Jenna Schnuer

FarmLife: The Future is Clearwinter 2018

 

By 2013, the clatter and crash of tablet computers tumbling to the floor of AGCO’s Jackson, Minnesota, plant had become, to put it mildly, an issue. “There’s not really much of a flat surface on a tractor,” says Anthony Buckentin, a manufacturing lead at the AGCO^® facility. “One little bump and it’s on the floor.”

Such accidents proved as expensive as they were disruptive. Smash a tablet from a drop of 4 feet or less and the warranty covers the damage. The tractors rolling out of the Jackson plant stand quite a bit taller, and it wasn’t unusual—perhaps twice a month—for the tablets to fall from a height of 10 feet or so, break and cost AGCO a hefty $3,000 to replace.

The tricky bit: The tablets were supposed to be the solution. Read the rest of the story.

 

Entrepreneur: Going DeepFeb., 2014

 

Meet Eric Stackpole and David Lang, the guys who invented an underwater robot that's helping everybody from hardcore marine biologists and aquaculturists and students to ... anybody, really, see what's going on under the deep. Their company, OpenROV, is a good example of how the maker culture helps bridge the world between professional scientists and hobbyists.

Read all about OpenROV.

Entrepreneur Startups: HomegrownJune 2013

Today a new breed of company is helping entrepreneurs around the country capitalize on the small-batch industrial revolution. At Maker's Row headquarters, website founders Matthew Burnett and Tanya Menendez are determined to bring together designers and the factories that can help them turn their ideas into moneymaking realities. The potential matches include everybody from bootstrapping beginners to established names on both sides of the equation. In short, they want made in America to be cool again.

Learn more about Maker's Row. 

One+: The InterdisciplinarianMarch 2012

It’s practically a requirement to raise an eyebrow at a person who calls herself an innovator. Innovator. It’s such a grand word. Isn’t that something we get to brand a person, not something she gets to call herself? Yet, every once in a while, somebody gets a pass. Or more than a pass. Every once in a while you come across a person who really should have “innovator” bedazzled on all of her shirts and printed on her license plates.

Take, for instance, Cathy Davidson. After a few minutes of eyeballs a-jumping through her bio—co-founder of the 7,000-member Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (HASTAC), former Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke from 1998-2006, current English professor at Duke; after scrolling through the list of books she’s written or edited, which cover territory from understanding Japanese culture to the rise of the American novel to brain science; after finding out about her role in the creation of programs at Duke, including the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and the program in Information Science + Information Studies (ISIS); and, even more so, after hearing the sheer excitement in her voice when she discusses the Internet, education, her newfound love of young adult fiction and her ability to tie ideas together and make them accessible—well, innovator sounds downright humble.

Read the profile.

Entrepreneur: The Mom-and-Pop Shop, RedefinedSept. 2011

Meet the couple behind Philly's Three Potato Four, a retro-hip company that's putting a modern spin on the antiques game. Also in the issue, read all about Thrive, the service that helped Newfoundland's House to Home keep the lights on (and the front doors open for business). 

Entrepreneur: 100 Brilliant CompaniesJune 2011

The magazine's annual 100 Brilliant Companies report highlights great ideas across 10 different industries. For this year's section, I wrote about a travel search company, Hipmunk; a media app, Zite; and Yellow+Blue, a company that boxes up wine in the name of convenience, flavor, price, and the earth. Also in the June issue: How to map out an M&A brand strategy.

National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel Blog: Make Your Own FestivalSeptember 28, 2010

 I couldn't tell exactly what the noise was or where it was coming from: There was the ping ping ping of xylophones, a beating drum, and the shaking rattling noises of...something. Pursing the sounds across the grounds of the New York Hall of Science, I expected to find a small band of people using a clearing as a practice space. Instead I found a guy in a plaid shirt standing behind a folding table loaded with small player-pianoesque musical instruments (aka, Nick Yulman and his Bone Conductor Mechanical Orchestra).

My brain-swirling day at World Maker Faire NY was officially underway.

Read the piece.

American Way: The Tipping PointMarch 15, 2010

Pack these quick hits of info — and awesome products — into your suitcase (or PDA), and you’ll march through the month in fine travel style.

Read the piece on American Way.

Flyover America: Traveling the U.S. With No PantsFebruary 3, 2010

Throw out your TV! Cancel your Netflix subscription! Crush the Victrola! There are two gopher brothers in a van and they're digging America because they can–and they will fulfill all your entertainment needs. While driving cross-country, Wilson and Ditch sing–both in their eco-fuel powered VW Camper Van and at stops like the Grand Ole Opry–and tell excellent bad jokes and much more. So far they’ve visited Philly and Nashville. Rapid City is up next.

Read the piece.

American Way: "The End" is Just the BeginningJanuary 1, 2010

The astronomical growth of the self-publishing industry has opened the door for many aspiring authors. But marketing your own work takes some serious energy—and innovation.

Read the article.