SSTI Digest

The economic downturn and continuing state and local fiscal problems are not stopping most efforts to develop tech-based economies. Here are a few examples of recent groundbreakings from around the country. NASA Helps Launch Education Center in Phoenix Astronaut Carlos Noriega and Estrella Mountain Community College President Homero Lopez recently announced the creation of the NASA Center for Success in Math and Science in Phoenix. Sponsored by NASA's Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and located on the Avondale, AZ, campus of Estrella Mountain Community College, the newly dedicated student academic support center is expected to help students take part in Arizona's knowledge economy. The center was established to inspire and support socially and economically disadvantaged students in their pursuit of higher education in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines. More information is available at: http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.News/NASA.News.Releases/02-10-04.Phoenix.Education.Center.Opens OTCC to Have New Home in Oklahoma City The Oklahoma…

NASA has selected 45 consortia in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) to receive funding for aerospace workforce development. A total of $3.56 million is being awarded in response to the proposals submitted by the state organizations to NASA's Education Division in the Office of Human Resources and Education at Headquarters in Washington. NASA received 51 proposals under competition for the Space Grant awards. The proposals were reviewed using criteria that included innovation, connections with NASA Centers, faculty and curriculum development, student research, and effective evaluation methods. The awards ranged from $20,000 to $100,000 and averaged approximately $78,000. The consortia were selected based on a competitive evaluation of their plans to enlarge and enhance the "pipeline," or resource pool, of higher education graduates and faculty who stay connected to or become involved with NASA as employees, contractors or principal investigators. In support of the new NASA Vision and Mission, the program will increase the number and diversity of highly…

Peter Jobse has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. Patrick Jones, executive director of the Biotechnology Association of the Spokane Region, has been named executive director of Eastern Washington University's new Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis. Dennis Lower of the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana is the new leader of the Louisiana Economic Development Council. Judy McKinney-Cherry is the new director of the Delaware Economic Development Office. Carl Russell has resigned as president and CEO of Tucson Technology Incubator Inc. Bo Statham, a consultant to UniSource Energy Corp. on new business development and a client adviser at the incubator, has been named interim president. Dr. Melvyn Schiavelli, senior program officer for the Harrisburg Polytechnic Development Corporation, has been named acting president and CEO, succeeding Dr. Charles Clevenger. Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer has left his position as secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce…

Peter Jobse has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.

Patrick Jones, executive director of the Biotechnology Association of the Spokane Region, has been named executive director of Eastern Washington University's new Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis.

Dennis Lower of the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana is the new leader of the Louisiana Economic Development Council.

Judy McKinney-Cherry is the new director of the Delaware Economic Development Office.

Carl Russell has resigned as president and CEO of Tucson Technology Incubator Inc. Bo Statham, a consultant to UniSource Energy Corp. on new business development and a client adviser at the incubator, has been named interim president.

Dr. Melvyn Schiavelli, senior program officer for the Harrisburg Polytechnic Development Corporation, has been named acting president and CEO, succeeding Dr. Charles Clevenger.

Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer has left his position as secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing to become executive vice president with GoldBanc Corp. Sherry Brown, who had retired from the department, will return to serve as interim secretary.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced 24 awards under the new Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program — an anticipated investment of $240 million over five years in projects to improve the achievement of K-12 students in science and mathematics. The Department of Education is an NSF partner in this effort, co-funding two projects involving state education agencies. Seven comprehensive MSP awards total about $147 million over five years and will affect about 1.8 million students in 11 states. Seventeen targeted partnership grants, which are intended to improve achievement in specific disciplines or grade ranges, total about $90 million over five years and will affect about 200 school districts and some 600,000 pre-K through grade 12 students in 11 states. Also, 12 smaller awards for capacity building projects will focus on research, evaluation and technical assistance for the MSP Learning Network. Through this vehicle, researchers and practitioners in MSP and other related projects will unite in a national effort to further develop understanding of how students best learn mathematics…

Innovation Philadelphia (IP), the public-private partnership dedicated to enhancing the global innovation economy of Philadelphia through technological leadership, received on Monday a $442,500 investment from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration. With a goal of developing a coordinated technology-based, cluster-driven, economic development strategy for the Greater Philadelphia Region, the investment will support a series of studies of the Knowledge Economy that will focus on new approaches, relationships, methods and technologies, including: cluster analysis, innovation diagnostics, nanotechnology and life science research and workforce development, university and industry technology consortium, angel investment, and knowledge partnership for student engagement and retention. "This investment from EDA will allow us to amplify the forward momentum of the regional knowledge economy," said Richard Bendis, President and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia, in a press statement. "It also demonstrates the increased access to federal funding that is one of IP's…