SSTI Digest

Pittsburgh will be home to the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Innovation Hub, the newest member of the Manufacturing USA network. The U.S. Department of Defense announced that American Robotics, Inc., an independent nonprofit spun out of Carnegie Mellon University will receive roughly $80 million in federal funding to launch the institute, matched with $173 million in support from the university and a consortium representing approximately 120 industry partners, 40 academic institutions and 60 non-profit and government entities. The mission of ARM focuses on the creation and deployment of robotic technologies that integrate a variety of disciplines around manufacturing, including: sensor technologies, end-effector development, software and artificial intelligence, materials science, human and machine behavior modeling, and quality assurance. In order to achieve a high level of precision, the defense and manufacturing sectors are increasingly using robotics. At the same time, barriers exist for small and mid-size manufacturers to apply the technologies because of cost and complexity, DoD officials note. Over the next 10 years, the Innovation Hub…

SSTI again presents its latest round of Tech Talkin’ Govs, where governors’ comments about TBED issues are excerpted from their state of the state and inaugural addresses. Today’s roundup includes STEM spending and workforce development in Idaho, education in Arizona, manufacturing in Connecticut and a nod to technological change in North Dakota, inaugural addresses from new governors in Vermont and Indiana, and more reports from governors who gave their addresses on the 10th. Next week the Digest will continue with Part II of Tech Talkin’ Govs featuring news from the next round of addresses. Vermont During the first week of January Gov. Phil Scott gave his inaugural address focusing on the state’s shrinking workforce and its implications to a joint session of the Vermont legislature. “From 2000 to 2010 the number of 25-45 year olds in Vermont decreased by 30,000… This is compounded by our shrinking workforce. Since 2010, we’ve lost 16,000 workers… and that downward trend continues. … But we literally cannot afford to ignore this issue anymore. We must have a laser-focus on attracting…

As governors around the country are releasing their proposed budgets, SSTI is examining the proposals for TBED initiatives and will be presenting the findings here. This week Idaho, Maine and Washington are reviewed. Check back in the coming weeks for updates. Idaho In his FY18 budget proposal, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter recommends approximately $2.1 million for economic and workforce development efforts at institutions of higher education including: $652,900 for a new PhD program in computing with computer science, cybersecurity, and computational science and engineering specializations; and $381,500 for the venture college program expansion to deliver innovation and entrepreneurial skill sets to students. In addition to these efforts, Gov. Otter proposes a transfer of $35 million to the Permanent Building Fund for higher-education facilities throughout Idaho including: $10 million for a Center for Material Science at Boise State University; $10 million for the University of Idaho to build the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment or “CAFÉ” in the Magic Valley; $10 million for Lewis-Clark State College to construct a Career-…

SSTI encourages its member organizations to sign onto a letter to Congress organized by NDD United, a broad coalition advocating for parity under sequestration for non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding and defense funding. The current leadership in Congress has made clear its priority to increase defense department spending at the expense of nondefense domestic spending, which includes programs under the EDA, SBA, NIST, NIH, NSF, the Department of Education, and more. Should this happen, many of the federal programs that TBED organizations rely on could be cut. NDD United is bringing together organizations from across the domestic funding space—from education to the sciences to transportation to housing—to ask Congress to protect non-defense domestic spending. SSTI encourages you to join us and hundreds of other organizations in signing on. View the full text of the letter here. To sign on, click here. The deadline to sign is January 27.

The U. S. House of Representatives wasted no time at the start of the new Congress, passing seven bills Tuesday that had been approved by the chamber in a previous session but had not received consideration in the Senate. Four of these bills with particular relevance to the innovation community are the HALOS Act, TALENT Act, Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2017  and Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act. The HALOS Act (H.R. 79), introduced by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide a clear exemption for demo days and similar activities from Regulation D. Exempted events would not have to screen investor qualifications of attendees so long as securities are not advertised or sold at the events. The TALENT Act (H.R. 39) was introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The bill would codify the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, a White House initiative established in 2012 to attract innovators to 12-month positions in various federal agencies. The Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2017 (H.R. 240), introduced by Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a solicitation committing up to $8 million to support between one and seven Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Nodes. The nodes are part of I-Corps’ National Innovation Network that builds upon fundamental research with the goal of dramatically reducing the period of time necessary to bring a promising idea from its inception to widespread implementation. NSF will support new or previously funded Nodes that will foster understanding on how to: Identify, develop and support promising ideas that can generate value; Create and implement tools, resources and training activities; Gather, analyze, evaluate and utilize the data and insight resulting from the experiences of those participating in regional programs; and, Share and leverage effective innovation practices on a national scale. In addition, Nodes must identify and are expected to implement plans for sustainable scaling of their efforts beyond the duration of NSF support. Eligibility is restricted to institutions of higher education including community colleges as well as other nonprofit organizations. NSF requires that potential applicants submit a letter of…

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the Brookings Institution recently proposed 50 ideas to bolster American innovation and technology transfer. Join SSTI’s president and CEO, Dan Berglund, at an ITIF and Brookings Institution event on January 11 from 10-11:30 a.m. in Washington, DC, to discuss how the incoming administration and Congress can make these improvements. Other speakers include Brian Darmody from the University of Maryland, Anthony Green with Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Kathleen Kingscott from IBM Research. Staff from dozens of congressional offices will be in the audience. The event is free of charge and registration is available at itif.org.

Across the U.S. people are working to build a more talented, skilled workforce, but often those efforts happen in isolation, separated from larger economic development efforts without engaging community and business leaders. A recently released playbook from the Aspen Institute and Futureworks, Communities That Work Partnership Playbook, aims to change a siloed approach and explores seven regional efforts to develop the local workforce for different industries and occupations. The playbook highlights key takeaways and is intended to provide guidance to others developing talent pipelines.  SSTI also talked with individuals in Milwaukee and Kansas City about their regional efforts to develop the talent pipeline.  The Communities that Work Partnership was jointly launched in April 2015 by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) at the Department of Commerce and the Workforce Strategies Initiative at the Aspen Institute (AspenWSI) to document and accelerate the development of employer-led regional workforce partnerships across the country. Seven regional teams were selected competitively in July 2015 to participate in an exchange…

Two states are looking to make college more affordable through state programs aimed at decreasing or eliminating tuition costs. The New York legislature will decide the fate of a new proposal for free tuition at its state universities for middle income earners there, while in Kentucky students may be eligible for financial aid through the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced the first signature proposal of his 2017 agenda: making college tuition-free for New York’s middle class families at all SUNY and CUNY two- and four-year colleges. If the proposal is passed by the legislature, the new initiative would be phased in over three years, beginning for New Yorkers making up to $100,000 annually in the fall of 2017, increasing to $110,000 in 2018, and reaching $125,000 in 2019.  Once fully phased in, the tuition assistance is projected to cost $163 million annually. The initiative would work by leveraging New York State’s other aid programs, such as the Tuition Assistance Program and other federal grants. The additional state funding would cover remaining costs for eligible students.   In 2014…

Artificial intelligence and automation technologies have the potential to alter millions of jobs, yet the positive benefits associated with increased productivity are worth pursuing, according to a December 2016 White House report. The authors – which include staff from the Council of Economic Advisers, Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council, Office of Management and Budget, and Office of Science and Technology Policy – suggest that responding to the economic effects of this technology will be an important consideration for the next administration, and as a result, policymakers should be prepared for a wide variety of outcomes. Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy is a follow up to the White House’s October 2016 report Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence. With regard to AI impacts on the economy, the authors state that it is difficult to provide precise predictions based on the current evidence available. While the strength and timing of these potential impacts are unknown, in general the authors anticipate five economic effects: increased aggregate productivity growth; higher demand for high-level technical…

Two new hubs have been announced in the Manufacturing USA network, one focusing on sustainable manufacturing innovation and the other on tissue biofabrication, bringing the total network of institutes to 13 since its inception four years ago. Efficiency measures will be the focus of the latest institute, announced yesterday by the Energy Department. The new Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute will be headquartered in Rochester, New York, and be led by the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance. It will leverage up to $70 million in federal funding, subject to appropriations, and will be matched by $70 million in private commitments from over 100 partners. Recognizing that manufacturing consumes nearly 25 percent of the nation’s total annual energy use, REMADE will focus on driving down the cost of recycling and remanufacturing technologies and aims for a 50 percent improvement in overall energy efficiency by 2027. In late December, the Department of Defense announced the award of a new $80 million biofabrication manufacturing hub to the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI).  ARMI will combine the…

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the 2017 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge – a cross-cutting prize competition to unearth innovative products and services that help impact and empower the lives of women and families. The challenge officially kicks off in early 2017 with local competitions to be hosted by over 250 organizations registered to host local competitions including universities, accelerators, clusters, scale-up communities, SBA resource partners, and other economic development organizations. Through these local competitions, the SBA will identify up to 10 finalists who will be invited to the National InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge to be held in mid-2017. The finalists will pitch their products and ideas to a panel of expert judges and compete for the top three awards along with $70,000 in prizes provided to SBA through a gift from the Sara Blakely Foundation. Nominations from host organizations are due May 12.