Author: Matthew Harris

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University of Memphis Researchers Awarded Key Patents

The University of Memphis’ Office of Technology Transfer, housed out of the Division of Research & Innovation, received word that a number of patents submitted have been allowed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as internationally in Australia, Japan, and China.

Dipankar Dasgupta, a professor in Computer Science at the U of M and director of the Center for Information Assurance, was the lead designer on the patent, with assistance from Roy Arunava, Ghosh Debasis, and Kumar Nag Abhijit.

The patent, which is for “Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication System with Multi-User Permission Strategy to Access Sensitive Information,” allows admin users the ability to give different permissions to other users based on their positions in a network. The goal of this system is to allow companies and government entities more control when handling sensitive data.

“Classified data breach and sensitive information leakage continues to be a major concern,” says Dasgupta. “We need a robust auditing mechanism of such information access, and the novelty of this innovation lies in combining adaptive multi-factor authentication to verify identity of the user and permission-based user access to sensitive information, providing end-to-end non-repudiated accountability in cyber systems.” 

The University of Memphis and SweetBio Inc. also received patent allowances from Australia and Japan, and an issued patent from China for their work in tissue regeneration. The patent for “Compositions and Methods for Enhancing Healing and Regeneration of Bone and Soft Tissue” lists Gary Bowlin, a professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Isaac Rodriguez, a former postdoctoral fellow in Biomedical Engineering and co-founder and chief science officer at SweetBio Inc., as the named inventors.

The patent outlines a technique in which soft and hard tissue could be regenerated using polymer, honey, and a synthetic filler. The invention is currently being commercialized by SweetBio, Inc. for wound-care applications.

“Honey has been used for millennia as a topical, short term, yet slightly messy material to treat wounds,” Says Rodriguez “These newly granted patents push the boundaries of how honey can be used for tissue regeneration both outside and inside the body.” 

More information on these patents as well as other work done by the Office of Technology Transfer can be found at the University of Memphis’ website.

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Music Music Blog

New App, Ode Audio, is a Tribute to Black Memphis Music

Ode Audio CEO Howard Robertson (left) and Matthew Harris (Flyer)

If there’s one thing that Memphis knows, it’s music, and Ode Audio is looking to reinforce that fact. A broadcasting group that focuses on the curation of Black radio, podcasts, and music, Ode Audio plans to launch its mobile phone app this spring. The Memphis Flyer spoke with CEO Howard Robertson about his connection to the music industry, the formation of Ode Audio, and his hopes for the future.

Memphis Flyer: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your relationship with Memphis, music, and radio.

Howard Robertson: I’m a native Memphian, born and raised in Memphis during the 50s and 60s and I’m quite proud of that, because that was ground zero and basically the center of the universe if you were young and African American. There were so many things happening here from a musical, cultural, civil rights, and human rights standpoint. I could not have wished, or hoped, or planned to be raised at a better time, or in a better place than Memphis, Tennessee. I had always loved radio as a kid, and grew up listening to WDIA and WLOK. I didn’t know it at the time, but WDIA was the first Black format radio station in America. And that’s what I decided I wanted to do.

One thing that sounds important to you is your sense of pride in the African American community in Memphis. How has that feeling translated into audio?

I was fortunate enough to grow up here and was always exposed to Black excellence and Black entrepreneurs. So that exposure to business came from Memphis. I had an opportunity to see people do things that had never been done before. So having the opportunity to be exposed to that kind of excellence and entrepreneurial excellence, gave me a lot of confidence. I had long since been able to make a living from my ideas and imagination. And that’s how I came up with Ode Audio.

Where did you come up with the name?

Ode Audio has a dual meaning. First, it’s an acronym that stands for “our digital entertainment.” And secondly, the word ode, by definition, means a musical or poetic tribute to something or someone, and in this particular case, Ode is a musical tribute to Black music, Black culture, and Black radio. It speaks in two ways to what we’re trying to accomplish.

Your website says that you want to focus on not just Black radio and Black podcasts, but also on Black culture. What are some of the ways that you’re going to promote that through your new app?

We’re going to do that by being a conduit, being the linkage between music, news, and culture. What we’re going to do is to give an opportunity to pull things together. For example, where does where the National Urban League prize podcast live? Where does the NAACP’s podcast live? Other organizations that are significant contributors to Black people and culture, where does that information live? We’re going to be able to tie it all in because it really has no other place to live. Each group has its own website, but there is not a kind of a central repository, a one-stop-shop for Black information entertainment, and culture, and all of that.

Ode Audio will be launching its flagship app sometime this spring. More information on the app and its message can be found on the organization’s website.

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Skate Park in Raleigh Brings Life to the Community

CREDIT: OT Marshall Architects

OT Marshall Architects

When the aging Raleigh Springs Mall was pegged for renovations, Tom Marshall, CEO of OT Marshall Architects, was excited to take on a project in an area that was near and dear to his heart.

A Raleigh native, he remembered the initial construction of the old mall.

“I’m from Raleigh and as an architect, I remember riding my bicycle to the mall and watching the construction. It was the largest thing being built in my day, so it was an exciting thing,” says Marshall. “The mall was sort of the community icon. It’s where we all went to enjoy ourselves, where we went to meet our friends.”

Marshall and the City of Memphis launched planning and construction on the new Raleigh Springs Civic Center in 2018. A lot of care went into retaining the community feel that the former mall had brought to the neighborhood.

Shops were replaced with a public library that doubles as a communal meeting place. A trail and lake were also created to provide a safe place to walk. But the defining feature of the Civic Center is its skate park.

Designed by world-renowned skate park developers Wormhoudt, the skate park sits at one end of the lake and attracts a myriad of faces. And while the park has become a neighborhood staple for  youth, the idea was initially pushed for by the elderly residents of Raleigh.

“The Raleigh Community Council realized that the future rests with the youth, and so they wanted to bring diversity to the area,” explains Marshall. “This is probably one of Memphis’ most diverse areas. There’s a large number of African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic Americans that come to the skate park. Young and old as well.”

OT Marshall Architects

Before renovations, local skaters would use the mall as an impromptu hang-out spot. In doing so, they would bump into elderly members of the Raleigh community that used the area as a walking trail. “It was the older folks that in the community center that said, ‘Hey, we need to give those poor kids a real place to skate,’” says Marshall.

“There was a lot of communication between folks that that were inhabiting the mall for the purposes of their morning or afternoon walks and the skateboarders,” he continues, “and so we wanted to design something that integrated both.”

Patrick Tionloc, a local skater that came to Memphis from the Philippines, say that he likes how the park gives skaters in Raleigh a place to call their own.

“I got into skating when I was in college in the Philippines, but I stopped skating when I got into the states because I didn’t know there was a skate park in Memphis,” he says. “I like that now there is a place that’s really easy for the beginners who want to get into skating or for people that are experienced.”

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CHOICES New Executive Director Brings a Vision to Reproductive Health

CREDIT: CHOICES

CHOICES

Jennifer Pepper takes over as CHOICES’ new executive director.


CHOICES, a nonprofit comprehensive care clinic, introduced new executive director Jennifer Pepper in a press release this week. Pepper, a Rhodes College graduate and longtime Memphian, said that her journey into reproductive health and began at a young age. Growing up, Pepper’s mom never shied away from discussing sex or reproductive health at length. And that got awkward.

“My mom was the cool mom, which was just completely embarrassing at the time,” she said. “I remember she rented a video from the public library about HIV and AIDS prevention and she made me and my group of friends watch this video. I just remember being absolutely mortified that I was being forced to do this with my middle school friends.”

But Pepper’s knowledge of reproductive rights and health led her to an internship at Planned Parenthood during her second year at Rhodes. The internship crystallized her appreciation of the educational side of reproductive health. While at Rhodes, she began helping other educators prepare for their sessions and going out into the community with the educators to observe. Pepper even began creating her own training documents while still a student.

“For my senior project at Rhodes,” she said, “I designed an HIV prevention curriculum. That curriculum helped me get my very first job out of Rhodes, at Le Bonheur doing HIV prevention education. That’s really where I spent the first part of my career — doing HIV prevention and testing.”

At Le Bonheur, Pepper spent time visiting drug rehab clinics, nursing homes, and prisons to teach about safe sex practices. After four years Pepper went to work full time for a then-smaller CHOICES as their patient educator, eventually leading to her writing the first grant that CHOICES applied for. It still makes her smile.

“I feel like I’ve really grown up with CHOICES, and in a lot of ways it’s my dream job. So, I’m really excited to be here.”

After leaving CHOICES in 2013 to lead the Memphis Ryan White Program with the Shelby County Government, Pepper went to back school to get her masters of business to further her career in the non-profit field before rejoining the group in 2018 as director of finance and operations.

“I had seen through my 10-plus years in the nonprofit field there were lots of people who wanted to help people and have really good intentions. And there was this lack of business acumen. So I figured that was something I could bring to the table.”

Pepper steps into CHOICES at a pivotal time. At the state level, the ACLU of Tennessee is fighting multiple cases that would shake up the reproductive health landscape in the state, affecting CHOICES and the way its comprehensive health clinic operates. Despite complications from the state level, Pepper says CHOICES will continue to put the individual first.

“We want to serve people throughout their lifespan. Because the person that needs birth control today might want to have a baby next year, and they might need an abortion in five years, or vice versa. You should be able to come to the same place where providers care about you and are empowering you to get those services.”

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Interim U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee Named

Joseph “Joe” Murphy Jr.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joseph “Joe” Murphy Jr. succeeded former United States attorney D. Michael Dunavant this morning as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. Per precedent, Dunavant stepped down from the position following the change of federal administration.

The Memphis resident was able to naturally assume Dunavant’s former position due to a clause in the Vaccines Reform Act, which allows the First Assistant to the office to become the office’s acting officer. Murphy is a graduate of Lambuth College and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Murphy has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Memphis office since 1989.

Prior to being named first assistant, Murphy served as the office’s criminal chief and as chief of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force. During his career, Murphy has tried approximately 125 felony cases to verdict in U.S. District courts. He has also represented the government in over 200 cases litigated before the United States Court of Appeals.

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Local CodeCrew Students Win National Awards

CodeCrew, a local nonprofit that works to empower children and adults to be tech innovators and leaders, announced that several of their students were accepted into the TED-Ed Student Talks Program and placed first in Tennessee’s Congressional App Challenge.

Johnathan Sherrill and Jayda Murray were accepted into the TED-Ed Student Talks Program as well as the Raising Good Gamer program. TED-Ed and Raising Good Gamers recently partnered to gain insights from young people on video game culture and how the medium can be used for change.

Johnathan and Jayda are two of only 30 high school students worldwide to be selected for the TED-Ed student talks program. The program will culminate with the opportunity for five of the 30 students to receive support from TED-Ed coaches for a speaking engagement at the 2021 Games for Change Festival, which will take place July 12th-14th.

Jayda Murray

Johnathan, Jayda, and her sister, Anaya, also placed first in Tennessee’s Congressional App Challenge. The Congressional App Challenge is for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science.

Johnathan Sherrill

Johnathan, Jayda, and Anaya won with their app. Walk In My Shoes: Raising Awareness and Change, was created as a way to allow others to go through a day in the life of a middle-class Black man and show the impact of micro-aggressions and racism from a first-person view. Their app and the other winners’ apps will be displayed in the Capitol building and be featured on the House of Representatives’ website. The winning students are also invited to the House of Code Capitol Hill Reception in Washington, D.C.

The CodeCrew team received both local and regional praise for their accomplishments. Meka Egwuekwe, executive director for CodeCrew, said, “We are so proud of all Johnathan, Jayda, and Anaya have accomplished and learned while with CodeCrew.” U.S. Representative Steve Cohen also extended words of congratulations, writing “I admire your efforts to help others understand the experiences and struggles of their fellow Americans in a time when compassion and understanding is critically important … I look forward to seeing where the future takes you.”

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Duo Charged in Darknet Drug Sting

Photo by Markus Spiske

Two Texas men have been charged in the Western District of Tennessee for their alleged participation in a drug distribution conspiracy perpetrated over the Darknet. In conjunction with the arrests, the government seized more than $5 million in assets alleged to be connected to the drug trafficking activity.

Comprising around 30% of internet space, the Darknet is not as nefarious as it sounds. The section of the internet is typically comprised of small or hard to find websites. While something in the Clearnet (what most people would think of when we think of the internet) is easily searchable, something in the Darknet would often rely on a contact, or prior knowledge of how to find what you want.

Kevin Ombisi, 31, and Eric Russell Jr., 35, were both charged following allegations that the pair had been selling pills marketed as Adderall on the encrypted messaging service Wicker. Ombisi was charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of unlawful distribution. Russel Jr. has been charged with one count of conspiracy.

The pair would use Wicker to organize payments, and then send pills to addresses in the Western District of Tennessee, as well as parts of Kansas and Missouri. The accused used Bitcoin as payment rather than traditional methods to remain under the radar.

Though the alleged pills were said to be Adderall, they were found to contain methamphetamine instead. Investigators made the discovery after a number of undercover purchases, used to build grounds for a case.

Because of the difficulty in accessing portions of the Darknet, it has often been used as a hub for illicit and illegal activities. Due to this, many state and Federal entities have propped up their own web-specific divisions to combat this trend.

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Memphis Leads Nation as Most Stressed-Out City Nationwide

Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

On the tail of a rather stressful 2020, a report from RetailMeNot found that Memphis was the city with the most stressed-out citizens nationwide.

RetailMeNot found that nationwide, those in the Southeast scored the highest across the board in terms of stress. In Memphis, 17.9 percent of the population reported having poor mental health and 17.6 percent reported poor physical health, trumping the national average of 12.9 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively. Memphis also had an alarmingly high poverty rate that spiked at 21.7 percent, nearly double the national average of 12.3 percent.

Memphians were also found to have trouble sleeping and taking leisure time outside of work. 47.8 percent of Memphians reported sleeping less than seven hours a night, and 35.5 percent stated that they had no time for leisure. On the national scale, 36.2 percent of the population reported sleeping less than seven hours a night, and 23.6 percent stated that they had no time for leisure.

According to the report, chronic stress disturbs the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, sleep, and reproductive systems, and increases susceptibility to serious conditions like heart disease and diabetes. To score the various U.S. cities, researchers factored in mental and physical health, housing costs, poverty rates, and health insurance coverage to develop a unique stress score.

Though Memphis fared worse than others nationwide, the RetailMeNot report shows that the general level of stress across the nation was higher than average. While the report does not mention specific factors as the sole reason, it does state that complications stem from COVID-19, transitioning to work, and schooling.

To see where other states stack up, read the full report on RetailMeNot’s website.

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TDOT Releases Aviation Economic Impact Report

CREDIT: Source: Tennessee Department of Transportation

Source: Tennessee Department of Transportation

Aviation is a key part of Tennesse’s annual GDP

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has released the results of a year-long Statewide Aviation Economic Impact Study. The report, which began as a partnership between Kimley-Horn and TDOT, zeros in on the economic impact of public-use airports statewide.

In the report TDOT revealed that public-use airports contribute $40 billion to the state’s economy, comprising 11 percent of Tennessee’s GDP. Around $12 billion annually is brought in by the airports throughout the state with visitors spending comprising $8.6 billion annually. The vast majority of the $40 billion in revenue comes in the form of freight and cargo, which makes up a little over $19.2 billion.

“A safe, secure, efficient, and resilient aviation system is essential to our state’s physical, economic, and social health,” said Michelle Frazier, director of TDOT’s Aeronautics Division. “This report recognizes aviation as a driver of the economy, including economic recovery.”

Throughout the state, TDOT found close to 7 million out-of-state visitors traveled through one of Tennessee’s 78 airports. The airport system statewide supports 220,936 jobs and 450 businesses.

“Tennessee’s 78 public-use airports are critical components of the state’s transportation network, linking and providing access to regional, national, and global transportation systems,” said TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright.

For their report TDOT divided the state into four sections. Memphis International Airport falls into region 4, which was the second most profitable out of the four total regions. The Memphis International Airport alone brought in $6.4 billion, while the General DeWitt Spain Airport in north Memphis brought in another $31.6 million for the state. The Memphis International Airport is also the nation’s busiest cargo airport due to housing FedEx’s Express Global Hub.

Memphis International Airport is undergoing a remodel and modernization project that would add in much-needed consolidation and structural improvements.

The full report can be read on TDOT’s website.

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New Ride-Share Service Headed to Memphis

CREDIT: Downtown Memphis Comission

Downtown Memphis Comission

Groove On-Demand will offer affordable ridesharing options to Memphians

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), Downtown Memphis Commission, and Memphis Medical District Collaborative have partnered to create a new transit service that will offer an alternative to Uber and Lyft in the city of Memphis. Called Groove On-Demand the dynamically routed public transit service will launch on the 10th of February.

The goal of the new service is to give to affordable, efficient, and convenient public transit for all riders in the greater Downtown Memphis area. In a statement, the partnership mentions Downtown Development and an increase in population as the basis for the creation of the program.

“Nearly three years ago, MATA was selected to receive free technical assistance to help develop mobility-on-demand projects such as this one,” said Gary Rosenfeld, chief executive officer at MATA. “The launch of Groove On-Demand is another opportunity for MATA to improve how people connect to their destinations using an on-demand-response service that transports riders directly from their doorstep to their destination. Another great benefit of this service is that it will greatly improve transit service to people who live in density-challenged neighborhoods.”

Groove On-Demand will work in a similar fashion to other ride-sharing services, with riders hailing a vehicle directly from their smartphone using the Groove On-Demand mobile app. Riders will be able to travel to any location within the service area from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. Rides will be similar to that of a bus trip starting at $1.25 and going up to $0.75 for each additional passenger. Concessions for seniors, students, and riders with disabilities are $0.50 per ride.

“Our work to create a ‘Downtown for Everyone’ includes increasing mobility options across this geography. Working with MATA and MMDC to provide equitable transit options in Downtown just makes sense. Whether you are a commuter, resident, patient, or student the new Groove On-Demand provides a low-cost shared-transit opportunity,” said Lauren Crabtree, transportation program manager at Downtown Memphis Commission.

“Additionally, increasing mobility choice is a core function of Downtown’s new Transportation Management Association or TMA. Providing an on-demand transit service like this a great start.”

As a part of their pledge to ensure accessibility for all riders, Groove On-Demand will provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles and booking for those without a smartphone by calling them directly at (901) 763-8422. For more information about Groove On-Demand visit their website.