PreDoctoral Fellowships Offered by Humanities Institute

Humanities Institute has established a Predoctoral Fellowship program which may award up to $30,000 to each fellow.  Following a highly competitive application and selection process, each fellow pursues research in conjunction with interdisciplinary humanities courses. Fellows will also receive free tuition.

The mission of the Humanities Institute (HI) (http://www.humanitiesinstitute.org) is to provide high-quality humanities education free of charge.  Over the years, HI has developed an extensive array of courses, articles, and studies written and developed by experts and commissioned directly by HI for the purposes of developing a unique body of knowledge
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Art Nouveau by Antonio Gaudí - Barcelona - Casa Battlo - mosaic battlements

In addition to making its library of resources available to the public free of charge, HI also has developed high quality courses and certificates, which consist of lesson plans and assessments. They can be used by professors for their courses.  In addition, the courses are used in conjunction with HI’s certificate programs.

HI courses are taught by HI by Ph.D.-credentialed experts who work one-on-one with students.

To apply for the Predoctoral Fellowship, please visit the website, and send your materials to admissions@humanitiesinstitute.org. If you have more detailed questions, please contact the Humanities Institute's founder, Dr. Turhan Baykan (tbaykan@aol.com).  He is happy to answer your questions and discuss your goals and aspirations.

The Importance of a Humanities Education

The humanities matter now more than ever, in a time of rapid change across the spectrum of human endeavor. The study of the humanities helps us develop an appreciation for multiple points of view, and to approach problems with flexible, creative thinking.

To study literature, history, philosophy, the arts, we learn about different cultures and how civilizations are born, develop, and evolve. We also explore how and why a knowledge of the humanities is foundational for development and application of organizations, business, math, science, and technology.

Studying humanities develops multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted thinking skills, and an ability to think about the future, its opportunities and challenges, and to approach them with fresh insights and wisdom.

The Mysterious Stone Kingdom of the Great Zimbabwe

Art Nouveau by Antonio Gaudí - Barcelona - Casa Battlo - mosaic battlements

These Are the Slides You Need to Include in Your Next Pitch Deck

You will need a strong pitch deck in your quest to find funding and commercialization partners for your new technology or business idea. Welcome to a discussion with Rae Steinbach, The Funding Circle, about the perfect pitch deck. 

A strong pitch deck is an invaluable tool for any entrepreneur looking to attract small business funding or an investment, and there are countless examples available online detailing the various strategies startups use in their presentations. Many entrepreneurs aren’t aware of the factors that are most important to potential investors, so it’s crucial to consider things from their point of view when designing your pitch.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to a successful pitch deck, and it’s important to remember that what works for one business may not be as effective for another. That said, you should consider including these fundamental slides in your upcoming pitch deck.

Your Problem

Finding a problem to fix is one of the most crucial steps involved in creating a successful business, and the problem you plan to solve is just as important to your investors.

Connect your idea to real-world situations and needs that investors can relate to. Numbers and strategies are important too, but every strong pitch fills a critical need in the market.

Your Solution

Following the explanation of the problem you plan to solve is the way you plan to solve it. Solution slides are all about explaining how your idea changes the way people approach your problem.

Demonstrating your solution typically involves showing how your service or product would be used. Again, this section ties the big ideas from your other slides in with real-world examples and shares a clear value.

Your Team

Investors are used to hearing about the next big thing, but what they’re really interested in is what makes your team the right group for the job.

Your team slide should highlight the main contributors along with their expertise and relevant experience. If you’re still looking for new members, use this slide to identify the positions you need to fill and what they will do for your business.

Your Competition

Competition is critical to the success of any business, especially for startups that are still building their brand.

Including a slide about your competition gives you a chance to talk about other ways users are solving the problem your business targets and how your company is different. You’ll be able to highlight any competitive advantages and demonstrate why you’ll succeed over other businesses in the same niche.

Your Investment

The point of a pitch deck is to encourage investment, so you should add at least one slide on investment near the end of your presentation.

This slide is meant to explain how much investment money you need and how it will contribute to your short- and long-term goals. You can also mention others who have already invested in your business.

More than 600,000 new businesses are founded every year in the United States alone, and investment is crucial to growth and stability in the early phases. Adding these critical slides to your upcoming pitch deck will tell investors everything they need to know to feel confident in your startup.

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About Rae Steinbach: 
Rae is a graduate of Tufts University with a combined International Relations and Chinese degree. After spending time living and working abroad in China, she returned to NYC to pursue her career and continue curating quality content. Rae is passionate about travel, food, and writing.
 

Flared and Stranded Gas Solutions: Mini LNG Plant

--> First, there was horizontal drilling, then massive multistage hydraulic fracturing. Then "smart oilfield" with factory drilling and remotely operated operations dramatically improved productivity.

This was good, except that production outstripped pipeline capacity, especially for gas. It also glutted already saturated markets, resulting in a price collapse. The best thing to do with gas was either to flare it or not produce it all, and neither option was good for companies that counted on cash flow from operations to pay for their capital expenditures and private equity financing.

Martin was in a bind. He raised money for two different projects. One was a plan to go into the Panhandle Gas Field and drill horizontal wells to liberate the gas left behind by vertical drilling.

"Fish in a barrel," he gloated inwardly. And, it worked.  What he had not counted on was the terrible condition of the 40-year-old pipelines that had weathered price collapses and negligent owners.  He had "stranded gas" unless he wanted to pay the midstream company to update the system.

"Good grief," he said.  "I might as well buy my own midstream company." But, buying a pipeline did not make sense. After all, he did not know how long the gas production would hold up. or at what production volume.

Martin's other project was equally challenging. He drilled horizontal wells in the Antrim Shale in Michigan, which was really close to the hungry market of Chicago. But, the field was not huge, and there were no nearby pipelines. Given that the wells had a productive life of about 36 months, he could continue to time the development of the new wells to compensate for the depleting ones for at least 5 or 6 years. But, after that, unless they found another field, there would be nothing to produce into a pipeline.  Given those conditions, no midstream companies would touch him.

Martin found a solution:  small-scale, portable LNG facilities

He decided to contact the company and find out how to put in portable LNG solutions, and instead of putting the produced gas into a pipeline, the produced gas would go to the LNG plant, and then they'd put the liquid natural gas in bottles to sell or put in a warehouse (rather than flaring or not producing at all).

• Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles (old Panhandle Gas Field)
• Marcellus (remote parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania)
• New Mexico stranded gas
• Utica (remote parts of New York and Ohio)
• Antrim (Michigan)
• New Albany (Indiana)
• Mancos (remote parts of Colorado
• Haynesville (Louisiana, East Texas)
• Fayetteville (remote parts of Arkansas)
• others...

Now Martin is looking for more available gas fields.
Contact me him if you'd like to explore the economics of getting a mini-LNG plant on your property.