hen Jill Mayer graduated from high school in 1999, career options felt more limited than what she sees available to today’s 18-year-olds. There was a “stigma,” Mayer said, “that if you don’t get a college degree you’re not going to be able to make good money and have a long career.”

But she likes to think that’s changing. Mayer, 40, now runs her family’s Milford-based manufacturing business, Bead Industries, and she recently took the helm as president of industry group ManufactureCT. In both roles, she puts a lot of energy into cultivating the manufacturing sector’s next generation of workers and leaders. Read More

Towns and cities across Connecticut are set to see a major windfall from the $1.7 trillion bill to fund the federal government, thanks to the practice formerly known as earmarking where lawmakers secure large pots of money to benefit their state and districts.

More than 170 projects were approved for Connecticut and tucked into the federal funding bill that passed Congress on Friday. The total amount for the state is upwards of $236 million — a number that greatly exceeds the previous year.

The programs and initiatives run the gamut. The largest group — about a third of projects — focus on infrastructure, while the remainder largely falls under economic development, health, housing, energy and the environment. Read More

Biology tools company Berkeley Lights will acquire IsoPlexis in a $57.8 million all-stock transaction agreement announced Wednesday. The new company will be named PhenomeX, with Berkeley Lights shareholders owning about 75% and IsoPlexis holders the rest.

Berkeley Lights CEO Siddhartha Kadia will be the CEO of the new company and a member of the board of directors. IsoPlexis CEO Sean Mackay will stay on as chief product officer of PhenomeX.

Based in Branford, CT, IsoPlexis focuses on cancer care using a single-cell analysis tool to refine its immunotherapies and offer more personalized care for patients. The company is known for its proteomic barcode chips that allow doctors and researchers to analyze all of a cell’s proteins and see how a person’s immune system would likely respond to different treatments. Read More