SSTI Digest

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has named Dr. Gautam Pillay to the new position of vice president for research. Pillay was executive director of the Inland Northwest Research Alliance.

Duane Roth is the new executive director of UCSD CONNECT. Roth was CEO of Alliance Pharmaceuticals in San Diego.

Michael Terry, president and CEO of EmergeMemphis, has announced he will resign at the end of the year.

Senate Bill 1134, the reauthorization bill for the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA), only awaits the President's signature following Thursday's passage by the U.S. House of Representatives. SB 1134 was passed by the U.S. Senate just a day earlier. Highlights of the Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 2003, as passed by Congress, include: Provides the Secretary of Commerce with new authority to reward outstanding performance by grant recipients who excel in carrying out job-creating projects; Supports regional collaboration for developing ways communities can position themselves to compete in a worldwide economy, emphasizing strategies for manufacturing-intensive communities and for deploying broadband technology. And, Attempts to simplify and streamline government procedures by reducing paperwork for grant recipients and removing barriers for nonprofit and faith-based organizations to participate in economic development activities. EDA’s prior reauthorization was passed in 1998 and expired on Sept. 30, 2003. Since its inception in 1965, the…

Earlier this week, 22 states and Puerto Rico were named recipients of more than $2.2 million in combined fiscal year 2004 Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) and Rural Outreach Program (ROP) awards. All but one of the 21 FAST awards distributed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) were worth $95,000 -- they totaled nearly $1.98 million. Five ROP awards of $49,470 also were made by SBA.   FAST, included in December 2000 legislation reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, provides matching funds to enable states to augment or expand their tech business assistance and SBIR outreach efforts. FAST winners include: Alaska ­ University of Alaska Arizona - Arizona Department Arkansas - Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Hawaii ­ High Technology Development Corp. Indiana - Advanced Research and Technology Institute Kentucky - Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. Louisiana ­ Louisiana State University Maine ­ Maine Technology Institute Maryland ­ Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) Mississippi ­ Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Southern…

Ongoing economic struggles, along with rising health care and pension costs, have contributed to the bleak conditions of city budgets around the nation. The majority of America’s cities are still suffering from the recession and city financial officers are pessimistic on the financial outlook for the near future, according to an annual survey from the National League of Cities. The survey, which consists of 18 factors affecting city budgets, was presented to city finance officers for the report, City Fiscal Conditions in 2004. Respondents were asked whether each of the factors had increased or decreased between 2003-2004 and whether the change had a positive or negative influence on the overall financial picture. For the first time in 10 years, more than half of the respondents reported their cities would be less able to meet their financial needs in 2005 than in the current year. Health care and increased employee wages topped the list of factors that increased over the previous year. Following closely behind were infrastructure needs, employee pensions and city tax base. In response to the…

New data released by the Center for Public Integrity affirm the notion state representatives are often uniquely positioned to influence their personal financial fortunes or those of their employers while in office. Our Private Legislatures, a study aimed at providing the public with detailed information on the private financial interests of more than 7,400 lawmakers, finds more than 28 percent of reporting state legislators sat on a committee with authority over at least one of their personal interests in 2001. Another 18 percent disclosed ties to organizations registered to lobby state government, and 10 percent were employed by other government agencies, including public schools and universities. Although state legislators frequently have jurisdiction over areas in which they hold personal interests, many states have weak mechanisms for disclosing those ties, a companion Center report notes. In fact, 24 states received failing scores on making basic information about the outside interests of their legislators available to the public. The two analyses update previous reports by…

Southern states may have a justifiable reason to be proud of their progress in technology and innovation, but their leaders should be concerned with the lack of investment in venture capital and industrial research and development (R&D), suggests a report released last month by Southern Growth Policies Board and the Southern Technology Council (STC). Measuring the progress of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-based economic progress in the South, Not Invested Here: The 2004 Southern Innovation Index provides data on 50 benchmarks and offers 10-year targets for each of the Southern Growth member states. As the fourth in a series of reports on innovation in the South and an update to the previous index released in 2002, the report includes updated indicators and analysis of the differences between the updated indicators and their 2002 report counterparts. Southern Growth members - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia - have made significant and sustained…

Prompted by confusion over the dual rulings in the University of Michigan affirmative action cases last year, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering have released a new report to clarify the legalities and offer options for implementing and sustaining diversity programs within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Grutter v. University of Michigan and Gratz v. Bollinger, which upheld the Law School’s admission policy but struck down the undergraduate admission policy, triggered confusion among academic, nonprofit and federal institutions, according to AAAS. Standing Our Ground: A Guidebook for STEM Educators in the Post-Michigan Era proposes eight principles for increasing the participation of minorities in STEM and urges leaders to specify diversity goals within their institutional missions. In formulating the principles, AAAS utilized a discussion from a panel of diversity program architects during a conference held earlier in the year. The report also…

Peter Bianco has been named executive director of University Enterprise Laboratories, a nonprofit entity created by the University of Minnesota that provides incubator laboratory space for bioscience start-up companies. Former Massachusetts House Majority Leader Salvatore DiMasi has replaced Thomas Finneran as Speaker of the House. Finneran recently resigned to run the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. Eugene Huang will replace Virginia Secretary of Technology George Newstrom, who is resigning after two years in the position. Jesse Jones is the new CEO of Ohio's IT Alliance. Jones formerly was chief technology officer of the City of Columbus. Fred Kocher has been elected president of the New Hampshire High Technology Council, which advocates technology-based businesses in New Hampshire. Laurie Lachance recently was named the next president of the Maine Development Foundation, Maine's economic development policy organization. Lachance is a former economist for the Maine State Planning Office. Kenneth Lynn has been appointed president…

Peter Bianco has been named executive director of University Enterprise Laboratories, a nonprofit entity created by the University of Minnesota that provides incubator laboratory space for bioscience start-up companies.

Former Massachusetts House Majority Leader Salvatore DiMasi has replaced Thomas Finneran as Speaker of the House. Finneran recently resigned to run the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.