Cal Ripken Jr.'s youth STEM mission

Newsletter for May 22, 2024

Today I'm highlighting a new op-ed from maybe the most famous person I've ever published. Orioles legend-turned-businessman and philanthropist Cal Ripken Jr. wrote for us about his family's foundation and its fast-moving work to launch more STEM centers in schools across the country. Today's newsletter also features news about recent state funding to a local education/manufacturing company, as well as info on two statewide projects — one of which could help your company find its next intern.

Check it all out below, and have an excellent Memorial Day Weekend! I'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday and Thursday before moving back to the Monday/Wednesday schedule the following week.

— Sameer, Technical.ly editor for Baltimore and DC

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by My NEXT RAISE, the newest offering from NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers. The investor readiness platform launches in beta next quarter, and 250 founders will be selected to participate, getting free access for a year — over $2,000 in value. Find out more and sign up here.

Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr.'s impact on the Baltimore region goes far beyond his stake in the Os. Last month, the family foundation he cofounded and named after his late father opened its 500th STEM center for schoolchildren at Lansdowne Middle School in Halethorpe. Ripken wrote about these centers, which will continue expand throughout the country, in a new opinion essay.

"We're thrilled that our programs help develop the next generation of STEM experts and the future tech workforce," Ripken Jr. writes. "We know the value of students gaining knowledge, skills and confidence in these fields."

➡️ Learn more in iconic #8's new guest post here.

Maryland recently supported FutureMakers' pivot into manufacturing with a five-figure grant to help the local hands-on-learning company incorporate robotics.

Launched in 2011, FutureMakers continues to focus on creating playful and educational experiences for young people, but now also creates engineering kits for learners in preK-8th grade. The Baltipreneurs and Conscious Venture Lab alum received $25,000 through the Department of Commerce's Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 program, which funds manufacturing facilities' transition to automation and digitization.

The company will use the money to pilot a collaborative robot that can help make these educational tools.

"Now we can pilot material handling tasks — loading and unloading laser cutting machines — with a manufacturing cobot that is easy to teach, can be moved to support different production cells, and is super safe to work alongside," said CEO Matt Barinholtz.

➡️ See who else won manufacturing grants across Maryland.

• $700,000 from Gov. Wes Moore's commerce budget is helping the UMBC-HQed Maryland Technology Internship Program double its impact. See if MTIP could help your company get a summer intern. [Technical.ly]

• Leaders of the Digital Harbor Foundation and NasaClip are among the 41 nominees for the Maryland Tech Council's 2024 ICON Awards, which take place tomorrow. [Technical.ly]

• A quartet of class-action lawsuits accuses Columbia-based MedStar Health of not doing enough to prevent a data breach that affected over 183,000 people. [Baltimore Biz Journal]

• Mayor Brandon Scott's office dropped "Downtown RISE: A 10-Year Vision" today. The joint effort between the city and Gov. Moore's administration, as well as the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and other partners, builds on prior work to develop a long-term plan for Downtown's vitality and accessibility. [Mayor's Office]

• Local universities' innovation programs were especially active these last few weeks. Towson's StarTUp program announced its latest cohort, while Johns Hopkins awarded hundreds of thousands to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge, President's Venture Fellows and Fuel and Social Innovation Lab cohorts. [Towson/Johns Hopkins]

• Newsweek recognized b.Well Connected Health as one of the world's best health companies of 2024. [Newsweek]