Welcome to the Scott Grimshaw's sandbox. I've spent most of my life working on "technology", but so little working on life itself. Mine in particular. Thats what this place is all about.
Humans have always been intrigued by the world they live in and since the beginning have tried to understand it, change, or sometimes even tried to make it their own image. But in the end, we don't really have a clue.
I have chosen to use what little science I know to try and preserve, or even extend life. So what you will see here are ways I think I can help. And if you see something that you could use, work on or even help make a reality, please let me know.
You might ask who am I and why did I create this page. Well I am just a guy who has some ability understanding the world a little and can put the pieces together sometimes. But most important of all, I believe in the power of the human spirit. No matter what the challenge in life, I think you can figure out a way to overcome it. At the very least, you have got to give it a try.
So some of these things aren't perfect, or even close to being practical. But at its all I've got right now. And its a start.
Background
I currently run a company called Tangidyne, based in upstate New York, which researches and manufactures a variety of solid state electronic sensors. This company pays the bills. But frankly, this business is about as far away, ideologically, from this page as one can get. It just shows you that I can play the business game. How difficult is that?
In addition, I am partners in a firm, MI3, with Mr. Bob Salisbury of Virginia Beach, Va. Bob has been involved in the government, and in military contracting, for over 40 years. He is one of the good guys.
We are trying to build new things to prevent the loss of human life. Sad to say but some people in the world have nothing better to do than try and harm others. Maybe we can stop them.
(My "technical" experience. Perhaps you might find this interesting?)
I worked in the semiconductor and optics industries for 10 years on integrated circuits, optical devices and solid state electronic sensors. In mid 1987 I decided to strike off on my own.
I created a sensor company in 1990 named Cold Springs R&D. Cold Springs manufactured a quartz crystal sensor used to measure thin film coatings made by a technique called vacuum deposition. These quartz sensors are used by manufacturers of lenses, lcd monitors and a variety of electronic and optical products.
Cold Springs R&D eventually captured approximately 50% of the US market in the 13 years I ran the firm. In December 2003 Cold Springs was sold to a sales group in Boston, Massachusetts. In January 2004 I created Tangidyne Corp. The mission was to create things the average person might actually use. For all its financial reward, it is quite numbing making stuff so far removed from the human experience.
Tangidyne has been awarded 4 US patents and has 3 more applied for in fields as diverse as cargo container security, candles, and air quality sensing. I am now trying to actually build products based on several of these patents.
Active Projects
I'm experimenting with a mold detector for indoor air quality monitoring, based on my patented transparent quartz crystal sensor technology. It's designed to detect the early stages of black mold (Stachybotrys chartarum), a fungus that has been linked to respiratory illness and possibly death in infants (the Cleveland Outbreak).
I have built a door hinge, dubbed the SmartHinge™, that doubles as a self powered RF transmitter . This hinge, which can be used in applications in homes, cargo containers, tractor trailers and the like, sends a uniquely coded wireless signal (WiFi) whenever the hinge is moved. It will never need batteries.
Now why would anybody need something like this? Well, people put bombs in all kinds of places. Or they smuggle bad things into a country. Most things get transported by ships. We wanted to make a way of telling if the door seals on those big metal cargo containers were tampered with. Plus, there was no point in making something where the batteries would die, eventually. What good is that? Hence the idea of a self powered sensing system.
This device has been incorporated into a cargo container security system developed by Bob Salisbury of Virginia Beach, Virgina. A related application is for use in monitoring cargo on trucks, or building security systems.
I am currently working on safety products. First off is a chemiluminescent (light produced by chemicals mixed together) clothing line. Based on the "glow" stick technology, the first product is a safety vest that shows the profile of the wearer in low or no light conditions.
Picture a rescue worker in a foggy or smoky environment. It would be very nice to actually see him, and for him to be seen. But we cant go around wiring up these people with lights and batteries that weigh a ton, now can we? So the idea evolved of a very light and inexpensive way to make them stand out.
What is unique about our approach is the use of a centralized mixing chamber on the vest which mixes and pumps the activated reagents only when needed. That means you can turn it on with one press of a button or one whack of a breakable packet. Easy enough. This vest can also be recharged for repeated uses.
What I am thinking of working on
A Miniature Kidney Dialysis Unit
My dad has kidneys that are slowly failing. His doctors figure he has about a year left before he will need to go to dialysis. My dad says he would not want to live that way.
So, I better come up with an option. My dad still tells great stories and laughs a lot. So I figure he might benefit from something high tech, and easy to use. I have no background in this field, and I know it takes years to make anything work, especially something as so impossibly complex as a device such as this. But I am going to only live once myself so why not try? I am reading up very fast. But the clock is ticking. As I write this, today is June 6, 2009. I sincerely am going to try.
