Influent | Technology in Motion

SAN JOSE, CA – A thermal management hot spot, the mission of the IEEE Semiconductor Thermal Management, Modeling and Measurement Symposium(SEMI-THERM) is to provide an annual forum for the exchange of the latest technical developments in thermal management of electronic devices, components and systems. Held March 15th-19th, this year’s Semi-Therm features over 45 exhibitors and additional technical presentations on the latest thermal management progress in both academic and commercial sectors.

Semi-Therm Exibitors

Featured sessions include a luncheon hosted by Chandrakant Patel, Fellow and Director of HP’s Sustainable Ecosystems Lab regarding Sustainable Information Technology Ecosystems. Another highlight of the week, a tutorial from Kevin Skadron, of the University of Virginia, entitled Making Sense of Recent Research in Temperature-Aware Design.

Thermal Management Software Exibit

This is all well and good, but why am I here? I am serving as a representative of Influent while acting as a sponge, soaking up the thermal management community. I am truly interested to discover what makes this community ‘tick’. Everyone I meet seems extremely close-knit, aware of each other’s accomplishments and open to learning. I found myself giving a large amount of impromptu presentations about Influent’s technology and receiving very positive feedback. Many comments validated that the limitations of fans and other conventional cooling solutions and the need for a ‘new approach’ technology like Influent’s. I also ran across a particular vendor that could be a powerful partner for accelerating Influent’s modeling capabilities. MacroFlow would allow Influent to create system-level thermal design analysis without intensive CFD modeling, greatly reducing the lead time necessary when designing new components and products.

Attendance of Semi-Therm validates that this event is an ideal venue for Influent to become more involved. The conference draws the world’s most notable figures in thermal management and provides a forum to present new ideas. Look out for Influent’s exhibit next year!

The academic resources, concentrated community of engineers, and highly skilled former HP executives drew Influent to house its operational arm, SynnOps, LLC, in Corvallis, OR. But wait, there’s more. Based upon a 2009 study released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Green Power Communities Program, Corvallis is also officially the ‘greenest’ city in America. According to the EPA, the city of 55,000, about 90 minutes from Portland, purchases 13 percent of its electricity from environmentally-friendly sources, or more than 100 million kilowatts (100,000 megawatts). The city’s power suppliers are comprised of Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Consumers Power and Pacific Power.

Downtown Corvallis, Oregon

Influent was attracted to the intellectual resources in Corvallis, but now the unique city is also the preeminent eco-friendly community. Could there be a better place to harvest resources for a cleantech startup? We don’t think so. As we continue to pursue the development of clean, energy efficient, breakthrough solutions; we are excited to further our relationship with SynnOps, LLC and the greater Corvallis community.

More information on the members of SynnOps, LLC.

To add more fuel to the fire check out these Corvallis accolades:

• On February 18, 2008, Corvallis was named the fifth smartest city in America by Forbes Online Magazine.
• A survey by the National Science Foundation found Corvallis ranks second in the nation for the number of scientists as a percentage of total employment (12.7 percent) as of 2006.
• The February 2004 issue of the Harvard Business Review ranks Corvallis as the 15th most creative city in the nation.
• Corvallis ranked fourth in nation for the highest number of patents issued by city (USA Today, 2002.)
• Corvallis ranked 7th out of about 500 U.S. cities for best places to do business (BizDemographics, 2002.)