Managing Design: Talking with Jim Heppelmann, Parametric Technology’s Incoming CEO

Parametric Technology Corporation, better known as PTC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PMTC]]), is one of the leading companies in Boston’s “3D design cluster”—the group of companies focusing on computer-aided design (CAD) software for the construction, engineering, architecture, and manufacturing sectors. Back in May, Needham, MA-based PTC announced that its current president and CEO, Dick Harrison, will become the … Continue reading “Managing Design: Talking with Jim Heppelmann, Parametric Technology’s Incoming CEO”

The Greater Boston 3D Design Cluster

In the movie 21, three MIT students who know their math go to Las Vegas and play blackjack. Eventually they get thrown out, after nearly breaking the bank at the casinos’ card tables. Well, as we’ve reported before, it’s a true story. And one of the three MIT geniuses was Jon Hirschtick, who invested his … Continue reading “The Greater Boston 3D Design Cluster”

What’s Next in New England? Just Take a Look at the MITX Technology Award Winners

Yesterday evening, it was time again for the MITX Technology Awards. This was the seventh time the yearly awards were handed out by the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange, an organization of 7,500 New England professionals in the Internet business and marketing field. Winners were announced in eleven categories, in addition to several “Best of” … Continue reading “What’s Next in New England? Just Take a Look at the MITX Technology Award Winners”

What U.S. Manufacturers Can Learn from Europe—One Reporter’s Perspective

On March 29 MIT arranged a round table seminar entitled “The Future of Manufacturing Innovation—Advanced Technologies.” The seminar focused on technological advances that could spur manufacturing in the U.S. MIT president Susan Hockfield opened the afternoon by reflecting on the status of the U.S. as a manufacturing nation. “Many Americans tend to believe that hardly … Continue reading “What U.S. Manufacturers Can Learn from Europe—One Reporter’s Perspective”

Difra Thinks Different about House Design and Construction

Wouldn’t it be great to design and build your own personal house, real cheap? It may sound like a dream, but not for much longer. Difra, a Cambridge, MA, company co-founded by graduates of MIT, is working hard to fulfill this ambition. Their idea is to use computer-aided design and manufacturing software (CAD-CAM) to model … Continue reading “Difra Thinks Different about House Design and Construction”

MIT’s NextLab: Designing Technology for the Next Billion Mobile Phone Owners

Fighting illiteracy in Indian villages; facilitating local health reporting in Mexico; creating a mobile logistics app for truck drivers in Colombia. These may sound like projects run by a big non-governmental organization like the United Nations Development Program, but in fact they are three examples of MIT NextLab projects run mainly by MIT students and … Continue reading “MIT’s NextLab: Designing Technology for the Next Billion Mobile Phone Owners”

For Biotech and Pharma, Emerging Markets Offer Great Potential and Require New Strategies, Panelists Say

Emerging markets present an important opportunity for U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. This was one of the take-home messages from the annual MIT Sloan BioMedical BioInnovations conference, which drew about 250 people to the Marriot Hotel in Cambridge last Friday. In a panel discussion, Jonathan Fleming, the managing general partner of Oxford Bioscience Partners, said … Continue reading “For Biotech and Pharma, Emerging Markets Offer Great Potential and Require New Strategies, Panelists Say”

Forget Business Plans—Go for Market and Passion, Say Investors

MIT’s Kirsch Auditorium was filled to its last seat as over 300 people showed up at the MIT Enterprise Forum Wednesday evening. The topic: “Accelerating Startup Growth: Seed Funding, Incubation and Mentorship Models.” “You don’t know what you don’t know when you start a company for the first time,” said Laura Fitton, the founder of … Continue reading “Forget Business Plans—Go for Market and Passion, Say Investors”