SSTI Digest

University-focused initiatives that help bring new technologies and products to market help drive regional economic development and encourage an entrepreneurial culture on campuses. To create stronger connections with the private sector, eliminate barriers between universities and the innovation community, and better support industry needs, some higher education institutions are honing in on entrepreneurship and commercialization activities. A November report from the Brookings Institution on university technology transfer delves into economic factors that have led to the organic emergence of a new model for technology transfer, including pressure on universities to be more responsive to market forces. This “nurturing startups model” incentivizes faculty to partner with local business incubators and capital investors to commercialize their research and technologies, the author says. The report also finds that only a few universities have been able to generate significant revenue from technology transfer activities and concludes with recommendations for government to better support these efforts. At the same time, the latest licensing activity survey…

Robbie Melton has been named the executive director and CEO of the High Technology Development Corporation. Gov. Bobby Jindal has appointed Louisiana Tech University president Les Guice to chair the Louisiana Innovation Council. Brian Cummings, formerly Ohio State University’s vice president of technology commercialization, has joined Alta Ventures as the Midwest representative. KP Reddy, community catalyst at ATDC, has been named interim general manager. Previously, Michael Hersh held the position of general manager. The Michigan State University Foundation has named David Washburn, president and CEO of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation, as its executive director. Gov. Rick Snyder created the Michigan Office for New Americans and named Bing Goei as its director. The office is tasked with attracting and retaining highly skilled immigrants. In New Hampshire NH-ICC and the abi Innovation Hub have merged and will be known as the abi HUB. The new entity will promote innovation, commercialization and acceleration.

Filling the pipeline with skilled workers able to perform the high-tech jobs employers say are sitting vacant has long been advocated by state leaders and policymakers as essential to competing in the global economy. Governors in Florida and Louisiana are stepping up efforts this legislative session with proposed multi-million dollar investments through training and scholarship programs to change the landscape of their states’ workforce. In both states, the governors say the goal is to strengthen the link between college coursework and industry needs while increasing opportunities for job seekers. The Florida plan encompasses worker re-training in its plan while the Louisiana plan puts a greater emphasis on new graduates in STEM fields.  Florida’s plan includes $30 million in funding for a two-part STEM workforce training initiative under Gov. Rick Scott’s FY15 budget. The Workforce State Training program would be administered by Workforce Florida, Inc., and would provide flexible funding to businesses to train current employees and individuals seeking training in high-wage or high-skill occupations. Scholarship funding for students to study…

Sean Greene has joined the Case Foundation as entrepreneur in residence. Greene most recently served as associate administrator for Investment and special advisor for Innovation at the U.S. Small Business Administration. Jane Oates, assistant secretary for the Employment and Training Administration, which oversees the Job Corps program for the U.S. Department of Labor, has announced her resignation effective at the end of the month. Euan Robertson has been appointed president and COO of MaRS Discovery District. Robertson joins MaRS from the New York City Economic Development Corporation Doug Hockstad has been named the director of Tech Launch Arizona, the revitalized Office of Technology Transfer at the University of Arizona. Sudarsanam Suresh Babu has been named the 11th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chair. Babu will serve as Governor's Chair for Advanced Manufacturing. He begins on July 1. Kalliat Vasaraj has been selected as Louisiana State University's vice chancellor of research and economic development.

Mark Lytle has been named the University System of Georgia's new vice chancellor for economic development. Frederick Cartwright has been appointed the executive director of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research. Jeffrey Margolis recently joined the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition as managing director. F. King Alexander has been appointed as president of the Louisiana State University System and Chancellor of LSU A&M. A new Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness started operation April 1 within the Washington state Department of Commerce. The new office has merged the business services division and energy office into one entity.

Leslie Guice officially was approved by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors to become the 14th president of Louisiana Tech University. Guice will take office July 1, 2013. Camille Saltman has joined MD Revolution as president. Saltman was previously president of CONNECT and continues to be a member of CONNECT's board of directors. Ted Ford has been named president & CEO of Advanced Energy Economy Ohio. Previously, he was the president & CEO of TechColumbus from 2005-2011. David Karpinski has joined the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation as vice president of operations. As NorTech vice president and director of its Energy Enterprise initiative, Karpinski has worked closely with LEEDCo since its inception in 2009. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Brian Bonlender will serve as director of the Washington Department of Commerce. Previously, Bonlender served as Inslee's chief of staff and legislative director. Gov. Scott Walker announced Reed Hall will be the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's chief executive officer. Hall has served as the interim secretary/CEO since November 2012.

In what is considered typical for an odd-numbered year, only 34 questions have been certified in nine statewide ballots this election year. Some of those measures include redirecting funds to support higher education, revenue enhancements for states, and repealing legislation that limits collective bargaining for public employees. Ballot Initiatives ColoradoVoters in Colorado will decide on a measure to increase the state income and sales tax to 5 percent and 3 percent, up from 4.63 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. Reports estimate the measure would generate about $3 billion to help fund education. The measure is Proposistion 103. LouisianaAmendment 1 would re-direct Tobacco Settlement Proceeds to the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) scholarship program once the balance in the state's Millennium Trust Fund reaches $1.38 billion. The scholarship program is available for state residents who attend public colleges or universities. OhioIssue 2 is a veto referendum on legislation passed earlier this year that limits collective bargaining for public employees in the state. If upheld, SB 5 only would permit public…

Spending time at a technology or business incubator may be the key to learning about entrepreneurship. Some universities, seeking to ramp up entrepreneurship programs, are turning to incubators as real-world teachers. A recent Washington Post article points to several business schools pairing traditional education, such as courses and lectures, with less-conventional approaches, including incubators and business competitions to prepare students for opportunities outside the classroom. Recent announcements of new and emerging technology incubators from across the U.S. and Canada are included below. The city of Livermore, CA, celebrated the grand opening of i-GATE National Energy Systems Technology incubator last month, created to stimulate large-scale, high-tech business development around the region's two national labs. In addition to physical workspace, the 15,000-square-foot hub also will coordinate public-private collaboration with academia and the Department of Energy, reports The Mercury News. The region around the national labs was selected in 2010 as one of six future iHubs, a statewide initiative to improve competitiveness by stimulating partnerships,…

At the close of the 2011 legislative session in Louisiana last week, lawmakers approved three measures to encourage investment in high-tech economic endeavors. This includes renewing and enhancing the R&D tax credit and the Technology Commercialization credit and reinstating an angel investor tax credit for investment in emerging startups. Both the R&D tax credit and the Technology Commercialization Credit and Jobs program were extended another six years and converted from refundable tax credits to rebates as proposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal (see the March 2, 2011 issue of the Digest). This will allow the incentive to be delivered more quickly to companies, according to the governor's office. Under the new legislation, both programs will provide companies with rebates of up to 40 percent for qualified R&D expenses and for investment in commercialization of Louisiana technology, respectively. The corresponding bill numbers are SB 135 and SB 134. Lawmakers also approved a measure to re-establish an angel investor tax credit program providing a 35 percent transferable tax credit for angel investments until July 1, 2015. The credits are capped at $5…

One is a proposed tech corridor focused on energy and environment in southeastern Louisiana and the other is being called a "knowledge district" meant to capitalize on the life sciences sector in Providence, but both have the same goal: growing high-tech industry sectors and creating high-wage jobs. Though the concept has been around for decades and is successful in many areas of the country, some states and regions are just now finding their niche and gaining support to establish tech hubs. Officials from the University of Louisiana (UL) and business leaders unveiled this week a proposed Regional Innovation Corridor to be located in the southeastern part of the state. The area is home to scientists, engineers, state and federal agencies, UL, and other research groups, reports The Advertiser. Officials will focus on industry sectors that make the most sense for the region, including energy, environment, water management, and health care, the article states. In the Northeastern part of the country, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee recently toured the site of a proposed life sciences hub in Providence called Knowledge District. Spanning 19-acres, the area…

Recognizing the value in supporting companies that innovate to create high-quality jobs, governors in New Jersey and Louisiana recently outlined proposals to enhance tax incentives for R&D, technology commercialization, and transferable tax certificates during the upcoming legislative sessions. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie proposed increasing the R&D tax credit to 100 percent and restoring full funding for the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer program as part of his FY12 budget recommendations. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced his intentions to work with the legislature to extend and enhance two innovation-related tax incentives — the R&D tax credit and the Technology Commercialization Credit/Jobs Program — when the session convenes in April.New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's FY12 spending plan provides funding to increase the state's R&D tax credit and restore full funding for the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer program. To capitalize on the state's fastest growing sectors of the economy such as life sciences, Gov. Christie proposed an increase in the R&D tax credit for corporations to…

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber seeks an executive director for its Regional Innovation Organization (RIO). The desired candidate will be a dynamic, visionary, and entrepreneurial leader who will launch a new regional acceleration entity that will lead entrepreneurial development in the Baton Rouge area. The individual will have direct responsibility for developing programming and capacity to support best-in-class business acceleration services that prepare companies for rapid growth in the region. The individual will be charged with creating and implementing a strategy for developing an entrepreneurial culture in the region; serving as an advisor to existing incubator partners; synthesizing existing business development services and addressing existing service gaps; developing a mentoring program for high potential early stage businesses; and creating a solid network of angel, seed and early stage capital providers. The ideal individual will have seven-plus years of significant relevant experience as a highly successful serial entrepreneur, successfully managing an entrepreneur-focused organization(s), coaching start-up firms, and/or running outreach programs at chambers of…