Editor | On 22, Feb 2005

Dear Ellen,
Record numbers of Newsletter participants! In little more that a year in existence, the AI Newsletter reaches over 1,000 subscribers. I believe that this reflects a meaningful level of interest in TRIZ, the Institute and our message. I hope that this Newsletter continues to provide meaningful information and a viable link within the global TRIZ community.

TRIZCON2005!!! is quickly approaching and many have
taken advantage of the early registration discounts. For those of you who are E-Newsletter recipients and missed the early registration deadline of 1 Feb 2005, I will extend the deadline until the 10th of February. The fees for TRIZCON2005 are outlined in the TRIZCON2005 Information page near the bottom. Just print the registration form, fill it in as required, mark “early discount” and fax the forms to us.

There are many new participants coming to TRIZCON2005 in
April. The Institute expects that 2005 will be a banner year for TRIZ and its users. I hope that you share our excitement for 2005 and that you will visit us at TRIZCON2005. Respectfully, Richard Langevin Executive Director

In this issue
* The Next Big Event…
* TRIZCON2005 Keynote Speaker
* Pre-Conference Workshops- Wednesday, 20 April
* Ongoing Project — “Ballad of the Stars”
* WEBCASTING for TRIZCON2005
* MINEFIELD Research

TRIZCON2005 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Jean Botti is the business line executive Powertrain and executive director of Fuel Cells for Delphi Corp.’s Energy & Chassis division. Dr. Botti also holds eight patents and four defensive publications for his work at Delphi. He also holds 11 patents outside of Delphi. He has been inducted into the Delphi Innovation Hall of Fame. He has multiple publications in the areas of Powertrain, Fuel Cells and Chassis. I am sure that his view of TRIZ and Innovation will be of great interest to all particpants.

Pre-Conference Workshops- Wednesday, 20 April
On Wednesday, there will be 4 great Workshops offered. Among the new Workshops this year is “How to Protect your Business and Intellectual Property ” by Len Kaplan. You will get hands-on experience in developing the efficient competitive strategies gleaned from multiple business successes and failures from various industries. Another new Workshop is “Between a Rock & a Hard Place” where Gunter Ladewig will provide numerous real world case studies where products and processes were taken to the next level of performance by using TRIZ. Other superior workshops this day include:
* How to Integrate TRIZ into your Organiztionby Jack Hipple & Ellen Domb
* Developing Winning Hi-Tech using TRIZ by Victor Fey

Ongoing Project — “Ballad of the Stars”
We are still working on “The Ballad of the Stars” and as we promised we will preview a few pages of a new story in the book. We hope that this will wet your appetite for the style of writing and generate some excitement for the coming edition. This month we are showcasing the sixth story, “To Continue Beyond” by Valentine Zhuravlyova.

WEBCASTING for TRIZCON2005
For the first time in our TRIZCON history, we will be webcasting the 3 day event to external sites. A license for your site will allow you to receive the audio and slides of each speaker on each track. Organizations may register as many participants as they wish. Each participant will receive an annual membership in the Institute, a Proceedings and a copy of the 40 Principles. The fee structure is based on the number of participants at each site. If you have any interst in getting a license, call me. The registration form is on the AI website.

MINEFIELD Research
There is renewed interest in using TRIZ to clear landmines. Gaetano Cascini from the University Of Florence (Italy) and the President of the Italian TRIZ association “Apeiron” has formed a research group to study the problem and develop solution concepts. In Milan, at the annual meeting of Apeiron, an official workgroup was launched as a test for “free” collaborative work (about 15 people adhered to the initiative) for developing solutions for this dramatic problem.
If anyone would like to collaborate with Apeiron, please contact Gaetano Cascini at gaetano.cascini@unifi.it

email: ai@triz.org
phone: 508-799-6601
web: http://www.aitriz.org