State Round Up

Colorado

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is donating $8 million over five years to support the creation of four “high tech” high schools around the state. Modeled after San Diego’s High Tech High, the Colorado schools will have teacher-to-student ratios of 1:15 and the same teacher will work with the students for four years. Students would have individualized workstations and practical internship experience will be built into the curriculum. The state is providing an $8 million match for the grant. Marc Holtzman, the Governor’s Secretary for Technology, is chairing the effort.



The Gates grant will also support the creation of a charter school network and breaking three large public schools into smaller multiplex schools managed by a private organization. For more information, see: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/

Michigan

To entice technology cluster development, the Michigan Economic Development Corp (MEDC) has announced the creation of 11 SmartZones, areas with existing clusters of high-tech companies, universities, and research institutions that can use special tax credits to attract additional out-of-state tech companies and investment. In addition to marketing assistance from MEDC, the SmartZones have access to a $50 million Core Community Fund, to support tech business start-up and entrepreneurship. See: http://medc.michigan.org/

New York

Doubling the state’s $50 million commitment, IBM will invest more than $100 million in a Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics at the State University of New York at Albany. The Center will create the only university-based 300 millimeter computer wafer pilot prototyping facility in the world. It also will provide laboratory and clean room space for research, build incubator space for high-tech company spin-offs, and create a state-of-the-art workforce development program at U Albany and associated community colleges. The announcement comes shortly after IBM's decision to build a $2.5 billion chip fabrication facility in East Fishkill, New York. This is the second center of excellence launched by the state this year (see February 16, 2001 edition of the SSTI Weekly Digest). See the April 23, press release on the new Albany Center of Excellence at: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/

Texas

Nicknamed the “Texas Needs Nerds” bill in local media, SB 353, already passed by the state Senate was approved unanimously without amendment by the House Committee on Higher Education last week. The bill calls for the creation of a $5 million fund to support programs that increase enrollment and retain graduates in engineering and computer sciences, particularly among women and minority students. Administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the fund’s investments in programs would be matched 1:1 by private industry. To encourage cooperation and coordination among the private sector and the state’s public engineering and computer science schools, the bill also calls for the creation of a Texas Engineering & Technical Consortium. To read the bill visit: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/

West Virginia

The Economic Development Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission have awarded a combined $2.35 million to the Upper Kanawha Valley Economic Development Corporation to build a new, 36,000-sq. ft., high-tech business incubator in Montgomery. Incubator tenants will be assisted by the West Virginia Institute of Technology.



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