Entrepreneurship training by Rick Gibson.  September 2009. Rick Gibson is now an instructor for ASU's famous LaunchPrep and LaunchPad entrepreneurship training programs at SkySong, through ASU Technopolis. The eight-week programs provide classroom and individual-company sessions, respectively. Contact Rick at rick@hotventures.com

SONY acquires Octopi and opens Tucson Studio.  January 16, 2009.  Sony Online Entertainment announced its acquisition of Octopi, LLC, developers of the critically acclaimed PoxNora online collectible strategy game. 

Rick Gibson served as chairman of Octopi.

Dow AgroSciences, World Wide Wheat Agree to Collaborate on Wheat  Indianapolis and Phoenix - June 02, 2009

http://www.dowagro.com/newsroom/corporatenews/2009/20090602a.htm     Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and World Wide Wheat (W3) LLC of Phoenix, Ariz., announced today a collaboration agreement for the development and commercialization of advanced germplasm and traits in wheat.

The concept of the collaboration is to couple Dow AgroSciences' expertise in Seeds and Traits with W3’s proprietary wheat germplasm and robust breeding capabilities. Dow AgroSciences’ experience in seed and trait commercialization will be leveraged to bring the next generation of wheat to market. W3 brings more than 40 years of plant breeding to the collaboration and will be able to leverage Dow AgroSciences’ reach in key global markets such as North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia.

“We are very pleased to be working with W3, an industry leader in wheat breeding, to launch a portfolio of new products in the near future,” said Jerome Peribere, President and CEO of Dow AgroSciences. “This collaboration will build upon our current seed portfolio by expanding into wheat -- a very important global crop which supplies a significant amount of the daily nutrition in human diets.  And, we look forward to utilizing our R&D breeding and trait technologies such as EXZACT™ Precision Technology to bring advancements in productivity and quality to market.”

“We are excited to collaborate with Dow AgroSciences, a significant player in Seeds and Traits,” said Sheldon Richardson, Chairman and CEO of W3. “With Dow AgroSciences as our partner, we can leverage customer relationships within the food chain and their marketing and commercialization expertise.  Our four decades of plant breeding experience brings a wide diversity of germplasm offering of high yielding varieties developed for markets around the world.” 

About World Wide Wheat (W3)

World Wide Wheat (W3), headquartered in Phoenix, is one of the world’s leading independent plant breeding companies whose research is devoted to the improvement of wheat, barley and oats - major food crops of the world. World Wide Wheat operates research stations in 18 countries, producing superior varieties of cereal grains that are not genetically modified. For more information see www.worldwheat.com .

About Dow AgroSciences

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a top-tier agricultural company that combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. Dow AgroSciences provides innovative technologies for crop protection, pest and vegetation management, seeds, traits, and agricultural biotechnology to serve the world's growing population. Global sales for Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, are $4.5 billion.  Learn more at www.dowagro.com.

™Trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC

For Editorial Information:

Robyn Heine
Dow AgroSciences LLC
317-337-4807

Tue Jun 2, 2009 1:28pm EDT

KANSAS CITY, June 2 (Reuters) - Dow AgroSciences, a division of Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said Tuesday it was expanding its crop research work into wheat, a key global food crop.  The Dow unit will collaborate with wheat breeding firm World Wide Wheat LLC of Phoenix, Ariz., to develop and commercialize advanced germplasm and genetic traits in wheat. 

Dow AgroSciences CEO Jermone Peribere said the company hoped to launch a portfolio of new wheat seed products "in the near future."  "This collaboration will build upon our current seed portfolio by expanding into wheat -- a very important global crop which supplies a significant amount of the daily nutrition in human diets," Peribere said.  Wheat growers in the United States, Canada and elsewhere have complained for years that seed technology has lagged for wheat, with leading seed technology companies focusing instead on developing advancements for corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and other crops. (Reporting by Carey Gillam; Editing by John Picinich)