Cincinnati

3DLT launches online 3D printing template market, gains national attention

By Newsroom

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May 7, 2013

3D printing is fast becoming an accessible, affordable way to create products, pieces and prototypes. Machine parts, toys and even jewelry can be printed quickly and with precision using 3D printing. A new Cincinnati company is leading in the industry—3DLT—an online marketplace where users can purchase and download 3D printer templates. Using home printers or 3DLT's printer network, users can print pre-designed products in a variety of materials—from plastic to metal and even leather. "We work with industrial designers across the world," says 3DLT's founder, Pablo Arellano, Jr. "They love to design, and we have them build these templates." Arellano launched 3DLT at TechCrunch Disrupt NY in early May. The Cincinnati native is working with a team of co-founders to get the company off the ground. Arellano has founded several other startups, and is a former Procter & Gamble brand manager. Arellano described the company as the iStockphoto of 3D printing. "I'm a big fan of iStockphoto," he says. "I thought the next thing you can potentially download is 3D templates, and I wanted to be in that space. I've been working on this full-time for the past four months." 3DLT templates include bracelets, rings, mesh lampshades, eyeglass frames, shoes and iPhone 4S protectors. The self-funded company is beginning to seek investors. 3DLT already has gotten national attention, and has been featured in TechCrunch, Wired, The Verge, Fast Company, Venture Beat and Popular Science. It's also a winner of the 2012 X-LAB competition, and has moved into the new Cintrifuse incubator. Arellano believes most of the companies initial users will be commercial, but as 3D printer prices drop, more consumers will begin to print their own products. "The prices are dropping very quickly," he says. "It's already happening." By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Latest in Cincinnati

UC researchers develop smarter, solar-powered water filter

By Newsroom

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Environment + Sustainability

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May 7, 2013

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed tiny, solar-powered water filters that target and remove carcinogens and antibiotics from lakes and streams. These protein-based filters are smaller in diameter than a human hair, and work differently than current surface water filters that are made of activated carbon. Those carbon filters work much like the ones in home water filtration systems. "In Cincinnati, we have one of the largest activated carbon treatment facilities in the United States," says David Wendall, a faculty researcher and environmental engineering professor at UC. "But what the current filters do is bind a lot of different [non-dangerous] compounds; it will will coat the filter very quickly." UC's research was published in the "Nano Letters" journal. It showed the new filters absorbed 64 percent surface water antibiotics, compared to 40 percent absorbed by current filtering technology. The research is important because there is growing scientific evidence of harmful effects of the hormones and antibiotics that work their way into our lakes and streams. "We're starting to understand that birth control is feminizing fish, and antibiotics promote resistance in certain organisms," says Wendall. "It's what is contributing to superbugs that resist to antibiotic treatment. We're learning more about what happens when we dump antibiotics into the environment." Generally, the contaminates arrive in waterways from runoff through farms or when we flush or trash our medicines. "The main sources are from farms," Wendall says. "They put antibiotics in animal feed so they will grow fast and stay healthy. But some of their waste ends up in the rivers as runoff, where [the antibiotics] don't break down, and it ends up contaminating our water." The filter at UC was developed in 2010. Testing has proven successful in specifically targeting antibiotics and other harmful materials. Wendall describes the filters as "selective garbage disposals." Filtering ability is fueled by sunlight, and the filters actually preserve antibiotics in a way that famers can reuse if filters are recovered. The university's research is continuing to be tested and refined, Wendall says. But current work could be used practically in three to five years. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Local craftsman makes jewelry from old silverware

By Sean M. Peters

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Entrepreneurship

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May 7, 2013

Local craftsman Dave Behle and his wife Deb started Spoonin’ Jewelry soon after their retirement.

Video Bikes in the City

By Caroline Bozzi, Elese Daniel, Hunter Moore, Madison Schmidt

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Environment + Sustainability

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May 7, 2013

May is Bike Month, so what better way to celebrate than to share stories about local cyclists and why traveling on two wheels is their preferred method of travel? Video by Caroline Bozzi, Elese Daniel, Hunter Moore and Madison Schmidt of the University of Cincinnati.

Dangerous Neighborhoods: 25 Worst Focus on Single-Family Areas, Not Inner-Cities

By Newsroom

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Cincy In The News

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May 7, 2013

The Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati has dropped from the 25-worst list. It too, has been gentrified, says Andrew Schiller, PhD, founder and chief scientist of NeighborhoodScout. Schiller calls that neighborhood's transformation "a wonderful story." Read the full story here.

Library garners national attention, celebrates with Amnesty Day

By Newsroom

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Education + Learning

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May 7, 2013

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is one of 10 recipients out of 140,000 libraries and museums across the country to receive this year’s National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The award recognizes outstanding service to communities. So, in appreciation of library users and as a way to celebrate, the PLCHC will offer a Fine Amnesty Day May 15. “We really wanted something to express our appreciation to the community, and we started thinking about what is it that people hate most about the libraries—we all know that—the fines,” says Kim Fender, Eva Jane Romaine Coombe director. “I’ve been here 25 years, and we haven’t done this in my time here at all, but our hope is that people who have not used the library because of their fines come in and have those fines removed and come back to the library and get their cards started up again.” Fender says the library most likely wouldn’t have received the award without the support of the community, because the library’s heavy usage was one reason the Institute of Museum and Library Services was so impressed. With more than 17.6 million items borrowed in 2011, the PLCHC is considered the eighth-busiest library in the nation, and its commitment to providing academic assistance and encouragement to both children and adults is evident through the variety of programs it offers and successfully implements through its partnerships with other community-based organizations. Last summer, for example, the library partnered with Cincinnati Public Schools and the Freestore Foodbank to serve about 7,000 meals to children. “That’s something people don’t normally think of libraries doing,” Fender says. “But when they were in there eating, they could sign up for summer reading or programs.” Fender says the library staff also goes out of its way to make sure children are learning by actually attending school. “If we see kids in the building during school hours and we think they might be truant, we check up and say, ‘What school do you go to?’ and look at the school calendar, and we call someone from the school to let them know because they have to be in school to learn,” Fender says. Fender will travel to Washington, D.C. with Amina Tuki, a local resident who came to Cincinnati from a small village in Ethiopia who was not fluent in her native language, but who learned English by picking up a small book called Coming to America at the PLCHC. “She says it took her all day, but she made her way through it, and she took it home and read it to her husband and children, and her older son started crying,” Fender says. Fender and Tuki will accept the award May 8. Library users can celebrate Amnesty Day May 15 by taking their library card to any local branch. Do Good: • Go to your local branch and have fines removed May 15 so that you can begin to use the library's resources. • Sign up for a library card if you don't already have one. • Support the library. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

My Soapbox: Jason Langdon, Cincinnati Mini-Maker Faire

By Elissa Yancey

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Arts + Culture

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May 7, 2013

Louisville had a fire-breathing pony. New York had 3-D printers and makerbots galore. Cincinnati Maker Faire Founder Jason Langdon looks forward to seeing what the local science, DIY and art community has to offer in the city's first all-ages, all-genres celebration of maker culture this October in Washington Park.

Being the Somebody at Lighthouse Youth Services

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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May 7, 2013

There are more than 850 children in Hamilton County who are currently placed in out-of-home care, according to Jami Clarke, program director of Lighthouse Youth Services' foster care division. That means there is an ever-growing need for foster parents within our community. To raise awareness about the need for foster parents, and to celebrate National Foster Care Month and the local successes LYS has seen during the past year, the nonprofit will host its second-annual Be The Somebody March May 11. “On a daily basis, we’re getting calls for sibling sets of two and three children at a time who are being displaced from their homes and who are in need of temporary care for six months to four years,” Clarke says. “And we’re trying to match them so it’s possible within their same school district—within the same community—so they can continue to have visitation with their family members, and we can work toward reunification.” Clarke says the separation of siblings is often even more traumatic for children than being separated from their parents, so it’s especially important that the organization find foster parents who are willing to take on the responsibility of not just one child, but two, three and sometimes four or five children at a time. Tasha Boyd, 33, is a North College Hill resident, who is one of those more-than-willing foster parents. She has been with LYS since 2007, and has been a foster parent for about eight years. Boyd, who initially thought about running a daycare because she says dealing with kids is her "specialty," started to look into foster care instead. She says she understands that there are many children in our community “who need love.” “A lot of homes are broken, and there are a lot of homes out there that can help,” Boyd says. “We need foster parents out here. It’s a hard thing to do, but at the same time, you’re rewarded every day—it’s a blessing.” Boyd, who has a soon-to-be 14-year-old son of her own, says she loves what she does and that her son has “no problem sharing his mother” with the 10 children she has brought into their home over the past five years. She currently has a sibling set of two girls in her home, and for the first time in her life, Boyd will transition from foster care to adoption. The mother of the two girls has decided to release her rights because she can no longer care for them due to mental health issues. “The two have been in the house since they were nine months old and three days old," Boyd says. "I’m all they know. I was not going to turn my back on them.” Do Good: • Sign up for the Be The Somebody March and picnic lunch. • Learn more about becoming a foster parent. • If foster parenting is not for you, but you would like to help, consider becoming a mentor. Contact Jami Clarke for more information. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Rise of the rest: Creativity loves company

By Eric Peterson

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General

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May 7, 2013

Startups aren't just for Silicon Valley anymore. As entrepreneurs find expected pleasures—and great quality of life—in cities like Cincinnati, a new kind of energy is building. Read about the rise of our startup sister cities, from Boston to Denver.

Teens create, learn, grow through ArtWorks’ summer jobs

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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May 7, 2013

When it comes time for teens to find summer jobs, becoming a muralist doesn’t typically top the list of possibilities. Unless you live in Cincinnati. With ArtWorks’ Adopt-an-Apprentice campaign, however, 110 teens from around the city will be hired to collaborate with each other and community partners to create 10 new murals this summer. For Kyra Watkins, who has been an Apprentice since her freshman year of high school and who hopes to finish out her senior year with yet another apprenticeship, the opportunity is full of benefits. “Besides the fact that you become a muralist in your own right—because that’s not a profession even most adults have—[ArtWorks] always cared about the youth,” Watkins says. “It’s not just, ‘Give a child a paintbrush, and if they do well, you pay them.’ They set up financial sessions and youth nights where you get paid to learn how to manage your money, to budget your money and to be smart.” Watkins says the experience is particularly beneficial because each set of teenagers works under a project manager who helps them learn to identify their skills, learn new ones and ultimately work together to create a final product. A new addition to this year’s campaign will be the involvement of ArtWorks’ SpringBoard business graduate, Chef Frances Kroner, who will lead a select group of Apprentices in developing, producing and selling a new snack mix. Apprentices involved in that project will experience the summer program's first-ever entrepreneurial opportunity. For students who are passionate about art and who want to make it part of their lives, being an Apprentice allows students to gain real-world experience while leaving a lasting impression on the city. Watkins, a senior at Withrow University High School, will soon graduate and begin a new chapter in life as she pursues a degree in political science with aspirations to go to law school. But no matter where she goes, she says, a part of her will always be in Cincinnati. “No matter where I travel, my art will always be here—it’s very homey, like you left something at home and you always have something to come back to,” Watkins says. Do Good: • Help employ an Apprentice by donating to the Adopt-an-Apprentice campaign. • Like ArtWorks on Facebook. • Get involved with ArtWorks by volunteering. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.