The company is preparing to cut steel on a full scale, commercially-available product.  Importantly, the following boxes have been checked: proof of concept verified, patents issued, tech design complete, class approval obtained, market acceptance validated, first commercial unit positioned for fabrication and purchase order in hand.
 
Magnuss will use those funds to install two to five sails aboard the largest ships in the world, including dry bulk carriers and tankers. They expect the customers to recoup the cost in just 3-5 years.
 
These savings have been validated by independent 3rd party NGOs, including Sir Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room and the Sustainable Shipping Initiative.
 
——————————————————————————
Disclaimer: The Greentech Investors Forum (GIF) is not soliciting funds for the presenting companies, nor is it encouraging parties to invest in them.  We try to find good companies — not necessarily good investments.  They have been advised on what is acceptable in terms of predicted results, but GIF takes no responsibility for what they actually do, say, or how they perform in the future.
——————————————————————————-
 
First developed by Anton Flettner in 1926, the application of this technology for shipping was shown to be highly effective. The standard Flettner rotor is a spinning, hollow, metal column installed on a ship’s deck that converts wind into forward thrust, roughly perpendicular to the direction of the wind, by the physical principle called the Magnus effect.
 
The Magnuss VOSS is a vastly improved version of the Flettner rotor design, serving today’s shipping industry with a number of patented innovations. The chief difference and advantage of the VOSS is that it can be retracted and stowed below deck, out of the way. The signature transformable configuration is important when loading/unloading in port and for reducing drag in unsuitable conditions.
 
———————————————————————————————————–
 
To register, visit Greentech Investors Forum, this Eventbrite site, or send your contact information to Gelvin Stevenson at gelvin.stevenson@gmail.com or 917-599-6089.  Please contact Gelvin If you have questions or need more information.

AU Drone Club Helps Careers Take Off

Saxon Fly (Alfred University’s Drone Club) consistently serves as a teaching vehicle to train its members in leadership, project management, and business/entrepreneurship skills by using drone technology for:

Importantly, the club also serves to help Alfred University students obtain internships to jump start their careers.  In his own words, Jason St. John, the club’s incoming President shares the following personal experience:

“This spring I accepted an internship at IGNITEU in Albany NY, where I will help their staff launch and run their accelerator program and other related activities.

I had my first interview with IGNITEU in early April 2017 over the phone.  In that initial interview I talked about some of my work experiences, and the student clubs that I am a part of on the AU campus. The drone club came up in conversation when they asked if I had any leadership or entrepreneurial experience. I talked about the struggles and successes we have had with the club over the past 2 years of getting it to where it is today. In this interview, we talked about the club for roughly 15 minutes of the 40-minute interview.

In my follow up video conference interview with them I was introduced to the boss I would be working for in the summer if I received the internship position. We got about 20 minutes into the interview when they brought up the drone club and wanted me to share more of my experiences with it.  This was a sigh of relief for me because I can talk about the drone club for hours.  The topic of the drone club ended up taking about 30 minutes of my entire interview. They were fascinated not only by the drones, but that we as college students are attempting to harness this technology and form a business out of it. They loved the entrepreneurial spirit that the drone club has given me and I believe the interview went great.”

Go Saxons!

Go Saxon Fly!

Alfred University Student VITA Volunteers: Tax Season 2017

Congratulations to those Alfred University students who collectively volunteered more than 100 hours of their time providing free federal and state income tax filing services to our neighbors in Allegany County and Steuben County as part of the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA).

Alfred University partners with the Allegany County United Way, and with Southern Tier CA$H of Steuben County to help qualifying taxpayers file their federal and state income tax returns for free – VITA is a vital economic service in our region.