SSTI Digest

Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Laurie E. Locascio announced five leaders joining the CHIPS Research and Development Office within CHIPS for America. The CHIPS R&D Office is responsible for four integrated programs that will generate innovations to make American semiconductor manufacturers globally competitive: 1) the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), 2) the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, 3) up to three new Manufacturing USA institutes dedicated to semiconductors (more info here), and 4) the CHIPS R&D Metrology Program.   The new CHIPS R&D Office leaders, three of whom are internal hires from within the NIST lab system, are: Lora Weiss, Director  Eric Lin, Deputy Director  Neil Alderoty, Executive Officer  Richard-Duane Chambers, Associate Director for Integration and Policy Marla Dowell, Director of the CHIPS R&D Metrology Program More information on each individual is available here.

The upshot of the debt ceiling deal recently approved by Congress is that all nondefense discretionary spending will remain at its current level of $638 billion in FY 2024, which begins October 1. Additionally, some funds were marked for recission, including $150 million from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). All jurisdictions that have been approved or have applied for SSBCI funding will not see a decrease in their funds, according to an email from Treasury regarding SSBCI. SSBCI incentive allocation funds and Formula Technical Assistance (TA) Grant Program allocations for Tribal governments, states, territories, and D.C. also will not be affected by the legislation. More complicated is the impact the deal will have on funding for research, innovation, and education. Keeping all nondefense discretionary spending at its current level means that discretionary spending on education and research will likely see minimal or no growth for two years. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 authorized $10 billion for Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs, but Congress appropriated only $500 million for the first year of the program. Meeting the authorization level…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its plans to invest $2.6 billion in coastal resilience funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These funds will support communities on the frontlines of climate change, restore marine resources, improve weather and climate data and services, strengthen NOAA's research airplane and ship fleet, invest in critical infrastructure, and more. Of particular interest to Digest readers will be funding for ocean-based climate resilience accelerators and climate-ready workforce. The $2.6 billion in climate investments will support coastal communities’ resilience to changing climate conditions through funding and technical assistance for capacity building, transformational projects that help protect communities from storms and flooding, the creation of quality climate-related jobs, and improved delivery of climate services to communities and businesses. These programs include: Climate Resilience Regional Challenge ($575 million Tribal Priorities ($390 million) Climate-Ready Fisheries ($349 million) Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerators ($100 million): These accelerators will support…

Republican dissatisfaction with colleges and universities has been growing for some time. The Pew Research Center detected growing discontent with colleges and universities in 2012 and found that from 2015 to 2019, the number of individuals saying colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country went from 37% to 59%. This increase happened among Republicans, while Democrats and independents who lean Democratic remained largely stable and overwhelmingly positive. This trend is now apparent from recent legislation and political direction from conservative Republican states. Anti-DEI bills have been signed into law in North Dakota and Tennessee, and Florida has signed two anti-DEI bills into law. Texas has final legislative approval on two bills. The various bills restrict DEI offices and staff, mandatory DEI training, diversity statements, and identity-based preferences for hiring and admissions. North Dakota’s bill, the first anti-DEI bill signed into law in the nation, according to Inside Higher Ed, makes it illegal for educational institutions to ask students or prospective employees to state their commitment to DEI. It also bans making noncredit…

NSF designed the recently awarded NSF Engine Type 1 development awards to bring technology-based solutions to bear on many critical challenges facing our nation. These challenges include climate change and sustainability, and this week we are highlighting three SSIT members whose NSF Engine proposals focus on sustainability. SSTI member-led projects related to sustainability include the University of Texas at Austin’s project to research and develop energy and train the next-generation energy professionals (SSTI member Sandia National Laboratories is on this team), The Water Council’s project to advance water and energy technologies for the manufacturing and utilities sectors (SSTI member Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is a partner), and the University of Hawai’i’s project to create a climate-resilient food innovation network. Of 44 NSF Engine awards, nonprofits lead 11. The Water Council is one of them. Nonprofits haven’t traditionally led NSF awards, which typically go to universities to support research at the institutions. While the NSF Engine program has a vital research component, it also emphasizes building regional engines using industry and…

Corporate laboratories were hotspots for U.S. innovation for most of the twentieth century. Large firms, such as DuPont or Bell Labs, acted as epicenters for research and development activities, driving investment in frontier technologies underserved by university researchers at the time. By the 1980s, however, many of these powerhouses of industrial research began to cut back on their research programs, paving the way for universities and startups to emerge as new centers of innovation. A recent research summary from the National Bureau of Economic Research, “The changing structure of American innovation,” describes this rise and fall of industrial innovation in the United States and a growing division of innovative labor between university-based research institutions and development-focused corporations. While it would be a monumental task to identify every factor contributing to this remapping of the U.S. innovation landscape, one explanation is corporations’ decreasing profitability of R&D activities. The authors of the NBER article point to the rising costs of knowledge spillovers and shifting priorities in government procurement policies as key…

Just before the 2023 Memorial Day weekend, the Texas Senate passed and sent the Texas CHIPS Act bill to the governor’s desk. The legislation creates the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium in a bid to protect the state’s competitive standing for future federal funding and authorizes the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund. The recently passed Texas budget appropriates $1.3 million for the Consortium, but it does not appear that there is a dedicated appropriation in the budget bill for the Fund. There are 19 institutions of higher education in the consortium that was formalized in the legislation, including SSTI members Texas State University and the University of Texas Austin. These higher education institutions, industry, and nonprofit stakeholders will develop a comprehensive strategic plan to ensure ongoing semiconductor innovation. The Texas CHIPS Act also authorized the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund as the state pursues semiconductor manufacturing and design projects. Funding for the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund to would come from the state's General Revenue to be used to provide: matching funding to state entities, including…

The recently awarded NSF Engine Type 1 development awards are intended to bring technology-based economic development to vast swaths of the US landscape, including those that Silicon Valley and Boston have long overshadowed. This week we kick off an examination of some of the proposals led by SSTI members that were selected by NSF for funding. Five of the nine projects led by SSTI members are in EPSCoR states (Kansas State University, University of Nevada-Reno, University of South Carolina, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and University of Hawai’i). Their projects span the U.S. and include such diverse areas as the Kansas State University-led project to develop biotechnology-based products for the biosecurity, biodefense, and biomanufacturing sectors, and the University of South Carolina-led project to develop cybersecurity solutions for maritime transportation. Leveraging unique foundational assets Each project leverages the foundational assets of the region. “The NSF Engines program is focused on use-inspired research, with nonprofits, industry, and workforce development all looking at our regional assets and strengths,” said Dr. Mridul…

Have you ever wondered whether there is a federal program that supports tech-based economic development (TBED) strategies and initiatives--even if it doesn’t explicitly state that science, technology, innovation, or entrepreneurship are priority uses of funds? Actually, a wide variety of federal programs can support these programs. To help organizations identify sources of funding that could be useful, SSTI interviewed representatives from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to understand better how they can use specific funding opportunities to support TBED activities.

Each year, more than 703,000 federally aided students enroll in one of the 1,800 career training programs, according to a Department of Education fact sheet. Unfortunately, the typical graduate of these programs leaves with unaffordable debt or earns less than a high school graduate in their state. Sometimes, these programs shut down with little warning, leaving students in the lurch. A recent study from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center showed that, of closures that took place over 16 years, 70 percent of the students received insufficient warning that the closures were coming. The federal government absorbs the cost of many of these students’ loans, which they pass on to taxpayers. Proposed regulations from the Department of Education aimed at resolving these and other gainful employment (GE) issues were recently published in the Federal Register. The rules are open for comment until June 20, 2023. Make comments here. Gainful employment and greater transparency The proposed rules are intended to establish a robust GE framework and improve the transparency of GE program…

Earlier today, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the 2023 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the Build to Scale program. State and local governments, nonprofits, higher education institutions, National Labs, and others can compete for $50 million to support new and expanded initiatives supporting regional commercialization, entrepreneurship, and capital formation efforts.

Almost 40% of American adults report they struggle to make ends meet each month, an increase from 34.4% in 2022 and 26.7% in 2021. At 46.2%, Louisiana had the highest percentage reporting financial struggles followed by Mississippi (45.7%) and Arkansas (45.6%). Additionally, 11.3% of adults in households in the U.S. experienced some or very frequent times when they did not have enough to eat from April 26 through May 17, 2023. That percentage fell below the national average in 24 states, with Louisiana weighing in with more people (15.6%) going hungry than anywhere else. Meanwhile, people in Montana (5.9%) reported the lowest level of struggling with hunger during the same period. These numbers come from the Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in collaboration with multiple federal agencies. This survey produces data on the social and economic effects of coronavirus and other emergent issues on American households. The Census Bureau designed the survey to get results quickly and efficiently, disseminating data in near real-time. The survey collects data on fourteen household characteristics, including spending and inflation concerns. Some…