SSTI Digest

Cheryl Lyman, policy analyst with the State Science and Technology Institute, will be leaving SSTI today to accept a position with the Ohio Department of Commerce as its fiscal officer. Cheryl has worked with SSTI since its opening in 1996. We wish her well in her new position!

A new report by SSTI finds that 48 states have some structured SBIR promotion or assistance effort underway. States spent $8 million in FY 1998 to promote involvement and encourage success in the federal SBIR program. These are among the findings reported in State and Federal Perspectives on the SBIR Program.

The report has three primary purposes: it provides an overview of state services offered; it reports on state and federal program managers views on key issues facing the SBIR program; and, it suggests options for further action to advance state-federal cooperation on SBIR.

The report also includes: a selected bibliography, a list of state SBIR service providers, and a distribution of Phase I awards and proposals by agency and state for FY 93-97.

Last week's issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest was our 150th since beginning the publication on March 1, 1996. Since that time, the Digest has grown more sophisticated in its news coverage and value largely due to the input we receive from our readers. Accompanying this week's issue of the Digest in a separate e-mail is a short survey that we hope you will complete and send back to us. [NOTE: survey is not included with the arcvhive version of the Digest.]

Your comments and suggestions are critical tools for making the publication as valuable as possible for your organization. Please fax the survey back to us at 614/ 901-1696.

NASA Lewis Research Center, located in Ohio, has been renamed the "John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field" to honor the contributions John Glenn has made in American space history.

As of January 6, 1999, our new address will be:

5039 Pine Creek Dr. Westerville OH 43081

Our new phone: 614/901-1690 Our new fax: 614/901-1696

Contact us through January 5, 1999 at: 751 Northwest Blvd, Suite 305 Columbus, OH 43212 phone: 614/421-SSTI (7784) fax: 614/421-9123

To continue to bring you the SSTI Weekly Digest, we will offer the Digest only through paid subscriptions, effective January 8, 1999.

For three years, the Digest has been the only national publication focused exclusively on technology-based economic development. Each week, the Digest has kept its readers informed of news vital to the S&T community: innovations in state programs, federal funding opportunities available, award announcements, and developments on Capitol Hill and in the states.

One-year subscriptions are available for $149. Current Digest subscribers can sign up at a special charter subscriber rate of $119 if payment C by check, Visa, or MasterCard C is received by

January 7, 1999. Please contact us at 614/421-SSTI (7784) if you have any questions.

The State Science and Technology Institute 1998 Annual Conference, "Science & Technology Programs: Catalysts for Economic Growth," was a success with over 100 S&T professionals from 30 states and the District of Columbia attending. The conference, which was held in

Columbus, Ohio on September 24 and 25, provided practitioners an opportunity to discuss best practices, trends and new developments in technology-based economic development programs.

We would like to extend a special thank you to all who attended the conference and those who participated in the pre-conference workshop and tour. We look forward to another successful conference in 1999.

Just a reminder that early registration for SSTI's Second Annual Conference, Science and Technology Programs: Catalysts for Economic Growth, are due August 31. The conference will be held September 24 & 25 in Columbus, Ohio. Full details can be found on SSTI's home page at www.ssti.org or by calling SSTI at 614/421-SSTI (7784).

During the month of August, the SSTI Weekly Digest will be published every other week. The Digest will be published August 14 and August 28. It will resume weekly publication September 4.

The State Science and Technology Institute is sponsoring its second annual conference "Science and Technology Programs: Catalysts for Economic Growth" on September 23 and 24.

The conference will explore best practices, trends, and new developments in technology-based economic development programs.

The conference program includes the following sessions:

Ross Youngs, president of Univenture, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, has been named the National Small Business Person of the Year. Youngs was selected from a field of 53 Small Business Administration (SBA) small business winners representing the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

The national entrepreneur award is a highlight of SBA's national Small Business Week celebration. Small Business Week, now in its 35th year, honors the contributions of the nation's small business owners. Winners are selected on their record of stability, growth in employment and sales, sound financial reports, innovation, and the company's response to adversity, and community service.

Youngs founded Univenture ten years ago after developing a lighter, cheaper and more environmentally friendly product for displaying and storing compact discs. Today, Univenture is a $15 million dollar business that employs 119 people.

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) is sponsoring a workshop entitled "Building University Engines for Academic Excellence, Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship." The workshop will he held on May 30, 1998 in Philadelphia, PA.

The keynote speaker will be Michael Hooker, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Among the programs featured are Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Northwestern University, University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Maryland. More information on the workshop is available on NBIA's website at www.nbia.org/ conf/conf.htm or by calling 740/593-4331.