SSTI Digest

Louis Soares, project manager for workforce development at the Rhode Island Technology Council (RITEC), is leaving to accept a fellowship at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.

Gary Stark has resigned his position as executive director of the Indiana Information Technology Association Foundation to relocate to Connecticut. Stark raised $1 million during the past year to start an endowment for the foundation, which plans to award grants from the interest earned to combat the Digital Divide in the state.

Plans for a joint five-year $320-$403 million program to accelerate the development of next generation lithography were announced Thursday by International SEMATECH (ISMT) and The University at Albany-SUNY (UAlbany). ISMT and UAlbany have signed a letter of intent to begin negotiations on the formation of a strategic alliance, to be known as International SEMATECH North (ISMTN), to conduct research and development in the area of advanced lithography infrastructure for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. As currently envisioned, the alliance will initiate a program in EUV infrastructure, to be managed by International SEMATECH and housed in UAlbany's state-of-the-art 300mm wafer cleanroom complex, part of the university's Albany NanoTech center. At yesterday's press announcement, ISMT president and CEO Bob Helms noted that the technical challenges faced by the semiconductor industry are too great for any single organization, nation or region to solve alone and that the consortium has engaged in a series of collaborative partnerships around the world to share the risks and rewards…

This week's Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the FY 2003 appropriations for the Department of Commerce includes $185.4 million is for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and $106.6 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). While ATP has taken the heat in past budget cycles, MEP was in the spotlight this year: MEP was slated to receive only $12.9 million in the President's budget request for FY 2003. Administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), MEP is a nationwide network of not-for-profit centers in over 400 locations nationwide, whose sole purpose is to provide small and medium-sized manufacturers with the technical assistance needed to succeed in a global economy. The program is jointly funded by state, industrial and federal sources. More information on the progress of this and other appropriations bill will be available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app03.html Other Manufacturing News from the Hill Large and small businesses would be able to reduce cost and design cycle times under the Enterprise…

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold a meeting July 31 to get public input for the design and implementation of the new Agricultural Innovation Center Demonstration Program. Created with the recent passage of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, the Agriculture Innovation Center Demonstration Program will provide farmers with sound technical, financial, and business advice as they consider new value-added enterprises. No more than five centers will be established in the first year of the program, and no more than 10 in the second year. RBS is particularly interested in receiving comments on the following specific issues as they relate to agriculture innovation centers: Focus of work by the proposed innovation centers – The relative importance of (a) technical assistance, engineering services, applied research and scale production, (b) assistance in marketing, market development and business planning, and (c) organization, outreach and development assistance. What is the appropriate mix of each? Viable…

A massive state budget deficit, partisan squabbles, and a longstanding need to restructure the state's tax code almost derailed Indiana's largest commitment toward building a technology-based economy. An eleventh-hour compromise in the Indiana General Assembly saved the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund from being eliminated, doubled the state's research and development tax credit to 10 percent, repealed an unpopular apportionment formula in the R&D tax credit, and added a venture capital investment tax credit to the state's portfolio as well. All is not rosy, however. The 21st Century Fund, which supports large-scale research projects at universities and private industry, did take a deep 40 percent cut and will receive only $15 million each year over the biennium. The program also had $50 million in unspent funding rescinded last fiscal year to help balance the state's $1.3 billion budget deficit.

The National Governors' Association (NGA) released three guides at its annual meeting last week that are designed to help governors  to develop technology-based economic development strategies to improve states' global competitiveness. Prepared by the NGA Task Force on State Leadership in the Global Economy in partnership with the Council on Competitiveness, the papers present introductions to building state science and technology capacity, developing cluster-based economies, and creating a 21st-century workforce. All three papers are available through http://www.nga.org A Governor’s Guide to Building State Science and Technology Capacity by Debra van Opstal, Michelle L. Lennihan, and Chad Evans of the Council on Competitiveness The authors outline several recommendations in four key areas for technology-based economic development: Building on Core Cluster Strength: A “benchmarking group” should be established that can collect data of certain indicators, such as wage rates and R&D funding. With a collection of these indicators, states can use…

Minnesota's technology sector remains a diverse, well developed and stable anchor to the state's economy, according to a new report released by Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI), Minnesota's tech-based economic development organization. Using quantitative and qualitative measurements, Our Competitive Nature: Minnesota's Technology Economy characterizes almost 2,500 companies (with more than five employees) as technology intensive, including 1,300 advanced manufacturers, 850 information technology companies, and 300 life sciences companies. These sectors account for 164,500 jobs, the report states. Our Competitive Nature also reveals the diversity of Minnesota's tech sector. The state's 10 largest companies include six advanced manufacturing companies, two information technology technologies, and two life sciences companies. One of the weaknesses in the state's tech sector, the report contends, is an economy dominated by billion dollar companies and companies with sales of less than $100 million. "The lack of a 'middle class' of technology company means there is not much ground for…

A new report released by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund and the Benton Foundation concludes that continued federal leadership is essential to increasing technology access, given the significant gaps that remain along economic, racial and geographic lines. Bringing a Nation Online: The Importance of Federal Leadership examines data released earlier this year by the Department of Commerce in A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet, which showed substantial gains in access to computers and the Internet for all Americans. Despite these gains, the new report observes, a significant divide remains based on income, race and ethnicity, geography and disability. Internet use among Whites and Asian American/Pacific Islanders is around 68 percent, but use rates for African-Americans at 30 percent and Hispanics at 32 percent trail far behind, according to the report. Two programs – the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) and the Community Technology Centers (CTC) program – are working to narrow technology access gaps. Bringing a Nation…

The Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee of the Wyoming state legislature heard testimony last week encouraging the creation of two new initiatives to expand Wyoming's technology-based economic development efforts: a seed capital program and a technology incubator. Seed Capital Loan Program Tucker Fagan, CEO for the Wyoming Business Council, proposed modifications to a $1 million fund to allow the Council to make seed capital available to Wyoming's entrepreneurial community. The funds would come from the underutilized Science, Technology and Energy Authority. The July 12 edition of the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle reported the terms for the loans and/or investments would include a non-refundable $1,000 application fee and a pay-back schedule that accelerates over five years. Maximum payback would depend on the length of time required for repayment and would be no more than twice the original loan amount. Wyoming Technology Center Unfazed by last year's failed attempt to secure $5 million from the state legislature for…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is establishing three new research institutes that are designed to help strengthen the mathematical sciences as the backbone for U.S. scientific and engineering research. The three centers are expected to receive $24 million over five years. A fourth $9 million award renews for six years the operation of an existing mathematical center that integrates education with research. An award to Ohio State University in Columbus will lead to a Mathematical Biosciences Institute for interdisciplinary work on problems such as neuroscience and cell processes. This institute will develop the quantitative culture within the life sciences by bringing together people from both mathematical and biological backgrounds. Postdoctoral scientists will be jointly mentored by a bioscientist and a mathematical scientist, and seminars and courses will be aimed at a joint audience. The Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C., will forge ties between the statistical sciences, and applied mathematical sciences and other…

Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton is the new chairman of the National Governors' Association. Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne was named vice chairman. Patton has identified education as his highest priority while serving the one-year term as chairman. Angie Dvorak is leaving her position as CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance to become vice president of research for the University of Southern Mississippi. The University saw a 25 percent increase in research funds last fiscal year, climbing to a record $62.6 million. Joe Raguso has left the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency to become vice president for strategic and corporate partnerships for SRI International. Raguso served the agency as Deputy Secretary for the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation. Keith Servis has left his position as director of programs at the New York Office of Science, Technology, and the Advancement of Research to return to the New York Department of Health. Thomas Still has been selected at the new president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Still,…