SSTI Digest

Residents in disadvantaged communities could soon see progress toward equitable availability of clean mobility options due to two recent initiatives from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO). A new funding opportunity from VTO brings $99.5 million in addition to the current selection of 45 projects totaling $87 million. DOE designed both to help to “onshore and re-shoring domestic manufacturing of key technologies and infrastructure that are critical to reaching the nation’s clean transportation future.” The selected projects for the $87 million will support the $2.5 billion recently announced by the Federal Highway Administration to build and deploy EV charging nationwide, including in rural communities and low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The projects are in 18 states and Washington, D.C. SSTI member West Virginia University Research Corporation’s work to diversify the expertise of today’s EV auto technicians is one of the selected projects. The funding opportunity totaling $99.5 million, will “support projects to reduce soft costs to improve EV charging infrastructure in underserved communities, provide…

More than 50% of the patents granted in 2020 were related to AI, according to a USPTO report. Considering this large volume of AI-related patents, the office recently sought feedback regarding AI inventorship. Key points made by AUTM, BIO, Google, IBM, and Microsoft are summarized here. AUTM made the following statements in response to USPTO’s comments: AI inventions must be protected in a way that encourages both innovation and disclosure. Current law can adequately address AI innovations, and it is unnecessary and perhaps counterproductive to change the law based on speculation about the future of AI. Rather than recommending changes to the patent laws, AUTM supports guidance that reinforces the patentability of AI-enabled inventions and inventions on novel AI architectures. AUTM also supports improved protection of the necessary datasets to further AI innovation. The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) noted that the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (together: “AI”) tools is becoming increasingly common among their member companies. The organization’s comments included: BIO members view AI as a “tool” that facilitates…

A new data analysis of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) by SSTI indicates again the significant impact the pandemic had on the manufacturing sector. While job openings in manufacturing ranged on a monthly basis from 0.8 to 3.9% of total manufacturing employment in the 20 years prior to the pandemic, it jumped to as much as 7.4% in April 2022. Job openings in manufacturing increased dramatically after the pandemic, presumably as a result of the American economy attempting to adjust for disrupted supply chains and a move to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S. Only education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services had job opening rates consistently higher.  For the economy as a whole, a review of the JOLTS data finds the number of job openings is still significantly higher than pre-covid levels, but is on a decreasing trend.   During periods of recession, when the economy contracts, employers typically decrease job openings, slow hiring and increase separations. After a recession, job openings have consistently risen, albeit at varying rates, due to several factors such as employers needing to…

As the U.S. seeks to maintain its competitive edge in the global economy, it is important to acknowledge the contributions of immigrant innovators toward U.S. growth and competitiveness. Despite making up only 16% of the population, immigrant inventors are responsible for approximately 36% of the U.S. innovative output since 1990, and have founded some of the most successful companies in the nation. This article draws on a variety of recent reports and studies to provide insights into the many ways immigrant innovators are essential to our robust innovation ecosystem, including their role in U.S.-based startups, contributions to patents, and more. According to a 2021 U.S. Census Bureau release, foreign-born immigration into the U.S. has slowed considerably since 2016 to its lowest levels in decades, dropping from 1.471 million to just over 500,000 in 2021. The Census Bureau attributes much of the downward trend in recent years to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in immigration policies. The following studies are just a small sample of works that highlight the importance of immigrant innovators to the U.S. With immigration numbers having shrunk considerably over…

When Dan Berglund, SSTI’s president and CEO, testified in a hearing before the House on an early draft of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, he noted that funding from the federal government that addresses the whole innovation system rather than individual elements of the system would be critical to building a regional innovation economy and different than any other federal program. With last Friday’s release of the first notice of funding opportunity for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program that approach is becoming a reality. The program is intended to make investments that will help transform regional clusters in specific and critical technologies into globally competitive economies. This Phase 1 announcement includes two competitions—one to designate regions as a Tech Hub and one to fund strategy development grants. Regions can participate in one or both competitions. At this time, $15 million in funding is available, with another $485 million to be made available this fall for the Phase 2 competition. The  Tech Hubs program was authorized in last year’s CHIPS and Science Act,  and Congress provided $500…

OrthoWorx, a nonprofit organization established in 2009 to advance Indiana’s orthopedics industry in Kosciusko County, received a $30 million appropriation from Indiana’s new two-year budget. Kosciusko County, home to companies that represent about half of the $60 billion global market for total joint replacements, is considered the orthopedic capital of the world. In 2022, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership estimated the industry accounts for more than 22,000 jobs in the region and approximately $19 billion in revenue. Bob Vitoux, CEO of OrthoWorks, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that the region needs to advance some of its community amenities and offerings to help attract new talent. Adding amenities is particularly critical currently when many workers opt for remote opportunities. New amenities could include improvements to education, housing, and childcare. Vitoux expects to have a more concrete plan for allocating the $30 million later this year.  The appropriation is one of several earmarks in Indiana’s state budget, where earmarks climbed to $536 million—up from just $18 million in 2015. House Speaker Todd Huston told the…

This week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced 40 new Growth Accelerator Fund Competition awardees. SSTI’s proposal to identify programs and partners that have expanded the participation of minority business owners and researchers in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is among the winners. With this $50,000 prize, SSTI will work with FAST awardees and other SBIR stakeholders to identify tested, replicable initiatives and build a plan for a national network that will implement similar efforts across the country. Many SSTI members with FAST program experience have already committed to sharing their experiences for the project, and other organizations that have a successful track record of working with inclusive companies on SBIR awards are encouraged to participate—contactus@ssti.org to learn more. Congratulations to SSTI member organizations receiving accelerator awards, including BBC Entrepreneurial Training and Consulting, George Mason University, Florida High Tech Corridor, and StartingBlock Madison, and to all our other fellow awardees. For more information on SBA’s accelerator program, visit: sbir.gov/…

Despite Carnegie Classification as an R2 institution, Northern Illinois University (NIU) and other similar universities do not qualify for existing R&D capacity-building initiatives targeting Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states or minority-serving institutions (MSIs). In a recent article, Northern Illinois University administrators defended the necessity for a new designation for federal agencies to use to prioritize R&D funding for institutions such as NIU. This new designation, “Emerging Research Institutions” (ERI), is included in the CHIPS and Science Act. The ERI label applies to all institutions of higher education that have established undergraduate or graduate programs but conduct less than $50 million in federal R&D. The Department of Energy has published a list categorizing more than 6,700 institutions of higher education by MSI and Carnegie Classification that defines more than 2,600 as emerging institutions. Those institutions can be seen on the map below. Generally, the CHIPS and Science Act encouraged programs that targeted expanding participation for researchers and teachers at MSIs and…

Without information and connections on how to access and leverage the diverse American workforce, foreign multinational companies often have trouble finding qualified workers as they establish new – or expand existing – operations in the United States. Now, these companies have help from the SelectTalent USA initiative, a joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Education. The new partnership seeks to help foreign investors build local and state partnerships, adapt their traditional talent-development approaches to the U.S., and harness America’s unique comparative advantage—its diverse and skilled workforce. SelectTalentUSA supports the three departments' efforts to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) that creates good-paying jobs in America. The U.S. government is encouraging these investments because they can “create an equitable economy for workers and families and revitalize communities that have been overlooked or left behind.”  The Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Education will pilot the program with the German, Swiss, and Austrian markets this year. The three departments have a Joint Declaration of Intent with the…

The recession brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic (February 2020 – April 2020) saw an extremely sharp drop in both GDP and employment, followed by a relatively fast return to non-recessionary rates of unemployment. This swift recovery was a substantial contrast to the periods of the Dot Com Recession (March 2001 – November 2001) and Great Recession (December 2007 – June 2009). These previous recessions saw both dips in GDP, followed by gradual rises in unemployment rates over several months or years, with a gradual decrease in unemployment over the coming years. The above graphic shows quarterly real GDP — GDP adjusted for inflation — and unemployment for each month since January 2000, with major recessionary periods, as defined by NBER, highlighted in grey. This illustrates Okun’s law, which states that there is a negative relationship between unemployment and GDP growth; historically, for every 1% decrease in GDP, there has been around a 2% increase in unemployment. So, during a recession, the unemployment rate can be expected to increase significantly– a trend that becomes clear when visualized. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) says…

This morning, NSF announced 44 development, or Type-1, awards from its first Regional Innovation Engines competition. According NSF’s visualization, 33 of the lead organizations are from academic institutions, with 13 of those from institutions that are not classified as R1s, and the remaining 11 leads from other types of nonprofits. The Type-1 awards provide up to $1 million over two years for the partners to work toward strengthening their regional innovation ecosystems, with an eye toward developing a stronger Type-2 proposal in the future. Congratulations to the SSTI members that received awards as lead organizations—including Emory University, Kansas State University, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Hawaii, University of Nevada Reno, University of South Carolina, University of Texas at Austin, Washington University in St. Louis, The Water Council—and the many members participating as partners across the awards. NSF’s announcement stated that awards for the current Type-2 competition are expected in the fall. 

America’s Seed Fund Week, a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) event, will be held online May 15-18. The event connects entrepreneurs and organizations that support entrepreneurs to SBIR and STTR, known as America’s Seed Fund. America’s Seed Fund is the largest source of early stage funding in the U.S. The event starts at 2 p.m. on May 15 with a Startup Expo, hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Investment and Innovation (OII). Qualified startups will showcase their technology developed through America’s Seed Fund. This year’s startups focus on 14 critical technology areas, including biotechnology, quantum science, artificial intelligence, space technology, renewable energy, and hypersonics.  The keynote speakers, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman from the U.S. Small Business Administration and Acting Director and Program Manager of SBIR/STTR Programs Erick Page-Littleford will speak at the start of the Expo. Attendees will also hear from other speakers from federal organizations that award SBIR and STTR funds, small businesses that have received…