SSTI Digest

TBED People Michael Burcham has been named the first president of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Burcham currently serves as a clinical faculty member at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. Austin Burke, longtime president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, is being nominated secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Burke will replace George Cornelius, who is leaving his post to become the president of Bridgewater College in Virginia. Former National Science Foundation official Deborah Crawford has been appointed Drexel University's vice provost for research. Crawford will begin her tenure at Drexel in September. New York state senators confirmed Dennis Mullen as president and CEO of Empire state Development Corp. and commissioner of the state Department of Economic Development. Mullen has been serving as acting head of Empire State Development since June 2009, when Gov. David Paterson tapped him to succeed Marisa Lago. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced the appointment of Aaron Olver as the secretary of the Department of Commerce. Olver, the department's current…

Having the tools and resources to develop innovative concepts and products and move discoveries from the lab to the marketplace is an essential component for building tech-based economies. Research parks, a place where innovative ideas are borne, partnerships between university and industry are created, and companies grow and create new jobs, provide a foundation for the kind of economic growth necessary to compete in a global economy. Over the past few months, development plans and groundbreaking announcements from research parks across the nation have been made. Construction on the first building of Innovation Park, a Missouri University of Science & Technology Research Park, began in March on what used to be a 60-acre golf course. When completed, the building will provide 18,500 sq. ft. of office suites and shared office space for tenants. The concept for a research park on the Missouri S&T campus has been a topic of discussion for more than 10 years, according to the university. Innovation Park is slated to open in October 2010. Plans for a recently announced $20 million venture-backed commercialization hub at the University of Minnesota would include a 60…

The State University of New York has released a ten-year strategic plan to help revitalize the New York state economy. One major element of the plan is increasing the university's involvement in statewide entrepreneurship through several new inititiatives, including SUNY Start-UP, which would invite entrepreneurial mentors on campus to work with students and professors, and SUNY-INC, which would align research teams across the state to accelerate the commercialization of new technologies. Read more ...

Silicon Valley, a region often looked to for trends in the technology field, is expected to see a rise in the number of new high-tech incubators and the expansion of existing incubators in the coming months. A recent Wall Street Journal article points to these openings as a sign of revival for technology startup companies amid a relatively slow period last year as startup investment plunged during the recession. Across the nation, specialized incubators spanning clean energy, sustainable architecture and advanced materials have emerged over the past several months to support high-tech ventures. USTAR announced in January the opening of Utah's first incubator focused on information technology and renewable energy. The Southern Utah Information Technology and Renewable Energy Incubator, located in St. George, will support businesses focused on high technology, green technology and alternative energy. Another high-tech business incubator opened in Utah late last year. The BioInnovations Gateway (BiG) located in Salt Lake City is in an incubator for emerging biotech and medical device companies, a high-tech training facility for the next generation of bio-innovators, and…

The New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), the state’s lead tech-based economic development agency, would see a significant boost in funding under a proposal unveiled by Gov. David Paterson to distribute $100 million in new Innovation Economy Matching Grants. Announced during his State of the State Address, the grants would be divided among a new Technology Seed Fund ($25 million), a Small Business Revolving Loan Fund ($25 million) and funding for other economic development initiatives ($45 million). NYSTAR is slated to receive $142 million in FY11 general fund appropriations, an increase of $101.3 million. Total funding for the High Technology Program is $135.7 million, which includes $100 million for the matching grants and $6.9 million for the state’s six centers of excellence. Additional NYSTAR appropriations include $1.9 million for the Research Development Program (down $4 million), and $1.5 million for state matching funds for the manufacturing extension partnership program, the same as last year. Two of New York’s three economic development programs would be merged to form a new agency for stimulating…

Entering its tenth year covering governors’ State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses, SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states: Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer, State of the State Address, Jan. 11, 2010 “… I am taking the following specific actions to make Arizona even more competitive in creating jobs. First, I am announcing the formation of a Governor's Jobs Cabinet. This team of key state agency directors will cut through the red tape and the green tape to speed job creation. “Second, I will be allocating a significant portion of remaining federal stimulus funds directly to bring new jobs to Arizona. Specifically, I am devoting $10 million in one-time federal stimulus funds for job training. … “… Third, under the leadership of Jerry Colangelo and Commerce Director Don Cardon ... I have created the Governor's Commerce Advisory Council. Working with other Arizona business leaders, they will transform the Department of Commerce into…

Robert Fritzinger has been named the director of the new SUNY Fredonia Business Technology Incubator. Ioanna Morfessis, a consultant from Phoenix, was unanimously appointed as the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation by the board of directors. Morfessis is expected to start work in January, and will serve as acting director until the Senate confirms her appointment. Alan Rebar, senior associate vice president for research and executive director of Discovery Park, and Richard Cosier, dean and Leeds Professor at the Krannert School of Management, have been named to lead Purdue University’s Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.

While New York City's universities and research centers are among the country's top institutions for performing scientific research, the city’s institutions have not become the drivers of entrepreneurship and economic development witnessed in other regions of the U.S, according to a new report from the Center for an Urban Future. Additionally, the high cost of real estate and lack of affordable laboratory space inhibits local entrepreneurs from succeeding and deters high-tech investment. Building New York City's Innovation Economy authors Jim O'Grady and Jonathan Bowles incorporate data from an innovation index examining 48 comparative metrics of NYC's five boroughs and the greater New York City metro region. The authors identify many of the existing components that should make New York City fertile ground for future entrepreneurial efforts. For example, in the five boroughs there are six institutions among the top 100 universities for life science R&D spending in the U.S. Generating discoveries also has been lucrative for universities in the city, as NYU collected $791 million in royalties in 2007, while Columbia University generated $135 million in the same year…

As economists and policymakers debate the details of how and when the nation will recover from the recession, the topic of entrepreneurship and the role it will play in shaping the new economy continually arises. In the coming years, some analysts predict a rise in entrepreneurship both as a result of massive layoffs and an aging workforce not yet ready or able to retire. Highlighting the correlation between joblessness and the uptick in entrepreneurship, several recent news articles have featured stories of the unemployed forgoing disappointing job searches and the corporate environment to pursue business ownership. At the same time, the U.S. may be on the cusp of an entrepreneurial boom thanks to its aging population. A recent report by the Kauffman Foundation finds the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity belongs to 55-64 year olds. The study points to several factors driving this shift, including changes in job tenure, an increase in life expectancy, and the continued decline of lifetime employment and the experience and tacit knowledge such employees carry with them. Additionally, stronger regulations aiming to prevent the rise of giant organizations may help…

The New York State legislature passed an act enabling New York City to move forward with a $3 million biotech tax credit that is expected to encourage biotechnology firms to bring their jobs, innovation, and emerging technologies to the city. The bill (S.4845-B/A.8131) is expected to be signed into law by Gov. David Paterson. Among the first beneficiaries of the credit will be new tenants for the East River Science Park (ESRP), a $700 million bioscience complex being built along First Avenue between 28th and 30th Streets. Last week, ESRP announced its first signed tenant, biotechnology company ImClone Systems, which is owned by Eli Lilly. The city's new biotech tax credit, in tandem with state tax incentives and broad-based government investment in diversifying the local economy, will bring more such companies to ESRP and sites across the five boroughs. The new tax credit, designed to work with New York State's Qualified Emerging Technologies Credit (QETC), will be capped at $3 million per year and will go into effect for three years beginning January 2010. The credit will help emerging firms equip labs, train technicians, and fund access to high-tech equipment.…

The lazy days of summer may be the most challenging time to keep students and teachers motivated and engaged in academics. Fortunately, several programs across the country have risen to the challenge. And, with the Obama Administration's pledge to make math and science education a national priority, now may be an opportune time for collaboration among federal and state agencies, private foundations, and industry to reverse the U.S. decline in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As U.S. students continue to lag internationally in math and science test scores, there is a growing concern among policymakers, educators and industry leaders about the nation's ability to compete in a global economy. Results of the U.S. Department of Education Trends in Mathematics and Science Study released last December show that average science performance in fourth- and eighth-graders has stagnated since 1995, according to a Washington Post article. Students in ten other countries outperformed U.S. students in science, and students in eight countries outperformed U.S. students in math. This summer, several initiatives are underway to build excitement in…

Three metropolitan areas dominate the U.S. venture capital landscape: San Francisco, Boston and New York. These cities are home to about half of all U.S. venture firms and about half of all U.S. venture-backed companies. Though venture firms have sprung up around the country over the past 25 years, the three cities have maintained, and even expanded, their share of national firms and investment. The continuing dominance of these cities may be frustrating to policymakers, industry leaders and entrepreneurs in other parts of the country, but a recent paper argues that there is a logic behind the clustering of firms in a few cities and that this distribution may be optimal for both the venture industry and the high-tech economy. Authors Henry Chen, Paul Gompers, Anna Kovner and Josh Lerner map the location of main and branch offices of U.S. venture firms, along with data on their investments and the location of the venture-backed firms between 1975 and 2005. This data is used to discern whether individual investments took place within the same combined statistical area (CSA) of the venture firm's main office, a branch office or outside of those CSAs. This data also was…