SSTI Digest

Karl Tueller announced he will step down as executive director of the Idaho Department of Commerce Office of Science and Technology, effective July 1. Tueller also serves as a deputy director for the agency.

Nicole Witherbee has joined the Maine Center of Economic Policy as a federal budget analyst and communications coordinator.

Funding for energy and TBED initiatives were highlighted in the fiscal year 2007-09 biennial budget at the close of the legislative session in Minnesota late last month. Winning nearly unanimous approval from the legislature was Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Next Generation Initiative announced during his State-of-the-State Address (see the Jan. 15, 2007 issue of the Digest).  

Oklahoma is one step closer to positioning itself as a leader in sustainable energy production, with the creation of a $40 million Bioenergy Center. The legislature passed SB 510 at the close of the 2007 session last month, establishing the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center announced by Gov. Brad Henry during his State-of-the-State Address earlier this year (see the Feb. 19, 2007 issue of the Digest).   The Bioenergy Center is a joint collaboration between the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and the Noble Foundation. The institution will coordinate the state’s resources and research programs in the fields of biofuels and bioenergy development and production utilizing a $10 million annual appropriation over the next four years. Research efforts will focus on sustainable economic production of cellulosic ethanol and developing critical steps in production of biodiesel and ethanol from non-cellulosic sources.

Over the last few months, several research parks across the country have announced formal openings, expansions, first tenants and new developments – all with the same general goal in mind. While many of these parks are merely real estate developments, research parks often are constructed around universities and laboratories and are designed to house tenants that will utilize the resources and create new jobs and spin-offs.   As the number of research parks continues to increase, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate, S. 1373, on May 11 by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and cosponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The “Building A Stronger America Act,” if passed in its current form, would authorize $7.5 million in federal grant funding for feasibility studies and up to $50 million in loan guarantees for science and research park construction and expansion.  

[Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from the June 1 issue of the SBIR Gateway Insider Newsletter, with permission from the author, Rick Shindell at Zyn Systems. The entire issue is worthy reading and is available, along with archived issues, through the SBIR Gateway that Shindell maintains as a free, public resource for all things SBIR. The SBIR Gateway is http://www.zyn.com/sbir/.]   As many of you know, the NIST SBIR program was severely impacted by the loss/reduction of funding for the NIST ATP program (considered extramural research by which NIST SBIR obtains its 2.5 percent funding).  

The U.S. patent system has long been an outlier in its approach to protecting intellectual property (IP) rights. While every other industrialized country awards IP protection to the first party to apply for a patent, the U.S. system bases its IP decisions on the first inventor of a particular technology. As foreign markets have become more important to high-tech companies seeking to go global from day one, this approach has complicated the country's ability to enter into international agreements that would protect the IP rights of U.S. firms around the globe.   In recent years, legislators and industry groups have attempted to harmonize U.S. patent laws with the first-to-file systems used in Europe and Asia. For the third session in a row, Congress is considering a reform package that would put an end to the first-to-invent system and, this time, some change seems more likely to pass. The Patent Reform Act of 2007 would bring U.S. patent regulation more in line with the IP policies of other nations and close many of the perceived loopholes left by previous overhauls of the patent system.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published the latest annual update to its online statistical resource center for state-level statistics on various science and engineering (S&E) indicators. Drawing data from the most recent updates to seven annual NSF surveys and U.S. Census statistics, Science & Engineering State Profiles, 2003-2005 includes downloadable Excel or PDF versions of state statistics and rankings for:       * Number of doctoral scientists, 2003     * Number of doctoral engineers, 2003     * S&E doctorates awarded, 2005     * S&E and health postdoctorates in doctorate-granting institutions, 2005     * S&E and health graduate students in doctorate-granting institutions, 2005     * Population, 2005     * Civilian labor force, 2005     * Personal per capita income, 2005     * Total federal expenditures, 2004

Yes, it could happen. Bid packets are available. Your organization could host SSTI's 12th annual conference during the fall of 2008. More than 350 of the nation's greatest thinkers and practitioners for building tech-based economies could descend on YOUR city. Over the past 11 years, SSTI's annual conference has grown to become the nation's largest gathering of the tech-based economic development community. The 12th annual conference brings the opportunity to acknowledge the impact and growth of tech-based economic development. It is our hope that this conference will inspire even more collaboration, creativity and success across the nation. The conference host is an integral part in the preparation and success of each conference. Because of the host’s knowledge of local and regional resources, the host is asked for suggestions and advice concerning local suppliers, destinations and potential experts/speakers. Also, the host receives 40 complimentary conference registrations with minimal or no travel costs.

Texas Voters Likely to Decide on Similar Level for Cancer Research After years of legal challenges to the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, the path for funding the $3 billion initiative has been cleared by the California Supreme Court. Texas may soon join the race to fund medical research with its own $3 billion bond issue supporting cancer research.   The California Supreme Court last week declined to hear an appeal challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 71, effectively ending the lawsuits that have held up most of the bond funding for three years, according to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state agency that manages the project.   Voters in 2004 approved the bond issue, which immediately faced challenges from groups opposed to stem cell research. A ruling last year from the Superior Court and Court of Appeals deemed the act to be constitutional in its entirety.  

Two bills passed by the Missouri General Assembly last week include more than $32 million to support new initiatives to promote TBED activities in the state. Programs to support bio-agricultural research, technology commercialization and business growth won the lion's share of the new appropriations.

SSTI is pleased to announce the creation of the Excellence in TBED Awards. This new program is designed to celebrate exceptional achievement in technology-based economic development (TBED), the approaches used to help foster a climate where innovative companies developing and adopting technology thrive. In celebrating exceptional achievement in TBED, the awards program: requires applicants to provide a clear explanation of the need for the initiative, a logical approach to addressing the need, and demonstrable results; will be highly selective with applications reviewed by a committee of distinguished current and former practitioners; and, will be rigorous but fair in its evaluation.   Any TBED program or practitioner is eligible to apply. Each application will be reviewed by a committee of distinguished current and former practitioners with knowledge and experience within a given award category. Selection committee members are chosen by SSTI based on their experience, knowledge of the field, and accomplishments.