SSTI Digest

Paul Tonko was elected as president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Tonko replaces Peter Smith, whose resignation is effective at the end of June.

Randy Weiss will serve as an entrepreneur-in-residence within the University of Iowa Research Foundation.

Over the past few months, Congress has been at work on a package of measures to address the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. Two similar, yet distinct, competitiveness bills are currently being reconciled in conference between the House and the Senate. President Bush has voiced several objections to both the Senate and House bills and may even be prepared to veto the legislation if a compromise cannot be reached. Limiting that option for the president is the overwhelming bipartisan support both measures received in both chambers of Congress.   The Senate version of the legislation, also known as the America COMPETES Act (S 761), passed overwhelmingly by an 88-8 margin earlier this year (see the May 23, 2007 issue of the Digest). A few weeks later, the House passed its own measure, HR 2272 by voice vote, which combined five separate bills that were previously approved. Titled the 21st Century Competitiveness Act of 2007, HR 2272 packaged together the bills as a necessary step in order to move to conference with the Senate.   The unified House bill prescribes a major increase in federal funding for R&D and STEM education…

As July 1 approaches, the beginning of the 2008 fiscal year for most states, several state legislatures are still working to wrap up their appropriation bills. Maine and Tennessee are two of the most recent to close their books on next year’s budgets, and each has included increased funds to support TBED initiatives. Highlights for both states are provided below. MaineIn light of the $50 million R&D bond referendum passed by the legislature earlier this year, additional funds were included in the FY 2008-09 biennial budget for the Maine Technology Institute (MTI). MTI will receive $750,000 each year of the biennium to administer the bond that will be voted on in November (see the April 9, 2007 issue of the Digest). In addition, $2.5 million was appropriated for a new Cluster Enhancement Fund. Lawmakers cut $55,000 from MTI’s Applied Technology Development Centers, and no new funds were included for the Maine Economic Improvement Fund, which supports university research. The much-larger bond, if passed, will provide competitive awards to continue to fund university R&D activities. Manufacturing…

State Also Begins Work on $150M Stem Cell Research Center An agreement between Gov. Jon Corzine and state legislative leaders will result in a $450 million bond referendum being put before New Jersey voters this fall. If approved, the money will be used to augment support for the state’s stem cell research initiative over the next 10 years. New Jersey already has committed to spending $270 million on stem cell research (see the Jan 8, 2007 issue of the Digest)   On the same day the bond issue agreement was announced, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJ EDA) approved $9.2 million in preconstruction costs for the planned Stem Cell Institute facilities in New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Development Corporation will oversee the development of the new research facilities. Major construction is slated to begin next year and is expected to conclude sometime in 2011.   In the meantime, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey will continue their collaboration through the institute, a portion of which is…

North Carolina does not, at first glance, seem to be a venture capital underperformer. In 2006, venture capitalists invested close to $510 million in North Carolina, almost $60 million of which was invested in seed and early-stage businesses, according to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Moneytree Survey of VC investment. However, while the state ranks 12th in seed/early-stage investment, many in the state perceive the lack of seed funding to be a major obstacle to economic growth. Earlier this year, a survey conducted by the Wilmington-based Council on Entrepreneurial Development (CED) revealed that access to capital, particularly to seed-stage equity investment, was one of the top concerns of entrepreneurs in the state.   Last week, the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) announced a new plan to make capital available to entrepreneurs and begin building a stronger early-stage investment industry. In 2003, SBTDC launched the Inception Micro Angel Fund (IMAF) in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina, with an investment zone that included Greater North Carolina and selected areas of South Carolina and Virginia.…

The field of nanotechnology is progressing in terms of size and maturity. The federal investment, alone, as proposed by the Administration in the 2008 Budget under the National Nanotechnology Initiative, was $1.45 billion. As public and private sector investments are pumped into this field, distinct concentrations of nanotech activity are being created in regions across the country. One might think these emerging hotspots are located in close proximity to the leading nanotechnology research institutions. The May/June 2007 edition of Small Times magazine lists the top universities in the micro and nano fields, in categories such as research, education, facilities, and commercialization leadership. Two versions of these top 10 lists are provided, one for the universities that completed the Small Times survey and one version developed from opinions of peers in the field. Besides these rankings, the magazine provides a profile of many of these research-intensive universities where nanotechnology clusters may develop. A simple, yet novel, tool to view these concentrations recently was unveiled by the Project on Emerging…

With a projected national shortage of more than 280,000 math and science teachers by 2015, key stakeholders must begin initiating strategies to recruit, retain and renew the nation’s teaching workforce, says a new report by The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF).   The report provides a comprehensive action plan to transform the quality of the teaching workforce and address the growing shortfall of math and science teachers. According to the authors, the annual turnover rate for math teachers is the highest of all subject areas at 16.4 percent, followed by science teachers at 15.6 percent. In addition, U.S. students are losing ground to their international counterparts in math and science performance - areas imperative to American economic competitiveness.   Recommendations fall under three key factors of recruitment, retention and renewal, recognizing the need to align and coordinate contributions from federal government, state government, school districts, higher education and business and foundations. Key recommendations include: Implement recruitment strategies such as scholarships, bonuses and…

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has published its latest update on the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of each state. The update includes advance estimates for 2006 data, as well as revisions to data from 2003-2005.   SSTI has prepared a table showing every state’s real GDP per capita from 2003 to 2006. Besides these values, the table also includes: Ranking for 2006 state GDP per capita Comparison of 2006 GDP per capita to the national average Four-year percent change in state GDP per capita Ranking of percent change With a per capita real GDP of $59,288, Delaware ranked first among the states in 2006, with a value 57 percent higher than the country’s average. Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey rounded out the top five.   Over the period from 2003 to 2006, Idaho witnessed the largest per capita GDP growth from $26,673 to $30,896 – a rise of 15.8 percent. Oregon, ranked second, had a 13.6 percent increase. This was followed by Louisiana, New Mexico, Hawaii, New York, and then California. Michigan was the only state to have a decrease in per capita GDP over this…

The field of tech-based economic development has changed dramatically since the creation of SSTI in 1996 and continues to change almost daily. With these changes in mind, SSTI is releasing a new mission statement that better defines the organization's current direction. SSTI's new mission is to lead, support, and strengthen efforts to improve state and regional economies through science, technology, and innovation. SSTI has many ongoing mission driven initiatives, including: The SSTI Weekly Digest The SSTI Funding Supplement SSTI's Annual Conference The Excellence in TBED Awards SSTI's Network of Members The TBED Resource Center To find out more about how SSTI can enhance the future of your organization, please visit our website at www.ssti.org or contact Noelle Sheets, director of membership services at sheets @ ssti.org.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and lawmakers recently gave the state's Department of Education a substantial boost by increasing the budget for the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) by two-thirds for fiscal year 2008 – a leading example in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. Historically, Alabama has ranked low in educational attainment compared to the rest of the country. In 2005, Alabama ranked 47th in the nation in percentage of adults age 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree or higher (see the Nov. 27, 2006 Useful Stats table in the Digest). However, last week, Gov. Riley signed into law a record education budget, investing more funding than ever before in Alabama’s history. AMSTI, the Department of Education’s initiative to improve math and science teaching statewide, will receive $35.8 million, a significant increase from the FY07 appropriation of $22 million. Created in 2002 as a pilot program, the initiative is similar to one of the proposed goals within the America COMPETES Act, introduced in Congress in March. Schools in Alabama become official AMSTI…

Should a fall of 11 places in international rankings for broadband penetration be of concern for U.S. policymakers? Expanding broadband access for business and residents has become a key element of many regional development strategies. The Internet has become a key resource for entrepreneurs and small businesses, as well as a necessary ingredient in preparing students for the modern workforce. Widespread broadband use offers many advantages for regional economies, especially in regions that have traditionally lagged in high-tech development, but may now be able to access information and markets that were once beyond their reach. A recent report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) highlighted why state and regional efforts to expand broadband access are becoming vital to sustaining U.S. economic prosperity. SSTI reported on recent examples from two states, West Virginia and Vermont, that were implementing new strategies to expand broadband and wireless Internet access for businesses and individuals (see the May 14, 2007 issue of the Digest). OECD found, since 2001, the U.S. has fallen…