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Tony Jeff has been selected to serve as executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.

John Kotek, formerly with Argonne National Laboratory-West, has been named deputy manager of the Department of Energy's Idaho Operations Office. The office oversees the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

Idaho Falls businessman LaMoyne Hyde was appointed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to serve as Director of the Idaho Department of Commerce.

The Mississippi Technology Alliance has released a second annual index focusing on the process of innovation, the links between innovation and technology-based economic development, and activities that government, academia and the private sector provide to support innovation and economic development.

Community buy-in to building a technology-based economy is vital for TBED success. Establishing a strong private sector commitment to science and technology can make a significant difference, particularly as elected officials are deciding what to cut or trim from the budget. TBED organizations use different approaches to get the buy-in. In states such as Massachusetts (see story in this Digest), the top-down direction from the Governor could provide the group critical access. Mississippi's grassroots approach to building tech councils, on the other hand, is designed to infuse a science and technology mindset throughout the state at the very local level — with a little financial and technical assistance from the state's lead TBED organization.

Gary Mahn, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, has announced he will resign from the position at the end of the year.

Governor Dirk Kempthorne has announced the creation of TechConnect East, a regional science and technology office to be located at the Idaho State University Incubation Center in Pocatello, Idaho.

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) Tribal Chief Phillip Martin and Mississippi Technology Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Angie Dvorak recently announced a partnership to help foster science-based economic development for the state of Mississippi. The alliance's partnership with a tribal government is possibly the first of its kind in the U.S.



"This is an opportunity for members of the public, private and academia sectors to come together to aggressively explore ways to work with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians," Dr. Dvorak said in a press release.



The Mississippi Choctaw Technology Forum held earlier this week in Philadelphia, Miss., formally recognized the partnership. The April 15-16 event enabled representatives from science and tech-based industries to examine research and business partnership opportunities with the MBCI and tour the MBCI facilities. Representatives also were able to gain perspectives from technology industry officials and discuss research proposals with some of the top scientific educators in Mississippi.



Chief Martin said he hopes the partnership will foster the creation of higher skilled, higher wage jobs that compliment MBCI's existing capabilities.



"We are seeking seeking to develop partnerships with high-tech companies that create win-win relationships for both parties," Chief Martin said.

Rod Linton has been tapped to lead Utah's new Office of Science & Technology within the Dept. of Community & Economic Development. Mike Keene is the new State Science Advisor and Director of the Centers of Excellence Program.

Again, "Tech-talkin Govs" highlights programs, policies and issues in tech-based economic development that were considered in the following governors' State of the State addresses.



Utah

Michael Leavitt, State of the State, January 28, 2002

http://www.utah.gov/governor/stateofstate.html

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is the nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides the forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking the laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace. More than 700 major federal laboratories and centers and their parent departments and agencies are FLC members. 



The approach of the FLC is to use a coordinated program that meets the technology transfer support needs of FLC member laboratories, agencies, and their potential partners in the transfer process. While its mission is to promote and facilitate the rapid movement of federal laboratory research results and technologies into the mainstream of the U.S. economy, the FLC develops and tests transfer methods, addresses barriers to the process, provides training, highlights grass-roots transfer efforts, and emphasizes national initiatives where technology transfer has a role. For the public and private sector, the FLC brings laboratories together with potential users of government-developed technologies. This is in part accomplished by the FLC Laboratory Locator Network and regional and national meetings. 



FLC News... 

As the new FLC Chair, Ann Rydalch outlines her goals and objectives in the Summer 2001 edition of FLC Insider, the Consortium's quarterly newsletter. Ms. Rydalch offers the following: 

Ann Rydalch has been elected to serve as chair of the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer. Ms. Rydalch works for at the Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Lab. Outgoing chair C. Dan Brand will be retiring this summer.