SSTI Digest

The six position opportunities described below were posted on the SSTI Job Corner over the last week. For more information, including complete details on responsibilities, qualifications and application deadlines (when available), visit http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.



Georgia Tech's Program in Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP), a joint program of the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy and the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, seeks applicants for two postdoctoral positions: (1) program manager; and (2) research associate II. Applicants should have a background and interests in one or more of these STIP research thrusts: strategic technologies and regional innovation clusters; research commercialization; universities and technology development; knowledge measurement; scientific and technological human capital; industrial modernization; and diversity and innovation. A doctoral degree in public policy, city and regional planning, economics, management or a related discipline is required. Competitive salary and benefits packages based on experience. These are both one-year positions and may be renewed annually.



The North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park is seeking a business development specialist to assume responsibility for the overall entrepreneurship activity in the Center for Technology Enterprise, which is scheduled to open in December 2006. This position will be responsible for coaching incubator tenants, providing technical assistance with business plan development, and capital formation for entrepreneurs. The position will also coordinate and enlist the assistance of an advisory board of experts from the region to guide the program and assist with the creation of new entrepreneurial ventures. A bachelors degree from an accredited university in business or accounting, or extensive experience in creating new technology ventures, is required.



The University of South Dakota is seeking a director of research development for its Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. This position will work with the vice president for research to develop and implement policies and procedures aimed at increasing research productivity, sponsored research activity, and the commercialization of research. Minimum qualifications include three years of experience in university research development or administration and a master's degree in a relevant field.



The Washington Technology Center (WTC) currently is hiring for three positions:

Over the past six years, SSTI has dedicated a portion of the Digest to coverage on the legislative priorities of governors across the nation through the Tech Talkin' Govs series. As they say, talk is cheap. So this year, we are extending that coverage to track how the Governors' proposals fared in the respective legislative sessions. In the coming months, as many sessions come to an end, SSTI will take a look back on the governors' state-of-the-state, budget, and inaugural addresses and report the good, the bad and the ugly of the 2006 legislative decisions.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Debra Lyons to lead the newly created Office of Workforce Development.

Dr. R. Kelly Dawe was named the inaugural Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Distinguished Investigator, a new level of investment made by GRA.

Georgia Tech announced that Dr. Jeffrey Skolnick will join its faculty this spring as the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology.

While women are making strides in entrepreneurship, they still have a ways to go, particularly in science and technology (S&T) fields. This was the theme during the session, Encouraging Women Entrepreneurship, conducted during SSTI's 9th Annual Conference on Oct. 19-21, 2005.

Over the last 15 years, few states have been as focused on investing in higher education to encourage sustainable economic prosperity as Georgia. At SSTI's 9th Annual Conference on Oct. 19-21, 2005, presenters made the case that the southern state is a national leader in American higher education.

In another wing of the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, site of SSTI's 2005 conference, participants shared what their states and regions are doing in the area of encouraging the development and deployment of alternative energy. Lee Cheatham, executive director of the Washington Technology Center, and Karl Jessen, program director of industry support under the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust (RET), led the session.

Note: This is the first in a series of articles SSTI will be running over the next several weeks to provide synopses of selected breakout sessions from SSTI's 9th Annual Conference, held Oct. 19-21, 2005, in Atlanta. Ideas for 2006 conference sessions can be forwarded to skinner@ssti.org. Look for more news on SSTI's 10th annual conference beginning in late winter.

There were recurring themes underlying the design and development of SSTI's 9th Annual Conference, Investing in a Brighter Future: Building Tech-based Economies, held Oct. 19-21 in Atlanta, Georgia: inevitability, irrelevance and inspiration.

Anne Wein is the new executive director of Southeast BIO, a nonprofit organization concentrating on the growth of the life sciences industry.

Conference Only seven days remain until the opening of SSTI's 9th Annual Conference in Atlanta. More than 330 of the nation's top thinkers and practitioners for the TBED community will convene at the InterContinental Hotel seeking guidance from their peers.