SSTI Digest

New York Governor Pataki has nominated Dr. Russell Bessette to serve as the Executive Director of the New York Office of Science and Technology (NYSTAR). His appointment is subject to confirmation of the New York State Senate. Dr. Russell Bessette is a clinical professor at the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine's Department of Surgery, the Executive Director of Research at the Buffalo Technology Transfer Center at Sisters Hospital in Buffalo and a reconstructive plastic surgeon at the Head and Neck Center at Sisters Hospital.

Governor Pataki appointed Dr. Roland Schmitt, president emeritus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as chairman of the NYSTAR advisory board.

The Foundation Center is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1956 with the mission to “foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.” Audiences include grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.

The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) currently has three positions available: Investment Officer, Consulting Coordinator, and Director of Research & Training. 

Most of New York’s science and technology initiatives have been consolidated into the New York Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR), which has received an annual budget of $130.6 million as a result of the Jobs 2000 Plan or “J2K” signed by Governor George Pataki in mid-November.

The Markle Foundation has announced plans to give away $100 million -- more than half of the Foundation's current endowment -- over the next five years for projects and programs to improve public benefit from the Internet. Recipients will include non-profit organizations as well as for-profit companies.



Awards are concentrated in four areas:



Public Engagement through Interactive Technology -- "supports research, applications, and experimentation that encourage the use of communications technology for active engagement in the pursuit of knowledge and for effective participation in democratic society."

Joseph Magno, the executive director of the New York State Science and Technology Foundation, has resigned his position. He has accepted a position with the State University of New York Research Foundation.

New York Governor George Pataki amended his proposed FY 1997-98 budget to restore funding for the state's technology programs. Pataki's revised budget calls for more than $20 million for technology programs, almost twice what was originally submitted to the legislature in January.