Smart phones have become central to our lives, getting smarter and smarter with each passing generation. However, with progress, comes great danger.  ese sophisticated devices resting in our pockets and being held against our cheeks are emitting potentially harmful waves of electromagnetic radiation that penetrate into our body, possibly doing untold amounts of harm. Pong Research has developed a simple solution that has the potential to save lives. Operating out of Leesburg, Virginia, a team of physicists and entrepreneurs led by Shannon Kennedy, have developed the Pong case for smart phones and iPads. We spoke to Shannon about Pong Research and how his revolutionary cases redirect electromagnetic radiation away from user without limiting your device’s signal strength.

This is the Third of an Eight-Part Feature on the designers’ vision and progress at the DC Design House, which is underway and set to open on April 14th.

For Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey of SCW Interiors in Alexandria, VA, www.scwinteriors.com, being included as one of the designers in the 2012 DC Design House is “the most prestigious invitation for a designer.” But it also means sprinting to the finish line. “Being selected to design for the showhouse is a bit like being crowned homecoming queen then having to run a marathon in your ball gown while collecting items for a scavenger hunt,” Cavin-Winfrey says. It’s also one of the highlights of one’s career, she notes.

From John Lisle: Adopting a street tree in the District of Columbia just got a lot easier. If you have a smart phone, you can join the Canopy Keepers program by simply scanning the Quick Response (QR) tag hanging on or near newly planted street trees in the city.