Sumedh Surwade could have launched his chemical startup SAS Nanotechnologies anywhere, including his native India. He chose Delaware.

When Sumedh Surwade was growing up in India, he rarely left his hometown of Mumbai. But since moving to the United States, he’s lived in multiple places, including Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Tennessee. Delaware, however, has been his most extended U.S. address.

“I’ve been here for five years now, and I’m just loving it,” says the Newark resident. Indeed, Surwade likes Delaware so much that in 2017, he founded SAS Nanotechnologies in Wilmington’s Stanton area. SAS stands for “Smart, Advanced, Sustainable.”

The chemical startup is currently developing smart microcapsule technology for various applications, including anticorrosive coatings and biocides.

Delaware’s status as a science-driven hub has made the state an ideal location for the business. But, as he’s learned, there are plenty of other advantages.

Discovering Delaware

Surwade’s route to Delaware started on another continent. As a child, he excelled at math and science, but it wasn’t until he was in middle school that science became a passion. “School projects, such as building a solar farm, got me really excited,” he says.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, he headed to the United States, where he earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Texas in Dallas. He then earned a doctorate in chemistry and polymer science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and followed that with postdoctoral work at the University of Pittsburgh.

Initially, the young scientist pictured his future as a university research group leader. But while at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Knoxville, Tennessee, he decided to forgo academia and dip his toe into the industry.

In 2015, Surwade took a job at FujiFilm Imaging in New Castle, Delaware, where he developed inks and formulations for inkjet printing applications. At the time, he knew little about the state except the little that he’d gleaned from friends who were University of Delaware graduates. That would soon change.

While working for Fuji, the innovative chemist grew restless. He had so many product ideas with the potential for commercial applications. Chief among them was a polymer that could inhibit corrosion on heavy metal in structures such as vehicles, bridges and industrial machinery.

He felt the timing was right. “Maybe I should be adventurous early in my career as opposed to later on,” he told himself. “Maybe doing something on my own would be more fun.”

In October 2016, Surwade secured lab space in the Delaware Technology Park, where he worked nights and weekends on his research. By the following fall, he was full-time with SAS Nanotechnologies. While developing the product, he still turns to the University of Delaware for specialty equipment that would be too expensive for him to purchase.

Surwade’s technology focuses on environmentally friendly microcapsules that gradually release an agent to heal damaged areas, such as scratches on metal. The agent can also be intentionally triggered. Similarly, these microcapsules could attack the fungus, mold or bacteria that damage materials such as roofs.

Surwade wasn’t the only one to see the advantages. With the Small Business Development Center’s help, he won a $225,000 National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant and the Emerging Enterprise Center’s Swim with the Sharks Pitch Competition. And those awards were just the beginning for the chemical startup.

Why Delaware?

The funding has been encouraging, but Surwade also has been inspired by the people he has met in Delaware. This includes members of the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (DESCA).

“They had so many small workshops and meetings with former DuPont employees — high-level managers and executives,” he recalls. “They were sitting with me and listening to my ideas. It motivated me. Folks here are willing to help you.”

Delaware is known for being a state where it’s easy to network and discover resources. “You always can find someone who knows a key contact at a company,” Surwade agrees.

Since starting SAS Nanotechnologies, Surwade has watched as even more labs, accelerator programs, forums and resources have become available to startups like his.

“It’s a good time for a chemical startup to come to Delaware,” he says. “It’s an exciting time.”

Many young girls enjoy playing with fashion dolls. Jacqueline Means, however, was enamored with a science kit. She was equally captivated by YouTube videos that showcased experiments and the computer games that let her be a virtual surgeon.

“I would go to school and tell my friends about it, and they would look at me like I was crazy,” the Wilmington resident recalls. Their skepticism struck a nerve and led to a promise she made herself: “I’m going to prove to little girls — whether they want to hear it or not — that science is amazing.”

In 2017, Means started the Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative to teach low-income girls of color about science, technology, engineering and math. Locally, the program has received support from Chemours, a Delaware-based chemical company, which donated $10,000. Other supporters include the Delaware Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education, JPMorgan Chase, Inspiring Women in STEM, All Things Charity and Brew HaHa!, a Delaware-based coffee shop chain.

In addition to funding, the initiative has received national notice. Means has appeared on the CBS program “Mission Impossible,” the “Today” show, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and the “Steve Harvey Show,” among others.

Means has dubbed herself the “STEM Queen,” and it’s not such a stretch. The science whiz is a seasoned pageant participant and in 2019 earned the Miss Delaware’s Outstanding Teen title. She’s the first Delawarean to win the Miss Black USA Talented Teen crown.

The pageants, which helped fund her education, boosted the teenager’s poise. At age 19, she’s comfortable answering challenging questions. It helps that she has numerous high-profile TV appearances under her belt. But Means’ confidence comes from a variety of sources, including the nonprofit that she founded.

The youngest of two children, she credits brother Johnny’s science project for piquing her interest in science. Johnny and his dad, Johnny Means II, created a volcano out of papier-mâché. “Don’t touch it,” their father told a 7-year-old Means.

But she couldn’t resist. At night, she crept downstairs and mixed vinegar with baking soda to create an explosive reaction. “I was like, ‘This is incredible!’” Her mother, JoAnn, supported her interest and bought anatomy books when her daughter took an interest in medicine.

Like her brother, Means attended Delaware Military Academy, where she rose to the rank of Bravo Battalion Commanding Officer. She was president of the chess club, captain of the track and field team, an officer with Business Professionals of America and secretary of student government. She participated in cheerleading, basketball and dance, which is her talent for pageants.

She did all of this while pursuing her passion for sharing STEM studies with others.

Means teaches the way that she prefers to learn. “I am a kinesthetic learner,” she explains. “I like to work with my hands. There’s no better way to fully understand something than to do it yourself, and it’s OK to make mistakes.”

The Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative reaches out to girls in low-income communities like Southbridge, where Means and her family reside. Workshops, known as Girls Empowerment STEM events, attract about 100 young inner-city girls.

Participants make ice cream from dry ice and create non-Newtonian fluids such as ketchup, which changes viscosity when shaken. The youngers also make slime and elephant toothpaste and learn about 3D printing.

Since transportation can be an issue for attendees, she visits schools, churches and community centers. “If they can’t come to my events, it’s totally fine. I will come to them,” she says.

She could do neither throughout most of the COVID-19 pandemic, so she taught herself how to edit and uploaded YouTube videos that show “just how awesome” STEM can be. She also conducted workshops via Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Not all the topics focus on science. Means, an avid video gamer, also addresses safety issues posed by the internet and bullying. The events also feature motivational speakers, such as otolaryngologist Dr. Joan Coker, Enid Wallace-Simms of Delmarva Power and Erin Hutt of YWCA Delaware.

A Nurturing State

The STEM events emphasize career opportunities and advancement. In Means’ community of Southbridge, many teens don’t graduate high school, let alone enroll in STEM programs. Meanwhile, women and people of color have long been underrepresented in the STEM fields. Means and her supporters want to change that, and she estimates her work has impacted more than 5,000 local girls to date.

Today, the STEM Queen is majoring in medical diagnostics on the premed track and minoring in neuroscience at the University of Delaware. In addition, she already has an internship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under her belt.

Delaware, she says, has been a great place to make connections and garner support.

“Part of our strength is that we are small,” Means explains. “It’s common to see Gov. John Carney out and about at an event or meet Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long. Delaware is a place where you can build a future. You can make a name for yourself and have an impact — not just in your city, but in your entire state.”

Of all the things Arreon Harley-Emerson gets to do, the thing he most loves is teaching.

“It’s a relationship,” says Harley-Emerson, the director of music and operations for the Choir School of Delaware, who also serves as the Delaware Arts Alliance board secretary and chairs its Advancement Committee. “I love seeing people ‘get’ it. Witnessing it is amazing. I love breaking things down, and teaching hits all the boxes. I love teaching music because it allows me to talk about equity and justice.”

Harley-Emerson authored a newspaper column in 2020 that featured the hashtag #PhilanthropySoWhite that discussed a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a sector dedicated to social impact.

“When I wrote it, I feel I already had the respect of my colleagues and the philanthropy sector,” he says. “It seemed to be a wake-up call for people who want to be better but don’t know how. I think it served as a reminder that you can support organizations financially, but that donors also need to be accountable to looking through the lens of equity and justice.”

Harley-Emerson says he’s known from an early age that he had the power of change.

“At Goucher College, I was part of instituting the first-ever gender-neutral housing,” he says. “What I learned is if you are credible, hard-working, intelligent and committed, you can make change and be forceful and be heard.”

Harley-Emerson considers himself “lucky” that he gets to do the things he loves.

“I am, by training, a musician and love the choral arts because it wraps up history, culture, music, poetry and all that,” he says. “I grew up a choral geek, but I also had a strong sense that you have to do what is right. People often ask that you look at justice over mercy. My view is that we could focus less on being merciful if we were more just. The freedom and liberation you get from the arts is what an equitable society should and would feel like.”

Impact of the Delaware Arts

While Harley-Emerson would love to see the state invest even more in the arts, he does give “high marks” to how supportive Secretary of State Jeff Bullock, Deputy Secretary Kristopher Knight and New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer have been of the arts sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They’re making a real effort. They truly understand the impact of the arts and the intentionality of arts education,” he says.

Enjoying the Benefits of Living in Delaware

Harley-Emerson loves Delaware because it’s small. “You can forge strong connections with each other,” he says. “It can be tough elsewhere to get meetings or make an impact.”

But he also talks about the benefits of living in downtown Wilmington, which he says has an unusually robust arts sector – with many venues and organizations located near one another. Delaware also has Winterthur and the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover.

“I go to Christ Church in Christiana Hundred for inspiration,” he says. “I love walking the labyrinth and listening to the magnificent organ – it’s a great place to get ‘unstuck.’ I got married there in 2018 and then had the reception at the Delaware Historical Society.”

In fact, Harley-Emerson says his wedding was a great opportunity to bring family and friends up from his hometown of Baltimore to see the place he had raved about for years.

A few questions with Arreon Harley-Emerson:

* What’s the pebble in your shoe – that thing that tends to derail you? There are never enough hours in the day. My brain works like an iPhone with lots of applications always open. That means I can take a lot of things in, but the downside is that you’re never really turned off so it can be difficult to get everything done.

* What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? “No” means “not yet,” from former [Delaware Supreme Court] Chief Justice Norman Veasey, when I first came to the Choir School.

* Tell me some books that you’re recommending. Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer; Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy DeGruy; Simon Sinek’s Start With Why; and Management in 10 Words by Terry Leahy.

* What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? Let the little things go. Don’t get fixated on the things that don’t matter.

* Do you have a favorite failure? I have not had a major professional failure, but I have learned from the small ones. You really don’t have to touch the stove to know that it’s hot. I’ve had many, many small failures. If you follow up on those and ask why you won’t have huge monumental ones.

* When you feel overwhelmed, get distracted or lose your focus, what do you do? I get cranky if I don’t do my morning workouts. My husband is such a clear, rational thinker, and I tend to be bold and want to push the envelope. When I stress about how to get to that big goal, he’s amazing at breaking things down and telling me it’s going to be OK.”

(Wilmington, DE) – ChristianaCare’s renowned Center for Heart & Vascular Health has earned the highest quality rating—three stars—from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures.

The prestigious three-star rating places ChristianaCare among the elite health care organizations for heart bypass surgery in the United States and Canada.

The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs across the United States and Canada. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.

“Earning a three-star rating for heart bypass surgery places us among the top heart hospitals in the nation,” said Ray Blackwell, M.D., the W. Samuel Carpenter Chief of Cardiac Surgery at ChristianaCare. “Delaware residents can be confident that they have one of the best heart surgery teams in the nation right here, close to home, at ChristianaCare.”

The three-star rating from STS adds to ChristianaCare’s long list of awards for quality heart care. For the past two years, the Center for Heart & Vascular Health has earned the designation HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence from the American College of Cardiology for its commitment to high-quality cardiovascular care. In addition, the Center for Heart & Vascular health received the American Heart Association’s 2021 Mission: Lifeline Gold Quality Achievement Award for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks; the 2021 Get With The Guidelines NSTEMI Silver Award for patients with a less severe form of heart attack; and the 2021 Get With The Guidelines Gold Plus Award for Heart Failure.

“Our Center for Heart & Vascular Health and our community have much to be proud of,” said Kirk Garratt, M.D., medical director of the Center for Heart & Vascular Health. “We provide great outcomes, and we also listen to patients and families and work to ensure that the stressful experience of surgery is as easy as it can be. That kind of commitment leads to this kind of recognition.”

Heart Disease Remains a Leading Killer in the U.S.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), heart disease remains a leading killer in the nation—claiming more than 600,000 lives each year. In addition, the AHA anticipates the effects of COVID-19 are likely to influence cardiovascular health and mortality rates for many years.

“February is American Heart Month, and there is no better time for us to take stock of our heart health than now,” Dr. Garratt said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges to people living with chronic conditions such as heart disease. People with heart conditions are at greater risk of complications from the virus and also continue to need assistance managing their heart health. If you are a heart patient, please do not postpone your regular visit with your cardiologist.”

The STS is a not-for-profit organization that represents more than 7,600 surgeons, researchers and allied health care professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung and esophagus, as well as other surgical procedures within the chest. The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons.

About the Center for Heart & Vascular Health
ChristianaCare’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health is among the largest, most capable regional heart centers on the East Coast. It is one of the only centers in the region that integrates in a single location and under one roof cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, vascular interventional radiology, cardiology and interventional nephrology. Its team of experienced cardiovascular surgeons and heart experts perform nearly 700 open-heart procedures each year and treat more than 8,000 total heart and vascular cases annually. For more information, visit https://christianacare.org/services/heart/.

WILMINGTON, Del. – In hopes to better prepare Delaware’s workforce for the post-pandemic job market, the state has launched a rapid training program geared to get people ready for a new career path or to sharpen their skills.

Forward Delaware brings together state, education and business leaders to develop a certification program that can be completed within 20 weeks. This initiative focuses on Delaware’s top five growth industries: IT, health care, transportation, logistics and construction.

“We know that our ability to rebound and get Delaware working again will partly rely on our ability to provide training for individuals that need it and meet those jobs in high demand,” Gov. John Carney said in an Oct. 7 press conference announcing the program.

Forward Delaware comes three months after Carney signed an executive order to spend $10 million of federal CARES Act funds to jumpstart job retraining programs. The executive order directed the Delaware Department of Labor to work with the Delaware Workforce Development Board to establish approved training and certification programs for unemployed and underemployed Delawareans.

The state lost 74,700 jobs at the height of the pandemic in April, but about 36,000 jobs were added back between May and August. Delaware Labor Secretary Cerron Cade said the state needs to account for the thousands of Delawareans looking for the next step in their careers in an environment that is shifting with each passing day.

“As we all know, some jobs are not going to be there when these individuals come back into the workforce and the economy is going to look totally different than it did when they left,” Cade said. “These programs are meant for individuals who are coming into a new industry, but also opportunities for workers to expand on the new skills they have learned.”

To support Forward Delaware, Delaware Technical Community College was provided $2.4 million from Carney’s executive order. DelTech President Mark Brainard said the community college will offer 11 short-term training programs in the health care sector, including for certified nursing assistants, care technicians, dental assistants, pharmacy technicians and more.

“We will be offering training to over 375 students through all of those different health care programs and those certification programs that will connect to Delaware jobs,” Brainard said.

In addition, DelTech will partner up with vocational schools to offer construction and trade programs as well as logistics and transportation training. Other partnering businesses and organizations include the University of Delaware; The Food Bank of Delaware; Code Differently; Zip Code Wilmington; Tech Elevator; Wilmington University and The Precisionists.

Forward Delaware job retraining programs will start on a rolling cycle, and some begin as early as this month while others will start in November and December. All programs are expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Gary Stockbridge, chairman of the Delaware Workforce Development Board (DWDB), said that Forward Delaware was a beginning, not the end for the state’s labor force. His office and other partners will be developing a longer-term strategy over the course of the next one to two years.

“We recognize that this is going to be a little bit of a haul to really get Delaware back on its feet and back where we were before COVID,” Stockbridge said. “But we are excited about this process and we think it will get Delaware back to work. We can be in a position to be one of the best states to come back from COVID-19 because we have all players around the table.”

For more information in applying to Forward Delaware’s training programs or to be connected to employees using the programs, visit www.forwarddelaware.com.

One of the world’s leading digital-marketing transformation agencies calls Delaware home. Tapp Network develops innovative digital tools and campaigns for some of the world’s leading corporations and then transfers that knowledge to local nonprofits and state agencies to make the world a better place.

“Tapp stands at the intersection of technology, purpose and passion,” says Tapp Network co-founder Joe DiGiovanni, who opened the agency in 2013 with developer Kyle Barkins to fill the void in Delaware for a full-service mar-tech agency while serving their international clients.

Wilmington-based Tapp, which works out of CSC Station adjacent to the city’s Amtrak station and The Mill, is gaining a lot of traction in its home state. DiGiovanni, who graduated from the University of Delaware in 1989 with a degree in biology, says he and Barkins love the work environment in Wilmington and are eager to give back to the community.

“Kyle and I originally came together to build a website for one local client, Tech Impact, and then launched Zip Code Wilmington’s website,” DiGiovanni says. “We were then invited to be the keynote speakers at all three Nonprofit Tech Week events in California – including one at Microsoft’s headquarters. Hundreds of nonprofit attendees swarmed us seeking help. Their websites weren’t mobile responsive and lacked the modern tools and technology necessary for digital fundraising, e-commerce, and communications. That’s when we realized there was a huge opportunity in the social sector.”

Flash forward to the current COVID universe, where corporations, government agencies, and nonprofits are all playing catch-up to instill the digital resiliency needed to remain relevant and competitive.

“That’s where our strengths are,” DiGiovanni says.

Tapp is helping position Wilmington as a digital infrastructure hub. From clean energy to electric vehicles and from AI to fintech, workforce development and healthcare, Tapp is attracting top talent to Delaware to serve their clients representing some of the world’s fastest-growing corporations and economic sectors. Denso-Japan, Microsoft, Iteris, Hubspot, Athena-Healthcare, Nonstop Wellness, CSC Global, Solomon Energy, Juice Bar EV Charging Stations and Google are just a few of the international companies seeking Tapp’s software development expertise and digital marketing services.

Tapp also leads the global digital infrastructure wave in the nonprofit sector. TAPP recently formed an exclusive alliance with Tech Soup Global, a nonprofit international network of non-governmental organizations serving 80% of all nonprofits worldwide. Tech Soup Global provides technical support and technological tools to other nonprofits, working with 1 million nonprofits in 200 countries.

“First, they were a client,” DiGiovanni says. “Now, we’re the exclusive provider to all of their clients worldwide for website development and digital communication services. If you go to TechSoup and you need software, boom, that’s Microsoft. If you need a website built, we’re the ones that do that, white labeled through Tech Soup, Tapp services more than 200 new clients a year just from that partnership alone.”

Tapp also works with Tech Soup’s Digital Resiliency Fund, where large corporations like Truist and Google give million-dollar grants to help smaller nonprofits become digitally resilient. “We’ve built the platform process and program to help organizations identify and resolve their needs,” DiGiovanni says. 

On the civil sector side, TAPP collaborates with government agencies on their digital infrastructure and communications needs. “We’re looking to take the Digital Resiliency Program we built for Tech Soup and offer it here in Delaware, not just for nonprofits but for small and minority-owned businesses,” DiGiovanni says. “I think it could be transformational for the state.”

As an approved state vendor for digital communications, Tapp is preparing to roll out two big marketing campaigns for the Delaware Division of Public Health and the Department of Education’s Pathways program that represent a whole-new omnichannel approach to communications within the state.

“Many states – outside Delaware – historically rely on traditional banner ads, billboards, and social media, often in silos” DiGiovanni says. “We’re bringing artificial intelligence, personalization and data-driven communications to the table to connect the dots and drive measurable impact and positive behavior change. Other states are reaching out as well. Tapp is actively involved in launching a 2.0 version of United Way’s 211 system for the state of Pennsylvania and a learning management system for the State of California and partnering with Microsoft on a COVID-screening platform for students and teachers for the State of New Jersey. Locally, Tapp leads and manages the Its Time Wilmington and Wilm Today tourism campaign, which reached over two billion people in 2021.”

Tapp also was a big part of the state’s census efforts, which were hampered in many states by COVID.

“We were fortunate enough to put the digital tools in place before COVID hit, and that really is what saved it,” DiGiovanni says. “If you look at a lot of nonprofits and the funding that’s going into a lot of these grants around digital resiliency, nonprofits and government agencies need the capacity to communicate digitally, whether it’s fundraising online, email marketing or anything social. We didn’t know COVID was coming, of course, but establishing the digital infrastructure for the census really helped all the communications. If the public-private-social institutions aren’t tied together digitally, things will fall apart. So that’s what helped that work. Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long had the foresight to support us in putting those platforms in place, and it paid off.”

The COVID pandemic has changed Tapp’s approach both internally and with clients.

“I think the ability to collaborate virtually is one of the biggest differences – it helped transform the way we operate as a company,” DiGiovanni says. “A lot of our corporate clients have had to change their business models to focus more on marketing, sales and revenue operations. For nonprofits, it’s the fundraising, virtual events and collaboration tools. How do you communicate with your communities digitally? I think COVID really forced what needed to happen anyway, at least in the nonprofit space.”

For many business owners, there’s what you do and then what gives you joy. For DiGiovanni, the joy comes when people tap into their passion and purpose. “It’s when a client sees the light, when they can do what they’ve always dreamed,” he says. “It’s transferring the innovation from our large business-sector clients to the nonprofit and government sectors that really make us happy. Because if you’re an executive director of a startup nonprofit and it’s just one person, you can completely transform what they’re doing overnight.”

If he had “a pebble in his shoe” about his work, DiGiovanni would say it was the “bureaucracy and red tape nationally from a government standpoint, in terms of thinking outside the box and being creative.”

His suggestion? Be more like Delaware.

“I think that government agencies really need to embrace digital infrastructure and transformation,” he says. “It’s exciting to see Delaware is ahead of the curve and is trying to get that message across.”