SSTI Digest

Baiju Shah is the new president of the Cleveland's BioEnterprise Corp., succeeding Matt Jennings.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has named Sheri Stickley interim executive director, following the resignation of William Sibley.

Pete Tartline has resigned his position as president and CEO of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania.

Tina Van Camp has been named the director of the South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Former president and CEO of the Columbus Technology Council William "Sandy" White is the new CEO of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Research Foundation.

The board of directors of Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) has appointed Lavon Winkler as its new president and CEO.

Includes $24M for Biomedical Research, $50M for Wright Centers

Ohio has a biennial budget process so the fiscal year 2005 budget for technology-based economic development (TBED) activities could have been set in stone back in June 2003. With the passage of three bills this spring, however, the state legislature has committed an additional $103 million for its Third Frontier Project for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004. The new funds are a staple to the FY 2005 appropriations for other TBED programs such as Ohio's Thomas Edison Program, its SBIR efforts and coal research office.

When Florida Gov. Jeb Bush surprised the world last October by announcing the state had landed an East Coast campus for the Scripps Research Institute, the draw from the public coffers cost was pegged at $510 million. The state was contributing $310 million and the county's share was up to $200 million for land acquisition and building construction.

Michigan small businesses receiving state and federal grants for research and development will be able to put more of those funds into their work, with legislation unanimously passing the state Senate last week.

The House Appropriations Committee passed on June 9 its version of the fiscal year 2005 Homeland Security bill, approving $70 million for university programs in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The funding level is $40 million above the President's FY 2005 request. The additional $40 million is allocated specifically for university-based centers of excellence.

A new report assessing 2002 federal research and development (R&D) funding in U.S. universities and colleges finds 45 percent of all federal R&D funds went directly to the nation’s 126 medical schools. This striking discovery, the authors contend, raises the question of whether other areas having substantial R&D funding needs such as environment, energy, homeland security and education are receiving the attention they require.

Although a significant gap still exists between women-led companies and their male counterparts, in terms of venture funding, some promising news may suggest a change in fortune for the former, a study released today by Growthink Research of Los Angeles and Chicago-based re:invention Inc. shows.