One of the MANY things I love about Northern Nevada is the incredible range of interesting organizations and resources available to help our local businesses and entrepreneurs. Here’s a quick look at five of these groups:
Bridgewire – www.RenoBridgewire.org
Bridgewire is a “makerspace and hackerspace” workshop serving the Reno-Sparks area. Their 5,000 square feet of space includes a wood shop, metal shop, 3D printer, CNC Laser/Mill and much much more. Bridgewire is a member-funded nonprofit that opened in Oct, 2011 and offers an Open Space Night each Thursday from 6 – 9 pm. Bridgewire is located at 1055 Industrial Way, Suite #20, Sparks.
Nevada Inventors Association – www.NevadaInventors.org
Nevada Inventors Association’s (NIA) mission is to be the “leading local forum for independent inventors to socialize and acquire education, assistance, and networking in the innovation process.” Founded in 1987, NIA is a nonprofit focused on helping the independent inventor who may not have the budget or resources to conceptualize, design, prototype and patent their inventions. NAI members work together to pool their resources and share their experiences.
Northern Nevada Software Developers Group – www.SoftwareDevelopersGroup.com
The Northern Nevada Software Developers Group (NNSDG) is a group of Software Developers who have come together to discuss technology, learning and the future of Software Development in Northern Nevada. Founded in 2009, NNSDG has been the best source of continuous technical education in Northern Nevada and they continue to foster the area’s technical community. NNSDG participates in and plans various technology-related events including meetings, hackathons and social outings.
Reno Collective – www.RenoCollective.com
The Reno Collective is a “collaborative workspace for designers, creatives, technologists, entrepreneurs, freelancers, rocket scientists and startups.” They’ve just moved into their new location at 100 N. Arlington Ave, Suite 100 in Reno. The Reno Collective offers members a place to work, meet new people, and collaborate with other talented people, ands offer space to their members where they can hold meetings and conferences or host events.
Reno-Tahoe Photonics Cluster – www.RenoTahoePhotonics.com
The Reno-Tahoe Photonics Cluster (RTPC) is the local chapter of the Optical Society of America. RTPC is a nonprofit whose members are interested in all facets of Photonics, including Optics, Lasers, Electro-Optics, Sensors, MEMS, Nanotech, Micro lithography, Microscopy, Astronomy, Spectroscopy and Biotech Instrumentation. RTPC’s monthly meetings include a presentation on a Photonics-related topic followed by a discussion and dinner.