The Providence Chapter of the Awesome Foundation for Arts and Sciences has selected Matt Grigsby to receive its February award. Grigsby will use the Awesome Foundation Grant to create a “Materials PettingZoo” showcasing textile, industrial, consumer products and residential construction materials that offer ecologically sensible solutions to more traditional products. Moving beyond descriptions and pictures of such materials, the materials zoo will encourage participants to touch, feel and directly interact with a variety of materials, offering a novel and interactive way to help people of all ages get educated and exposed to spectacular sustainable materials. “The goal of the Materials PettingZoo is to have lots of fun while educating people about on the best sustainable material alternatives and technologies available,” says Grigsby.  “With this on-site and hands-on educational event, the PettingZoo serves as an approachable way for the community to gain real knowledge of what a sustainable material or technology truly can be.” Grigsby, an industrial designer and sustainability expert, has been collecting and investigating sustainable materials for years.  With this grant, Grigsby will expand his collection and improve the design of his mobile “zoo” so that it can be displayed in more locations and at events across the city…. read more →

Congratulations to Matthew Borgatti and his Anywhere Organ!  AF-NYC loved his idea as much as bagels, coffee and bialys (and more). We kept our second award choice a surprise until last night’s second AF-NYC party at Zeitzeff in the LES, which was packed full of NYC’s most super, Awesome people. M@ and his AF Award (picture @magnify) Here’s M@’s original application: Pipe organs are incredible, awesome instruments. One incredible aspect that contributes to their awesomeness is their ability to play a space. Each space an organ resides in reacts differently, creating different tones, and essentially allowing room for an infinite variety of instruments. Unfortunately nearly every pipe organ in existence is bolted irrevocably into a wall staring longingly at fornications all day. This is why I’m creating the Anywhere Organ. I’ve designed a system where each note, each pipe of a pipe organ is attached to a central air supply through a hose. The air to each organ pipe is controlled by a solenoid valve articulated through Arduino. I’m writing modules to take MIDI keyboard information and translate it to the valves. Each hose is independent making for an octopus like instrument where each separate pipe can be installed with… read more →

The Providence Chapter of the Awesome Foundation for Arts and Sciences has selected Steph Burbridge to receive its January award. Burbridge will use the Awesome Foundation Grant to create a mobile “trivia for cash” game in downtown Providence, an idea that borrows inspiration from a popular television show airing on the Discovery channel. Burbridge’s plan is a playful marriage of daft fun and viral marketing aimed at showcasing Providence’s curious past, present and future through a rapid-fire trivia game that contestants will play while being driven around the city, also there are other types of marketing for websites online like the use of agency backlinks which are great for this. Contestants, who accept a ride in Burbrigde’s “cash cart,” will be subjected to a barrage of Providence-based trivia. Players will win cash for each question they answer correctly. Miss three questions, and contestants get kicked to the curb. Segments, expected to be filmed over a three-day period later this spring, will be taped, edited and turned into a short production that celebrates city resident’s knowledge about their kooky capital city. Burbridge—and funders at the Awesome Foundation—believe that game and the creation and broad release of the web video will be… read more →

Awesome NY have made their first selection! It was tough NY – you completely blew us away with amazing incredibly brilliant ideas. We are awarding January’s $1000 grant to Ben Dubin-Thaler’s Cell Motion BioBus. Come celebrate with us at the First AF-NY Award Ceremony on Monday February 8 at 8 pm, at the Apple Bar, 17 Waverly at Greene (no cover, cash bar).  Join us for a beer and meet the NY Micro Trustees. Join our event on Facebook.

Awesome NY have made their first selection!  It was tough NY – you completely blew us away with amazing incredibly brilliant ideas. But – this month, for our inaugural grant, we’ve picked a LASER TWEEZER that makes amoebas eat bacteria. Awesomeness to the MAX. No – really, its a laser tractor beam that prods amoebas.  We’ve awarded January’s $1000 grant to Ben Dubin-Thaler’s Cell Motion BioBus. We’ll be celebrating with Ben at the First AF-NY Award Ceremony on Monday February 8 at 8 pm, at the Apple Bar, Waverly at Greene. Come and join us for a beer, meet the NY Micro Trustees – and we’re working on getting the BioBus there too.  Beyond Awesome. More on the BioBus: The BioBus is a mobile science laboratory. Students on board explore the world around them with research-grade microscopes, and make their own discoveries under the guidance of professional scientists.  The BioBus has proven to be an innovative, effective, and attention getting vehicle for science education. Ben has been named “New Yorker of the Week” by New York One and have been recognized in regional, national, and international press for this innovative approach to bridging the “science achievement gap.” A laser tractor beam will be… read more →