SSTI Digest

In a meeting of the Government Commission on High Technology and Innovation last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin made several announcements in support of new technology and innovation investments. Putin said $37.3 billion, or more than 10 percent of the federal budget, is appropriated for fundamental and applied science, higher education, high-tech medicine, space exploration, aviation, and the nuclear industry in 2010. The Finance Ministry and Economic Development Industry also will consider introducing tax incentives for innovation and providing innovative companies priority access to government purchases. Putin also announced the establishment of the Department of Science, High Technology and Education within the Government Executive Office to identify ways of removing administrative barriers for innovative businesses and to craft policies to attract capital for research and high-tech projects. Read the transcript: http://www.government.gov.ru/eng/gov/priorities/docs/9605/

Lawmakers approved last week the 2010-11 biennial budget, dedicating more than $76 million for energy research projects funded by the state's share of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds. The University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources will receive $45 million for development of a subcommerical scale CO2 sequestration research demonstration project, $14 million for clean coal technology research, and $17.4 million for operation of the school. Three bills regulating the wind energy industry also were signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal last week.

The wind industry bills signed by the governor mandate a $1 per-megawatt-hour tax on wind energy generated in the state beginning in 2012 (HB 101), set minimum state standards for wind projects (HB 72), and suspend the power of wind companies to use eminent domain for one year (HB 79).

The Obama administration recently released a national plan to secure public and private sector networks. The Comprehensive National Cybersecuirty Initiative consists of 12 priority areas, including improved coordination of cybersecurity research, commercialization assistance for strategic technologies and expanded cyber education. Read the complete strategic plan at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/cybersecurity/comprehensive-national-cybersecurity-initiative

MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning is researching how economic development organizations are working with small businesses to address market opportunities or needs related to global climate change and the "green economy." The department currently is looking for economic development organizations to complete a brief, voluntary survey (10 minutes) relating to "green" programs and activities. Results will be shared with the economic development community and be made publicly available. To take the survey, go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7Q7QRDT. Questions regarding this survey may be sent to Karl Seidman at seidman@mit.edu or (617) 253-3964 or Rebecca Economos at economos@mit.edu

Last year, U.S. venture capital investment dropped to its lowest level in over a decade, according to data from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Moneytree Survey and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). This drop was fueled by the national economic crisis, which created a number of issues within the industry. Cash-strapped investors were less willing to make risky investments, venture firms avoided fundraising campaigns because of the overall climate, fewer venture-backed companies achieved successful exits and many venture capital firms dedicated their investments to supporting their portfolio companies (see the January 27 issue). This week's Useful Stats column provides an overview of venture industry investment over the past 15 years, and what recent trends might mean for the industry.

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.

Chris Atkinson is the new director of West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions (CAFEE).

Patrick Scheuermann will take over as director of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, replacing Gene Goldman. Goldman, who has served at Stennis since November 2008, will assume the position of deputy director at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

Woodrow Whitlow, director of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, has been named associate administrator for Mission Support at NASA headquarters. Ray Lugo, the deputy director at Glenn, has been named acting director.

Sixteen American technology companies, including Intel, Google and Microsoft, have launched a new initiative to boost the U.S. tech economy. The Invest in America Alliance is planning a two-prong approach, building a $3.5 billion national venture fund and securing commitments from U.S. companies to increase their hiring of recent college graduates. Leaders of the effort say that it will complement the federal stimulus and create a more favorable environment for American competitiveness.

A recent NSF survey found that between April 2008 and March 2009 Japanese R&D expenditures decreased by 0.8 percent to $188 billion compared to the previous year. Though this is the first decline in Japanese R&D spending in nine years, the rate of R&D investment as a percentage of GDP hit a record high of 2.78 percent. Read the full memorandum at: http://www.nsftokyo.org/rm10-02.pdf

The University of Texas at Austin recently announced the formation of a university-wide initative to support technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and innovation. Venture Labs Texas will assist new ventures at the university and broker deals with sources of capital, including venture funds, angel investors and Texas' Emerging Technology Fund. Read more about Venture Labs at the University of Texas at Austin at: http://texasventurelabs.net/

In a report to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget this week, the Louisiana Innovation Council set forth an agenda to recruit world-class researchers, establish centers of excellence, and facilitate university-based technology transfer. In a tight budget year, the council recommends using some of the remaining Louisiana Recovery Authority funds and private sector money to support the initiative with a minimum $15 million total commitment over three years.

The council wants to create a Louisiana Research Alliance, similar to the Georgia Research Alliance, which has demonstrated success in its efforts to drive economic impact through applied research by leveraging public and private funding to encourage collaboration among research universities. The council's other recommendations include increasing capital availability, increasing research capacity in higher education and the private sector, strengthening commercialization and technology transfer performance, and developing a stronger system to provide support to entrepreneurs.

A recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) survey found that 78 percent of U.S. adults are regular Internet users, but only 65 percent use broadband connections at home. Affordability, lack of knowledge of computers and the Internet and lack of interest were cited as reasons by those who said that they do not use home high-speed Internet. The results will be used by the FCC in crafting a strategy to increase broadband adoption rates and improve the cost and quality of high-speed services.

The FCC survey, conducted in November 2009, revealed divisions along socioeconomic lines pertaining to Internet use and adoption. While 82 percent of adults who attended or graduated from college used broadband at home, only 46 percent of adults whose highest level of education was a high school degree do the same. A similar gap exists for household incomes. Eighty-seven percent of American households with incomes higher than $50,000 have broadband at home, while only 52 percent of those with lower incomes have high-speed service.