SSTI Digest

Nonprofit entities in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington will receive $13.2 million over six years for training and incentive programs for Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre-Advanced Placement Programs. The grants will be used for extensive training of teachers, identification of lead teachers, additional "time on task" for students, and financial incentives based on academic results.



The funding is coming from the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), which was launched in March 2007 in response to the National Academies Rising Above the Gathering Storm report that calls for improving American students' performance in math and science to increase global competitiveness.



In addition to the AP grants, NMSI is expected to award funds to up to 10 universities for UTeach programs, which encourage math and science majors to pursue teaching credentials during their undergraduate course study.

While dozens of states have instituted clean-tech strategies in order to cash in on the high-tech wave of the future, some are looking even further ahead. In several western states, private space travel and companies are drawing the attention of political leaders, researchers and investors eager to pioneer an industry that may still be many years away from creating dividends. California has long been involved in promoting space technology companies through the California Space Authority, which offers workforce training and business support opportunities. In New Mexico, Virgin Galactic plans to begin construction on Spaceport America next year with $67 million in state funds once the project is approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (see the Dec. 19, 2005 issue of the Digest).

 

One of the many challenges for tech-based economic development organizations and private firms is to access and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge produced throughout the nation’s federal laboratory system. With the hope of making their intellectual property more accessible for commercialization, four research facilities within the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently signed a cooperative agreement to pool together their patents.

 

The Innovation Bundling Initiative aligns the intellectual property of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Under the initiative, patents originating from these facilities will be sorted into groups by subject matter and similarity of technologies, which can then be marketed in this organized manner to the private sector. Additionally, the bundling will enable collaborators to negotiate with a single entity for patent access, as opposed to dealing with the individual facilities that own each particular patent.

 

What factors will enable regions with a historical strong industrial heritage to become attractive to creative individuals? According to Richard Florida in his 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class, creative people are most drawn to places that have an abundance of existing creative talent, a tolerance for diversity, and the ability to produce technology. Florida uses various measures to quantify a region’s talent, tolerance and technology - also known as the 3Ts - and combines them to produce a creativity index that allows comparison between locations.

 

Canada’s Treasury Board recently announced the creation of an independent panel of experts to provide advice on transferring management of federal non-regulatory laboratories into private or other non-government hands. The four individuals comprising the panel, each with extensive experience and leadership in Canada's science and technology community, will consider different management options for the Canadian systems of federal research labs.



Many of the largest nonregulatory and non-life science-related federal laboratories in the U.S. are managed by private companies through competitive selection processes. Others are co-located and run by academic institutions. The panel may consider privatization or quasi-privatization of life science-related labs that, in the case of the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Agriculture, remain government-operated.



The Canadian panel will focus on four key objectives:

Over the past few months, several new research park announcements have been made, including a $2.5 billion public-private investment in Kentucky. Gov. Ernie Fletcher last month announced plans for the expansion of the Louisville Health Sciences Campus. The project will encompass the 30-block radius that houses the Louisville health sciences campus. A current U of L parking lot, known as the Haymarket property, will be converted into a 700,000-square-foot state-of-the-art laboratory and office space.

 

Register today to be sure you receive this special rate. On Wednesday, Sept. 26, registration fees will increase by $100. Hosted by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, and the University System of Maryland, the 2007 SSTI Annual Conference will be held at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel Oct. 18-19.



In a word, the SSTI Annual conference promises quality. With more than 20 carefully planned sessions, conference participants are ensured access to the latest thinking and best practices in tech-based economic development. Limited attendance further affords one the opportunity to engage in open, creative dialogue, and registration fees are kept reasonable so you can send your entire leadership team. All added up, SSTI's annual conference is the field's most stimulating and rewarding professional development investment of the year.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.



Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) seeks an additional senior member to join its technology transfer team as a senior commercialization manager or possibly as deputy director. This key individual is needed to identify, evaluate and commercialize technologies created at a major U.S. Department of Energy laboratory and to serve as liaison between some of the laboratory's most significant research divisions and the business community. He or she should have a high level of technical expertise in a physical science, as well as significant experience in sales or business development.

Incubators and accelerators. Angel, seed and venture capital. Research parks. University and industry research. Technology licensing and commercialization. Entrepreneurship assistance. R&D tax credits. Technology workforce development. Regional technology councils. Manufacturing extension. Science and technology advisers.



While all have specific functions, collectively, when supported by public funds, these activities are working toward a single goal of transforming a regional economy to be more competitive in the knowledge-driven global market for innovation and growth.

Once again, SSTI's members have assembled one of our finest slates of sessions yet to anchor the 11th annual conference, Oct. 18-19, in Baltimore. Providing the core of the conference, the 19 sessions are structured to allow ample discussion time among participants, something we're told sets SSTI's conferences apart from the rest.

Attendees at SSTI's 11th annual conference will be fortunate to participate in plenary sessions led off by keynote addresses highlighting two of the most critical elements of TBED — successful entrepreneurship and engaged institutions of higher learning. 

SSTI's annual conference is as much a community homecoming as it a unique professional development opportunity. With our latest addition to the schedule, SSTI is making it even more of both! By attending SSTI's annual conference this year, you have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be present for the inaugural-year announcement of SSTI's Excellence in TBED Award winners. The Award recognizes the longstanding achievements made by the TBED community in promoting research, entrepreneurial development, a skilled workforce, and innovation in existing companies. The celebration will be held following lunch on Oct. 18.



Strong evidence of the need for a recognition program for the TBED community was provided by the breadth and sheer number of applications SSTI received for the first-ever awards in six categories: