SSTI Digest

The Pittsburgh Technology Council's State of the Industry Report shows the region's technology sector, while continuing its growth, has become a significant driver of southwestern Pennsylvania's overall economy.  Conducted by Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development, the report measures the six-county Metropolitan Statistical Area that encompasses Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The report also includes separate data for the entire 13-county southwestern Pennsylvania region.  Examining the economic impact that has been created by the region's core technology clusters – information technology, biomedical and biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, and environmental technology – the report assesses the overall sector, considering indicators such as venture capital investment and research and development activities.  Key findings in the report include:  The region's technology sector employs nearly 18 percent of the region's…

SSTI's fifth annual conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, will take place December 3-4, 2001, at the Omni William Penn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The conference agenda remains intact from the original mid-September dates with almost all speakers reconfirmed. (see the conference agenda on SSTI's webpage: http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/agenda.htm [expired] )  More Seats Available!  While the event was sold out for the September dates, the new schedule allows the conference to accommodate a greater number of participants because of the additional meeting space available. Interested parties are encouraged to register online through the conference web center: http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/conf01.htm [expired] Accommodations at the Omni William Penn  The hotel is offering SSTI conference registrants a discounted room rate of $129 per night for all reservations made on or before November 2, 2001. Reservations may be made by calling the Omni William Penn directly at (412) 281-7100 and mentioning SSTI's…

SSTI’s fifth annual conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, has been rescheduled for December 3-4. The agenda and location of the conference remain the same. At this time, we have confirmed the availability of the vast majority of our speakers; those that have not been confirmed are listed as invited on the agenda web-page (see http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/agenda.htm [expired] for the updated information).  While the riverboat cruise has been cancelled, we are planning a set of optional post-conference in-depth workshops for the afternoon of December 4. More information will be provided as soon as details are finalized.  Since the event was sold out and because we've received only a few cancellations for the December 3-4 dates, we will not be printing any new, revised promotional materials. The website remains the best source of information for the event.  Changing the date does provide us more space at the hotel, allowing us to accommodate approximately 30 more registrants. We anticipate…

Early registration for SSTI's 5th Annual Conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies ends on Wednesday, September 5. To lock in the discounted rate, submit your registration by the end of September 5 by fax to 614.901.1696 or online at https://www.ssti.org/registration01.htm Those paying by check are encouraged to submit their registration form by fax or online as well and post the check by regular mail.  Participation in the conference grows each year; for the 2001 event, we already have registrations for people from more than 40 states, 5 countries and 4 continents. Join us!   Return to the top of this page 

As with last year's conference, registration has been brisk for SSTI's 5th annual conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies. To make sure the event is the quality and caliber expected of an SSTI event, we anticipate once again the event will sell out — possibly before the September 5 deadline for early registration. SSTI encourages interested parties to complete the registration form on their brochure or on the website at their earliest convenience. Please note, registrations are confirmed only after payment is received.  Registration for the annual pre-conference session, Growing Your Economy: An Intro to Tech-based Economic Development, is now closed to all but SSTI sponsors. Parties interested in a hands-on intro to tech-based economic development in practice are encouraged to sign up for the pre-conference Tech City tour.  Due to the overwhelming number of registrants for SSTI's annual conference, the Omni William Penn hotel has graciously agreed to increase the number of rooms available at the special…

Tom Murphy says when he first took office as Mayor of Pittsburgh in January 1994, the city was suffering from one of the worst inferiority complexes in its history. To be sure, Pittsburgh once was known first and foremost as being the capital of steelmaking in the U.S. By 1994, the devolution of U.S. steelmakers during the past 25 years had taken its toll on the steel city, physically, economically and psychologically. Boy, have things changed in seven years! Rightfully proud of what has been accomplished and demonstrating the city's top-level commitment to being competitive in a tech-based economy, Mayor Murphy will lead SSTI's upcoming Policy In Practice tour of Pittsburgh's revitalization on September 19. The foundation and unifying theme on which Pittsburgh's successful transformation is based – and true of any effective tech-based economic development effort – is an enduring commitment to public-private partnership at several different levels: state, local and regional governments, research institutions, community leaders, business and industry,…

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania has issued a Request for Proposals to develop an asset-mapping study of the nanotechnology sector in the four-state Philadelphia Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area. A key objective of the engagement is to facilitate comparison of the region’s Nanotechnology sector with other regions and benchmark performance in this sector to enable longitudinal comparisons in the future. Another primary objective is to provide data and analysis critical to informing policy decisions for the Nanotechnology Institute. The study would secondarily provide information that could be used to promote Greater Philadelphia’s role as an early leader in Nanotechnology. Proposals are due August 15, 2001. More information is available from Robert E. Gittler, Coordinator, Regional Initiatives, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania at robert@sep.benfranklin.org The RFP can be downloaded at http://www.sep.benfranklin.org/rfp.pdf

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge will deliver the keynote address at Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-Based Economies, SSTI’s Fifth Annual Conference, which will be held September 19-21, 2001 at the Omni William Penn in Pittsburgh.  Gov. Ridge is recognized nationally as one of the leading governors in technology-based economic development. Under his leadership, the state has implemented a number of technology-based initiatives, including Pennsylvania New Economy Technology Scholarships; the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse; the Pennsylvania BioTech Strategy, which includes the creation of three Life Science Greenhouses; and, Lightning Manufacturing.  With more than 20 sessions and four concurrent sessions running throughout the conference, this year’s conference will be the largest that SSTI has ever held. Topics to be covered include: organizing angel investor networks; slowing the brain drain; extending economic benefits of the New Economy to all regions; developing and implementing a tech-based economic development strategy;…

The William and Phyllis Mack Center for Technological Innovation was founded last month at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The center is the product of a $10 million gift from William L. Mack, the president and senior managing partner of the Mack Organization — a national owner, investor and developer of warehouse facilities. The center serves to house all of Wharton's technology management initiatives, including Wharton faculty members' research and publishing activities, an endowed professorship and a student-run conference. The Mack Professorship honors a senior faculty member whose primary commitment is to teaching and research in technological innovation management. The center also includes the Mack Program in Technological Innovation, which encompasses the Wharton Emerging Technologies Management Research Program, a corporate learning network for senior executives and academic researchers guided by senior Wharton faculty members and staff. Senior executives from numerous industry partners are helping to schedule activities for…

After nearly two years of discussion between the state legislature and the Governor’s office, Pennsylvania has enacted a plan for its $11 billion share of the national tobacco settlement. The final plan includes $160 million in one-time outlays for research and commercialization of life science technologies and a formula ensuring research gets nearly one-fifth of the total money received over the 25-year span of the settlement agreement. Highlights include: A one-time payment of $100 million for three Life Science Greenhouses, modeled on the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse initiative launched two years ago. The Life Science Greenhouses will be a network of innovation centers based at research universities in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Central Pennsylvania. A one-time investment of $60 million for health and biotech-related venture capital. The state funds are expected to draw an additional $180-200 million in private investment. Nineteen percent of the money each year – more than $65 million in the first year – will support innovative health-related…

Mark Lang, CEO of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania for the past 14 years, has announced his resignation.

Governor Tom Ridge’s $90 million plan to create a series of life science research/commercialization centers would be the largest, single technology initiative ever proposed in Pennsylvania, according to a recent press release from the Governor's office. The Life Sciences Greenhouse Initiative would be a network of innovation centers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg closely connected to university research activities. To be seeded with a $90 million investment from a one-time surplus of tobacco settlement funds, the centers would be sustained by grants from the ongoing settlement. The initiative hopes to capitalize on increased private and federal research investment as well as the state's 30 percent growth in employment in life-sciences industries over the last five years -- double the rate of overall job growth in that same period. The Life Sciences Greenhouse network would be a university-industry-state partnership for research and commercialization of life science technologies. Governor Ridge hosted leaders of Pennsylvania’s biotech industry last…