SSTI Digest

Kelvin Simmons is the new director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, replacing Joe Driskell who held the position for 10 years. Simmons had been serving as chairman of the state's Public Service Commission.

Leroy Williams has been named as the new technology secretary for the state of Colorado. Williams, previously the state's chief information officer, will manage the Governor's Office of Innovation and Technology.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation awarded on Monday $25 million in grants to eight U.S. universities that pledged to make entrepreneurship education available across campus. The selected universities, shown with their award amounts, are: Florida International University, $3 million; Howard University, $3.1 million; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, $4.5 million; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $3.5 million; University of Rochester, $3.5 million; University of Texas-El Paso, $2 million; Wake Forest University, $2.16 million; and, Washington University in St. Louis, $3 million. Because schools must match the grants at least two-to-one, the Kauffman Campuses initiative ultimately directs a minimum of $75 million for the creation of new interdisciplinary entrepreneurship education programs in American higher education. The initiative is believed to be the first such program of its kind. While entrepreneurship programs traditionally have been the domain of the business school, the eight Kauffman Campuses schools propose to…

A collaborative agreement formed Tuesday between AT&T and the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) is expected to speed the creation of regional and national grid services. SURA, a nonprofit organization, is comprised of more than 60 leading research institutions in the southern U.S. and the District of Columbia. Under the partnership, researchers and academia will have access to Grid networking — AT&T's newest national network infrastructure for experimental work on new networking technology and applications. The telecommunications company will make available, at no cost to SURA, 8,000 miles of dark fiber network and a substantial inventory of optical networking equipment. These assets will be used to develop experimental network services to support advanced research that would not be possible otherwise. AT&T also will lease to SURA and its partners additional network facilities and capacity as needed. The company will make its network assets available through USAWaves, a research and education (R&E) networking initiative created by SURA. Grid…

New grants totaling more than $28.5 million will help foster the development of new products and markets for agriculturally based products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week. In all, 184 value-added agricultural product market development grants were distributed across 40 states. Twenty-nine of the selected applications – a total of $4.3 million in grants – will focus on biomass and renewable energy. For example, Central Illinois Energy Cooperative will utilize $250,000 to assist with the construction of a 30-million-gallon-per-year ethanol processing and co-generation facility. Authorized as part of the 2002 Farm Bill, the Value-Added Agricultural Product Market Development Grants program provides an opportunity to refine agricultural commodities and products to increase their value in the marketplace. Applications selected for funding range from Arkansas-based Planters Cotton Oil Mill, Inc., which will develop a feasibility analysis and business plan for marketing and manufacturing of an oilseed processing product, to Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative, LLC to…

A new energy initiative in West Virginia, Energy Village, aims to help grow the state's small and start-up energy and environmental technology businesses. Gov. Bob Wise announced $125,000 in funding for the initiative on Monday. Energy Village is tasked with coordinating West Virginia’s emerging energy and environmental technology cluster of businesses. The funding provided to the Morgantown-based nonprofit organization will assist in the implementation of a strategic plan to grow these businesses. Energy Village will leverage state and federal resources, including the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, in the research and development of fossil fuel technologies. “This expertise can provide a key foundation to our efforts to grow new opportunities for the state in the energy sector,” Gov. Wise said. “We already are a leader in the production of coal and other natural resources; we also could become a leader in growing new businesses that allow these resources to be used in a cleaner and more efficient manner.” Energy Village was developed as…

To promote biotech in Baton Rouge, a new study sponsored by Capital Region Competitive Strategy (CapStrategy) recommends constructing an "idea pipeline" to better commercialize the intellectual property and research generated in the region's universities, hospitals and research institutes. CapStrategy, a nonprofit, cluster-based economic development initiative, operates under the Chamber of Greater Baton Rouge and represents nine parishes in the region. CapStrategy's two-month study discusses the region's existing assets and potential commercialization opportunities, while reviewing the gaps to be closed for Baton Rouge to emerge as a leading region for biotech. Four stages to cluster economic development – mobilize, analyze, catalyze and realize – ultimately shape the region's ability to build on its strengths, the study observes. Among those strengths are several applied research centers that could enable rapid commercialization in such areas as agricultural science, food processing technology and nutrition. The study notes the region's biomedical-related industry is still at a fledgling stage…

A new report prepared for the U.S. Economic Development Administration aims to provide public officials, development practitioners and researchers with a greater understanding of the relationship between the creation and commercialization of technologies and regional economic development. Technology Transfer and Commercialization: Their Role in Economic Development begins by outlining the causes and effects of the restructuring of the U.S. economy that necessitates technology-focused development strategies. For readers without a technology background, the report defines and describes a typology of technology transfer and commercialization activities. Technology Transfer and Commercialization also seeks to aid a realistic assessment of the potential for technology-based development in various regions across the U.S. Where does technology development and commercialization activity take place in the U.S. and why? Are rural areas and smaller metro areas as likely to be sites for technology development and commercialization activity as larger metro areas? How important is the presence of public research and…

The SSTI Weekly Digest will resume publication on January 9. We hope all our readers have a safe, prosperous, and happy 2004.

Building on the his first economic plan, Vermont Governor James Douglas has announced a second set of proposals to retain and create jobs in the state. The governor's eight-page Creating Jobs for the 21st Century embodies several tech-based economic development elements within the four primary goals outlined below. Some of the highlights include: Campaign to Retain: Providing a Competitive Environment for Vermont Businesses to Prosper and Grow Create a training curriculum and network of expertise in entrepreneurial education on seed investing and commercialization; and, Organize a Vermont venture capital consortium. Thinking Ahead: Empowering the Next Generation of Manufacturing Establish the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies as an incubator facility to commercialize University of Vermont research; Support development of a statewide incubator strategy, led by a newly established Vermont Incubator Investment Advisory Board and the Department of Economic Development, to include grants, low interest loans, networking and business service assistance…

The high tech economy of Massachusetts is emerging from the recent recession with its fundamental strengths in science, technology and entrepreneurship in good shape, according to the Executive Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. Significant innovation in the state’s industries, however, is necessary to make up for the jobs lost since 2000, the index states. Prepared annually by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), the 32-page index shows that while the state’s fundamental strengths are in place, its competitive position as an innovator cannot be taken for granted. The index argues Massachusetts must look for new ways to enhance and improve its climate for innovation, given the accelerating national and international competition in research and development. “The most recent recession and recovery is not as severe as 10 years ago, but leaves Massachusetts in a similar predicament – industries which had been the fastest growing and quickest to hire have taken the hardest fall, leaving some of the state’s most highly qualified workers out of work,” said MTC Executive…

The promise of high-wage jobs, increased business competitiveness and wealth creation makes the commercialization of university research a central element in the technology-based economic development strategies of many states, provinces and regions of North America. With figures such as $1.267 billion in aggregate adjusted gross licensing income and more than $1 billion in running royalty income on product sales, the latest and most comprehensive survey released by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) reveals why. AUTM Licensing Survey: FY 2002 provides information about licensing activities at 222 U.S. and Canadian universities, hospitals and research institutions, a record high for the 12th annual publication. Despite the severity and depth of the national recession, the survey reports marked increases across the board for sponsored research expenditures, invention disclosures, U.S. patent applications, licenses and options, license-related income and new products. When compared with FY 2001 figures, sponsored research expenditures are up 16.6 percent, invention disclosures…