SSTI Digest

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…

A recent survey of 343,336 of the nation's fourth and eighth graders indicates more students are performing better in mathematics, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In the math portion of NCES' National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), large gains were shown among the lowest 10 percent of fourth grade students and most of the lower-scoring eighth grade students since the study was last conducted in 2000. Additionally, higher-scoring students posted gains at a smaller rate, lessening the overall achievement gap. The NAEP math assessment presents a broad view of what U.S. students know and can do in mathematics. The assessment was developed and reviewed by math educators and curriculum and assessment experts to capture the goals of the mathematics framework. The framework, which describes the kinds of exercises the assessment should feature, was created by the National Assessment Governing Board through a comprehensive national process involving teachers, administrators and state education officials. In math, the proportion of students reaching the Basic…

Nothing in the performance of the residential broadband market suggests that federal subsidies or other government intervention will enhance the market from the perspective of economic efficiency, concludes the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in a new report, Does the Residential Broadband Market Need Fixing? CBO prepared the report for the Senate Budget Committee, reviewing recent trends in the market for residential fast Internet access to determine whether there are impediments to the market's growth. Since 1999, CBO states, the adoption of broadband services by households and businesses has increased at a rapid rate. CBO points to two key Federal Communications Commission statistics to support its case: As of December 2002, 17.4 million households and small businesses subscribed to high-speed lines for Internet access, compared to just 1.8 million in December 1999. And, In 1999, more than 40 percent of the nation's zip codes had no broadband service subscribers. By the end of 2002, the number had dipped to 12 percent. Some contend the market could experience greater penetration if…

Alaska Technology Councils To Merge The Alaska High-Tech Business Council and the Technology Entrepreneurs Coalition will be merging January 1 to form HiTechAlaska. With more than 100 members, the new organization will focus on promoting the growth and development of the state's tech industry and strengthening industry ties with the University of Alaska system. The group will also broaden its focus beyond information and communication technologies. The organization's website, www.hitechalaska.com, will be launched in the beginning of 2004. Dallas-Fort Worth Forms Life Science Coalition In late November, the DFW Life Sciences Partnership - Biometroplex Alliance was formed by a coalition including the Greater Dallas Chamber, the Fort Worth Chamber, the Health Industry Council and the North Texas Commission, to continue fostering the growth of the region's broad life sciences industry. The coalition will actively promote the industry within the Metroplex to make the region a more significant player in both U.S. and international biotech and life sciences. The DFW Life…

The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges elected University of Georgia president Michael Adams as chairman of its council of presidents. Lizabeth Ardisana was elected Chairperson of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the state. Sonya Buckner has resigned her position as director of the small business incubator for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce to become vice president of special projects for the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce. Douglas Jones will assume leadership of the Montgomery Incubator. The Chicago based Committee of 200, an organization of leading women in business, has named Diane Graham as its new chair. The University of Minnesota Duluth Center for Economic Development has named Elaine Hansen as its new permanent director. The winners of the Siemens Westinghouse/AAAS Competition for the Best Teen Scientists and Mathematicians of the Year were announced this week: 17-year-old Yin Li of New York City was the individual grand prize winner for his…

The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges elected University of Georgia president Michael Adams as chairman of its council of presidents.