SSTI Digest

If there is ever an example of a city-region that can demonstrate the benefits of working as a team to transform its economy through all aspects of tech-based economic development, it would have to be the Oklahoma City area. And fortunately, the vibrant community is based in a state that both understands what is needed for transforming an economy from being natural resource-based to knowledge-driven and is matching talk with real money.



Whether they realize it or not, several state and regional TBED programs around the country owe their structure and existence to the pioneering TBED work done in Oklahoma since the 1980s. Much of the portfolio of programs offered through OCAST, its private sector partner I2E, the Oklahoma Alliance for Excellence in Manufacturing, and the "Oklahoma model" for increasing equity capital availability has been replicated around the country.

On Oct. 31, SSTI will offer four exciting options as pre-conference activities. Registration is separate from the full conference fee. Seating for each will be limited.



Turning Innovations into Enterprises: A Practitioner's Guide to Technology Commercialization

A name and face familiar to many SSTI members, Dr. Randy Goldsmith, president of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, brings his internationally popular technology commercialization workshop to this years SSTI pre-conference in a half-day format especially designed for TBED professionals. The Goldsmith Technology Commercialization Model has been adopted by NASA and by economic development organizations in the United Kingdom, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and elsewhere.

If you're new to SSTI's annual conferences, you're in for a treat when you join us in Oklahoma City, Nov. 1-2. Here's what you can expect:

On the evening of Oct. 31, SSTI's conference participants will be treated to a fun-filled evening of dinner, drinks, art, culture and entertainment thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the conference's 22 local hosts.The event will be held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, a stunning 100 percent non-publicly funded cultural art museum and research center.



Whether you're unwinding after one of the intensive SSTI pre-conference workshops or just arriving in Oklahoma City, the Opening Reception affords a wonderful, relaxed environment to reconnect with colleagues and network with other conference attendees, speakers and our local hosts. Festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. Shuttle transportation will be provided between the conference hotel and the museum beginning at 6:00 pm.

Launching a revolutionary market-defining product like the iPod is one thing, but commercializing consumer products built on revolutionary manufacturing processes or new material composition have a much tougher time breaking into existing markets unless the new product comes with a significant cost-savings for consumers or quality improvement that warrants the expense. This is particularly true for technologies, services and products built on an energy conservation, waste minimization or other renewable/green platform.



An item that either addresses a public good or reduces a social cost (i.e. reducing health costs by reducing air pollution caused in the products manufacture) often has a difficult time remaining on the market because sufficient demand is not in place early enough in the products commercial life to achieve the economies of scale in production and mass distribution.

Synthetic biology, quality of life technologies, fluid power, mid-infrared technologies, and structured organic composites are the five technology areas supported through the new Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) awards announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The centers will share $75.3 million to develop cross-disciplinary research programs advancing technologies that address major societal problems and provide the basis for new industries.



For more than two decades, the ERC program has fostered interdisciplinary research and education collaborations, in close partnership with industry, based on the realities of technological innovation and the development of new products and services. States often incorporate ERCs and state-sponsored university-industry research centers into their tech-based economic development strategies. In each center, scientists and engineers from a variety of disciplines collaborate on broad-based high-risk engineering research, developing fundamental engineering knowledge and test beds for important emerging technologies.

In each of the last five years, the percentage of U.S. academic R&D supported by industry has declined. Real dollar expenditures also have declined to only $2.107 billion. NSF wrote in an April 2006 Issue Brief, "The industrial sector is the first source of academic R&D funding to show a multiyear decline since the survey began, in FY 1953... Industry's share of academic R&D support in FY 2004 equaled its share in FY 1983, at 4.9 percent."



Understanding the reasons behind the trend are important before too many conclusions are drawn but one may ask: Should state and local policymakers for TBED be developing approaches to change the direction of the trend?



Probably.

SSTI's is very excited to be holding its 10th Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2006. The event has become the premier professional development experience for the tech-based economic development community, the only event to bring together representatives from every aspect of transforming state, regional and local economies through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.



One of the most respected elements of the conference each year is the series of 20-24 intimate breakout sessions that allow participants to explore the more important issues of tech-based economic development with their peers from around the country. The conversations are educational and advanced, stimulating new approaches and ideas to take home to your local or state TBED efforts. The full agenda will be released soon, but SSTI is pleased to give regular Digest readers the first peek at just some of the topics to be included at this year's conference:

Griffin Analytical Technologies, LLC, a producer of premium chemical detection systems, is seeking a director of laboratory operations and applications development. Griffin serves U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security applications, environmental health and safety monitoring, and research and teaching laboratories. The director will manage the workflow of Griffins labs, manage a staff of five, support research programs, and support sales and marketing efforts. A Ph.D. degree is preferred. Applicants also should have experience in mass spectrometry, seven or more years of related laboratory work, and at least three years of laboratory management experience. More information on this opportunity is available through the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.