“Everyone at Harvard’s inventing something. Harvard undergraduates believe that inventing a job is better than finding a job,” said Larry Summers in The Social Network. One BC student, however, is proving that inventing isn’t just for the Harvard crowd.
“The next big trend is going to be green,” heard sophomore CJ Reim at a lecture given by Highland Capital Partners last year on a trip with the Info Systems Academy. Later that year, this North Oaks, Minnesota, native was sitting in yet another lecture at the Cyberposium at the Harvard Buisness School, listening to entrepreneurs like the co-founder of YouTube and the CEO of RIM (you know, the company that makes that phone… the Blackberry?).
Reim, with the green trend alert in his mind, and the idea of improvement leading his thoughts, came up with an idea that is, well, gold. What could Reim improve? Frivolous energy consumption. How? With an energy clock.
So what is an energy clock, or in proper terms, a “Power Dashboard?” The Power Dashboard, a product invented by Reim’s Applied Power Innovations (API), allows you to visualize your energy consumption. It is a two-part device. The base-unit clips around a control panel, measuring the electricity used in the room. From the control panel, it wirelessly shoots the energy data to a display on your wall, showing how much energy is consumed by said room.
“It will help reduce frivolous energy consumption,” says Reim. “If you can see how much energy you’re using, you consume less.”
With the help of his two friends, Kevin Driscoll and Rich Rines, Reim founded Applied Power Innovations (API) and brought the Power Dashboard to market. In fact, one is up and working in their room. Of his friends and colleagues, Reim says, “They’re complete rock stars.” Reim also raved about Professor Gallaugher, an information systems professor here at BC, as being a pivotal advocate for their success.
“He [Gallaugher] loves technology and entrepreneurship and has been eager to leverage his enthusiasm for the three of us to be the best we can be,” says Reim.
So what’s next for the Power Dashboard and Applied Power Innovations? Right now, the crew has a website up and running (www.appliedpowerinnovations.com, designed by Reim himself), the dashboard on the market, and quite the buzz around their product.
Reim noted the benefits not only on the environment, but also on people’s pocketbooks. He mentioned the money individuals could save on their on their personal energy bills, and moreover how greatly it would effect large institutions, like BC. If the dashboards were installed and students began consuming less energy, it could save millions of dollars over the years.
The API crew is attempting to get the dashboards installed at BC by working with the administration and groups like Ecopledge. They are enthusiastic about their progress, but there are many complications due to the university’s old buildings.
“The future of the dashboard is the big thing,” says Reim. “We’ve proven we can convert something to make it happen, now we have to customize it. With college buildings, they are old, and we have to figure out how to work with these challenges.”
The project is not a simple one. Though the clock is in prototype, another task is tackling the slow adaption rate that often occurs with conservation technologies, says Reim. The team, however, remains optimistic and driven to succeed.
“Fortunately we’re working with a bunch of great people. But it takes a lot of emails and teamwork to get things done when we have to wait on deliverables from India and China,” says Reim. “It’s putting those parts together that makes something great. In addition, it is extremely important to respect people’s time by not putting overwhelming demands on them.”
But the most exciting part of the journey? “Plugging it in for the first time,” says Reim.
Reim encourages other BC students to follow suit, and be a part of the entrepreneurial trend that is sweeping our generation. “Do it,” says Reim. “A lot of people talk about it. A lot of people have the ideas. Do it, actually start it. Once you take the initiative and start things up, it’s a snowball effect. Don’t be afraid to jump right in. Jump off the cliff and build your parachute on the way down.”