Back in 1982, Jerry Mearini was all set to study guitar at Berklee College of Music when he abruptly changed his mind. “The day before I was supposed to go, I realized that I couldn’t play guitar for the rest of my life,” he recalls. Instead Mearini earned a degree in physics from Ohio State and a masters and PhD in experimental physics from CWRU.
 
Mearini’s decision to study physics paid off well. In 1998 he founded Genvac Aerospace, a company in Highland Heights that produces materials and components for the aerospace industry using diamond-like carbon.  
 
But music was still in Mearini’s blood. He has played guitar in a local classic rock and heavy metal band for 40 years. Two years ago, he began merging his love of rock and roll, physics and diamond-like carbon films into one to create Rock Hard diamond guitar picks.
 
The stainless steel picks are coated with a thin layer of carbon. They provide a smooth but hard metal surface, but without friction, that won’t wear. “The last few years I’ve been looking at opportunities to put some of this diamond-like carbon in picks,” Mearini explains. “It just does not scratch. The coating resulted in a fantastic new guitar pick.”
 
Now Mearini has made a few hundred picks, launched a Indiegogo campaign, and is about to open an Amazon store. The picks range from $20 with an Indiegogo contribution to $30 on Amazon. And he says all manufacturing can be done in Cleveland. “All of the facilities necessary to make this product are probably best found in Cleveland,” he says.
 
Mearini says musicians have praised the picks for their properties. “So far, every guitarist I’ve given them to has liked them,” he boasts. “I have to admit, this is a lot of fun.”

On Tuesday, over 500 guests gathered at the Victory Center in the Health-Tech Corridor to celebrate the sold-out Vibrant City awards, hosted by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress.

CNP President Joel Ratner told the crowd, “The facts are there. Data shows that our region is gaining brains and income, our city schools are making terrific improvements, and Cleveland’s population loss is ending. We are headed into an era of exciting growth.”

City of Cleveland Community Development Director Daryl Rush was honored with the inaugural Morton L.Mandel Leadership in Community Development Award. Other recipients were:

CDC Catalytic Project/Program Award
Fairfax Renaissance Development -- Intergenerational housing

Urban Realtor Award
Keith Brown and Dave Sharkey – Progressive Urban Real Estate

Developer Award
Keith Sutton and Dave Territo, Sutton Builders

Neighborhood Branding & Marketing Award
Downtown Cleveland Alliance – You and Downtown Video

Community Collaboration Award
Gordon Square Arts District (DSCDO, NWT, CPT)

Corporate Partner Award
Third Federal Saving

The orchestra's residency, which continues through May, is an amalgamation of free concerts, community service efforts, educational collaborations in local schools and health and wellness events over a three-month period.

This weekend, celebrate the opening of BRICK Ceramic + Design Studio, clean up Euclid Park with Erie Art Treasures Kid’s Adventures, check out CMA’s MIX: Design, learn the history of your favorite University Circle pub and more.

Through turning inventors' ideas into medical products and services, CCI has created 73 spinoff companies in the past 15 years, including some that have become recognizable entities in Cleveland and worldwide.

Seniors in Cleveland will soon have a new outlet for creative expression, thanks to a new program through the Benjamin Rose Institute of Aging. The Encore Artists program pairs older adults with professional artists, art therapists and music therapists age 50 and older at various sites around Cleveland.
 
“I’ve been trying to find a way to bridge the art world with the aging world,” explains Linda Noelker, senior vice president at Benjamin Rose and Encore Artists project director. “Research shows that older adults, when they actively engage with the arts, it improves their health and quality of life.” In particular, she cites seniors with ailments like Parkinson’s disease who participate in dance have improved gaits, better balance and fewer falls.
 
Noelker approached the Cleveland Foundation about funding such a program. “I talked to the Cleveland Foundation and said why don’t we try to recruit artists and give them training in the arts with older adults,” recalls Noelker.
 
The Cleveland Foundation agreed and is funding Encore Artists program, along with the Ohio Arts Council, as part of its Encore Cleveland program.
 
Noelker is currently recruiting art teachers, art therapists and music therapists to volunteer for the project. Selected artists will go through a two-day training in May and then be listed on a registry that details their experience and program interests. Artists must commit to providing 48 hours of programming in the next six months. Artists and can sign up through Benjamin Rose.
 
Noelker is also looking for community sites within Cleveland to host the project’s events. Ideal host sites are nursing homes, libraries, or recreation centers. Potential hosts sites can register here. For more information, contact Noelker.

This week, taste traditional Somali fare at Kafaya’s Kitchen, support independent journalism at Belt’s bar crawl, take a moonlit bike ride on the Towpath, learn to construct a pinhole camera and more.

Since 2009, Explorys has leveraged big data in the healthcare field to form one of the largest healthcare databases in the world, helping medical professionals provide better patient care and diagnoses. Formed out of the Cleveland Clinic in October 2009 by Charlie Lougheed and Stephen McHale, Explorys has become one of the world’s largest data platforms.

Last Monday, McHale announced to 38,000 attendees of the HIMSS conference in Chicago that Explorys has been acquired by IBM. The news was announced by Lougheed in Cleveland. The company will be a part of IBM’s Watson Health Unit.
 
The deal was a natural fit, says Lougheed. “It was one of those things,” he says. “Explorys and IBM are both leaders in the space. We’ve bumped into each other and we’ve even collaborated from time to time with our joint customers. We really see each other as pioneers in the industry”
 
Lougheed said there were three components to the decision to join IBM: Industry growth, customers, and Explorys’ employees. “We really believe in this mission and we want to see the mission continue and accelerate,” he explains. “We asked, is it good for our customers, does it make sense? Because they subscribe to our systems for a reason, so it had to matter to them.”
 
Most importantly, Lougheed said they considered their employees. “We asked, is this good for our employees, because they deserve something great as well,” he explains. “This a great thing for our employees to grow their careers.”
 
Explorys will remain in Cleveland, and all employees will retain their jobs. “There are some of the best and the brightest data software engineers in the world here,” Lougheed says. “Cleveland is a great place to keep Explorys moving. We’re going to continue to expand as expected.”

Companies in Cleveland are saving wood and other materials that were once factory floors and school chalkboards from dumpsters and transforming them into beautiful, high-quality furniture and flooring.

Each year, CIA's annual Spring Design Show showcases up-and-coming ingenuity in our own backyard. Outside of these four walls, CIA students are helping to transform Cleveland through their creative products and innovations.

This weekend, celebrate creative women at Women to Watch — Ohio, show your mother some love at EarthFest2015, get carried away with Cleveland Ballet, rock out at Record Store Day and more. 

Beginning in September, two of Cleveland’s top institutions will come together to offer a program for those with a mind for both business and health care. CWRU Weatherhead School of Management and the Cleveland Clinic announced on Thursday that the two will partner to offer an executive MBA program with a focus on health care.

“This is just an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while,” says Simon Peck, associate dean for Weatherhead’s MBA programs and associate professor in the management school’s design and innovation department. “It’s taking an existing MBA program that’s always been highly rated and collaborating with the Cleveland Clinic. I think it’s crazy we’re not doing more in this area.”
 
The program will target students who have both an interest in business and the growing health care sector. With a top academic institution and a top hospital system both located so close together, and with the partnership in the medical education campus, the partnership only made sense, says Peck.
 
“This is the first time Weatherhead School of Management and the Cleveland Clinic have partnered so closely,” he says. “I saw a need for leadership in an MBA with a focus on healthcare. You can’t just be a fantastic doctor and pick up the skills to run a hospital.” But Peck also stresses the eMBA program is not just for physicians -- the need for executives in health care is growing in all areas.
 
The 20-month academic program consists of 16 sessions over five semesters. Classes meet three days a month. Classroom sessions meet at both the Weatherhead and Clinic campuses.
 
Applications are due by June 15. For more information, contact Stephen Scheidt, director of admissions at the Weatherhead School.
 
 
 

Gear up for an action-packed weekend! Shop the Cleveland Flea’s April Market, enjoy Danceworks at Cleveland Public Theatre, run a 5K to benefit colon cancer, learn tips for maintaining a beautiful yard without chemicals and more.
 

"The rust belt city offers some old-fashioned, even old-world, charms. Readers ranked it at No. 5 for its rich food halls, like West Side Market—with spices, baked goods and delis—which dates back to 1912, when it catered primarily to the city’s immigrants."

Read the full story here.

"It's cheap, their museum is on point, and they have excellent taste in beer." So says Buzzfeed.

Check out what other cities made the list. Read the full story here.

This weekend, laugh with the women of Roadkill Comedy Tour, go for a ride with Critical Mass, embrace your inner animal lover at Alley Cat Project’s fundraiser, boogie with Secret Soul Club and attend a conference at CIA on art and community.