SSTI Digest

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.

North Carolina could boost its economy by further leveraging the science of atoms and molecules, a new report finds. In A Roadmap for Nanotechnology in North Carolinas 21st Century, released earlier this month, a state task force comprised of academic and business leaders offers a number of ways North Carolina can use nanotech to provide secure more high-paying jobs for its economy. Of the group's 22 recommendations, 12 focus on enhancing the states overall technology economy, while 10 focus specifically on improving and developing North Carolinas nanotechnology community. One of North Carolina's greatest strengths for promoting nanotech is in its universities, the report points out. Between 1999 and 2004, the number of nanotechnology-related sponsored program awards to North Carolina universities increased five-fold. At least nine universities received funding awards from more than 10 federal agencies and nearly 40 private companies and foundations during the period. The task force recommends that universities align themselves with the needs of regional economic clusters, completing resource analyses and developing strategies to address those needs.…

SSTI is pleased to give regular Digest readers the first peek at the four intensive pre-conference workshops, which will precede SSTI's 10th annual conference on Nov. 1-2. Registration may be completed online at: https://www.ssti.org/Conf06/registration.htm.   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. Through this interactive workshop, Dr. Goldsmith will introduce you to assessment tools, a step-by-step process and financing resources that can help your clients achieve their business objectives. You will identify key milestones, ask critical questions, estimate costs, and determine an…

While money is often downplayed as a motivator for academic researchers, it turns out they are more like the rest of us than some thought, according to a new study from the London School of Economics and Political Science. The more a university shares its royalties with faculty researchers, the more overall licensing income that university earns, the study suggests. In The Impact of Royalty Sharing Incentives on Technology Licensing in Universities, Saul Lach and Mark Schankerman contend that the design of intellectual property rights and other forms of incentives for faculty may have real effects on growth and productivity. The model is based on the Association of University Technology Manager's annual survey of university tech transfer activities. The findings reinforce those of a 2001 paper, Why Do Some Universities Generate More Start-ups than Others? by Dante Di Gregorio and Scott Shane of the University of Maryland, which found, in part, that more start-ups could be expected when there are lower royalty payments back to university inventors. This would apparently be the case because the best way for the researchers…

A well rounded K-12 educational system has long been regarded as a prerequisite for robust regional growth. An accessible supply of early stage capital is another key ingredient for entrepreneurship. Can both be accomplished simultaneously? A recent white paper from CFED suggests yes, public school systems can do more to prepare students for participation in the entrepreneurial community. Linking Youth Savings and Entrepreneurship proposes it could be as simple as combining existing education programs to encourage entrepreneurship while promoting sound personal fiscal management. The result is students building their own nest eggs to launch entrepreneurial opportunities once they finish high school or college. Several pilot programs specifically address the need for entrepreneurial education in K-12 schools, adding a finance twist as well: Since 1979, the REAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) Entrepreneurship program uses school-based enterprises to teach students of all ages in a variety of venues about small businesses and financial responsibility while addressing the needs of the community…

The Census Bureau recently released a 2005 update for American Community Survey (ACS), the most detailed demographic information available for nearly 7,000 areas including congressional districts, counties, cities and American Indian/Alaska native areas with a population of 65,000 or more.   ACS addresses one of the greatest challenges for demographers and economic development policy researchers -- the availability of current data on the nations changing and diverse population. Prior to the annual ACS, this information was historically gathered once a decade.   The 2005 ACS data include demographics such as sex, age, race, education, place of birth, marital status, education, veterans, disability status and U.S. citizenship. Additionally, the data represent the first update of key population characteristics since 2000 for 75 of the top 100 fastest-growing cities in the nation. The ACS website allows comparison of several geographic units at once as well as mapping capabilities. The results of the Census Bureaus 2005 American Community Survey are available at: http://www.…

In 2004, U.S. industry-financed academic R&D totaled more than $2.1 billion -- a $54.9 million decrease from 2003, according to the National Science Foundations Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, Fiscal Year 2004.   For the 2000-04 period, the U.S. as a whole experienced a decrease of 3.26 percent in academic R&D expenditures funded by industry sources -- 2004 was the third consecutive year that the U.S. total has slipped. It should be noted that during the 2000-04 period, academic R&D from all sources of funds saw an almost 43 percent increase (see SSTI's table from last week). Despite the national decline in industry-funded academic R&D, 21 states showed an increase in industry-financed academic R&D expenditures, with South Dakota leading the nation at 103.05 percent. Five other states also experienced an increase of more than 50 percent -- Hawaii (90.30 percent), Maryland (86.92 percent), Rhode Island (56.64 percent), Colorado (51.55 percent) and South Carolina (50.96 percent).   SSTI has prepared a table ranking all 50 states…

Mary Lawyer is leaving the Iowa Department of Economic Development to be the president and CEO of Des Moines' Downtown Community Alliance, effective Sept. 14. Maneesh Sagar has been named director of investments at Connecticut Innovations. Purdue University has hired Mark Smith as its new Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development project administrator.

Mary Lawyer is leaving the Iowa Department of Economic Development to be the president and CEO of Des Moines' Downtown Community Alliance, effective Sept. 14.

Maneesh Sagar has been named director of investments at Connecticut Innovations.

Purdue University has hired Mark Smith as its new Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development project administrator.

Students who receive a bachelor's degree in science or engineering (S&E) frequently find themselves on non-technical career paths, but according to a recent study, most of these graduates later report that their S&E education plays an important role at work. Nearly 73 percent of people whose highest level of education is an S&E bachelor's degree do not work in traditional S&E occupations. However, almost two-thirds of that group report that their current job is related to their degree. This finding suggests that there are benefits to additional state and university investment in S&E programs beyond filling jobs that have traditionally been considered part of the high-tech economy.   The study, conducted by the National Science Foundation, examines the careers of people who earned an S&E bachelor's degree more than 10 years ago. NSF reports that only one-quarter of S&E grads work or pursue an additional degree in their original field of study. Though these results suggest that the pipeline between university S&E programs and the private sector needs to be strengthened to prevent the underemployment of educated…