SSTI Digest

The Supercentenarian Research Foundation, a new nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh, has selected outgoing Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse CEO Doros Platika as its chaiman.

Ralph Schultz was named president and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, effective Nov. 1. Schultz replaces Mike Neal, who resigned in July to assume the top job at the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce in Tulsa, Okla.

John Tortorici is retiring as president of the Software Association of Oregon.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Louisiana Board of Regents recently unveiled a $28.5 million Research Commercialization and Educational Enhancement Program to stimulate economic development within the portions of the state severely impacted by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Funds for this program originate from the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) appropriated by the federal government.   State officials report how Louisiana suffered $400 million in damage to research facilities and infrastructure after the hurricanes. Furthermore, officials report the aggressive recruitment of key research faculty by out-of-state institutions as another threat to future development and economic recovery. While Louisiana had a strong pre-hurricane research capacity, it lacked a coordinated and focused strategy to drive new company creation, market development, and marketing opportunities, according to an action plan developed by the state.   The highlights of the RC/EEP program include the following components: Create an Eminent Scholars Program, similar to that of the Georgia Research Alliance, to promote the retention of…

Early registration has ended and the conference hotel is full, but you still have the opportunity to join representatives from more than 40 states, provinces and three continents at the nations premier gathering of the technology-based economic development field. This is one conference you do not want to miss! Transforming Regional Economies, SSTI's 10th Annual Conference is only three weeks away. The event, built around 22 timely breakout sessions, engaging plenary sessions, and a gala opening reception, will be held in Oklahoma City on Nov. 1-2, 2006. Four intensive pre-conference options, including a hands-on look at the transformation of Oklahoma City, are offered on Oct. 31. The Renaissance Hotel graciously expanded SSTI's room block several times before the place was sold out. Don't despair! Rooms are available in two nearby hotels. Both had rooms available as of Oct. 11: Courtyard Oklahoma City Downtown 2 West Reno Avenue Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102 Phone: (405) 232-2290 Fax: (405) 232-2202 $189/night on http://marriott.com/…

An assessment of patent activity for 3,200 faculty who were awarded patents at 54 U.S. research universities concluded that 33 percent were assigned outside of the university and its technology licensing offices (TLOs). Furthermore, 42 percent of the faculty members who were awarded patents from 1989 to 2003 bypassed their university and TLO at least one time to attain a patent. In their paper, Full-Time Faculty or Part-Time Entrepreneurs?, Gideon Markman of the University of Georgia, Peter Gianiodis of Clemson University, and Phillip Phan of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute investigate the occurrence of university scientists to privately sell or license their discoveries separate from their university's technology licensing program. This is of particular interest to the TBED community because of the fiscal benefits that universities may collect from patent licensing, especially considering that many universities provide equipment, space, and additional infrastructure that is necessary for successful research.   The authors created a regression model that accounted for the TLO legal structure and affiliation, the…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a total of $76 million over the next five years to fund multi-university collaborations to support four cross-disciplinary centers to address fundamental questions in the areas of next-generation polymers, climate modeling, microbial oceanography and coastal environments. With the new awards, NSF currently supports 17 Science and Technology Centers that involve nearly 100 academic institutions, national laboratories, industrial organizations or other entities. The centers build intellectual and physical infrastructures within and between disciplines, and bring together the creation, integration, and transfer of new knowledge to the mainstream and industrial communities. Centers offer the research and engineering community an effective mechanism to undertake long-term scientific and technological research and education activities, to explore better and more effective ways to educate students and to develop mechanisms to ensure the timely transition of research and education advances into service in society. Each center receives roughly $19 million…

The recently released Economic Development Strategic Plan for the Commonwealth of Virginia includes measurable benchmarks to gauge the building blocks for economic development. As required by legislation, each of Virginia's governors must establish an Economic Development Strategic Plan within his first year in office. The 2006 version is the result of collaboration between the cabinet of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, business leaders, economic development professionals, and private citizens.   The report details nine broad goals, which include such topics as: encouraging workforce development, emphasizing regional cooperation, supporting research and development, and strengthening tourism.   To accomplish many of these goals, several strategies are listed. Some of these strategies include benchmarks that may be of interest to the tech-based economic development community. By the year 2010, Virginia intends to: Ensure every business has access to broadband services anywhere and anytime. Increase the proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds with a high school diploma by 5 percent. Increase the proportion of 18-…

If the most important jobs of the future will be connected to science and engineering disciplines, then, the current thinking goes, the U.S. needs to have more scientists and engineers in its future workforce. To achieve this, more emphasis needs to be placed on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula, beginning with math and science education in the K-12 experience. Improving career interest and test scores in math and science is taking on greater priority in a number of states. The Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota High Tech Association, for example, is in the middle of convening a dozen STEM forums around the state in October to explore several strategies for advancing STEM education. Titled Fueling the Pipeline: A Regional Forum for STEM Education, each three-hour meeting is intended to introduce participants to Minnesota's Plan for High School Redesign, hear from STEM local community leaders and engage in conversations to create new partnerships, and establish a pipeline of STEM activities around the state. More information is available at http://www.mhta.org. STEM…

According to a recently released report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), investment in research and development accounted for 4.5 percent of the growth of inflation-adjusted U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) between 1959 and 2002. This value has increased in recent years, with R&D contributing to 6.5 percent of GDP growth from 1995 to 2002.   These statistics are a result of a recent effort to chart how intangible assets, which are not normally used in GDP calculations, affect economic growth. According to BEA Director Steve Landefeld, some 40 percent of U.S. productivity and growth is unaccounted for in the annual GDP calculations. Research and development is one of those intangible assets that are not currently incorporated in BEA calculations.   With the assistance of the National Science Foundation, R&D expenditure data was collected and then used to create separate estimates to calculate these economic measurements. Besides the contributions to GDP, the estimates stated that if R&D was included as an investment and not as an expense, business investment would be 11 percent higher and the…

Last week, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced his administration and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) had reached an agreement that would allow companies sponsoring stem cell research in Wisconsin to obtain a free, non-exclusive research license under the stem cell patents held by WARF. WARF, which manages more than 720 pending and 880 issued U.S. patents on University of Wisconsin at Madison technologies, will not charge Wisconsin research centers for licenses on its stem cell patents. The agreement is part of Gov. Doyle's plan to help the state capture 10 percent of the national stem cell market by 2015. The WiCell Research Institute, a subsidiary of WARF and operator of the National Stem Cell Bank, offers technology licenses, stem cell lines, and training for university and private sectors researchers around the world. WiCell provides five of the 21 stem cell lines available for federal funding and maintains more than 460 academic and commercial licenses on human embryonic stem cells. Its licenses directly affect all U.S. companies and research in the field. The agreement gives Wisconsin a competitive advantage in…

Earlier this month, the European Commission laid out a broad-based innovation strategy to improve the Community's ability to compete effectively in the global economy. Each of the 10 action items listed include several recommendations for the member states to implement individually, as well as select items at the Union level. Regional innovation strategies comprise a central element of the planning and budgetary allocation of the action plan, and the list includes several components with relevance to the 50 states and the U.S. federal government. The top priority is for member states and universities to establish innovation-friendly education systems to promote creativity and to focus curricula on skills consistent with a knowledge-based society. In addition, they should provide incentives for structured partnerships of universities with the business community. Finally, member states and universities should ensure that entrepreneurial, management and innovation skills development become an integral part of graduate education, research training and lifelong learning strategies for university staff. …