SSTI Digest

Lewis Attardo is the first director of the new Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance. Attardo formerly was a Florida-based private business and economic development consultant.

Joseph Hornett has been selected to serve as senior vice president and treasurer of the nonprofit Purdue Research Foundation (PRF). Hornett currently is COO for Sport Service, Inc. in Indianapolis. PRF holds more than 130 properties and 10,000 acres of Indiana farmland near Purdue University, including the Purdue Research Park.

Matthew McClorey is the new president and COO for Kansas Innovation Corp., beginning June 3. McClorey currently serves as the vice president of business development and portfolio management for the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp (KTEC).

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, the chairman and chief executive officer of Carlson Cos. Inc., has been appointed by President Bush to chair the National Women's Business Council. The council serves as an independent source of advice and counsel to the president, Congress and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The University of Florida is seeking a creative and versatile individual to assist in partnership development and commercialization of technologies for UF and its sponsoring agencies. The primary responsibility for this position will be to serve as Deputy Director for the Environmental Systems Commercial Space Technology Center (ES CSTC), a NASA sponsored environmental research center. Additional responsibilities include assisting in new proposal development for UF, particularly those opportunities requiring cooperative multi-discipline research with commercial application. Applications are due before June 20, 2002. More information is available on SSTI's website at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm

After holding steady in late 2001, the amount of venture capital investment continued its two-year decline in the first quarter of 2002, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Survey. Total investments fell to $6.2 billion — a 24 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2001. A total of 787 companies received venture backing, or 207 fewer than the prior quarter. All leading industries experienced declines, the survey shows. The software, networking and biotechnology industries received the most capital, respectively capturing $1.1 billion, $899 million and $752 million in first quarter investments. The first quarter 2002 MoneyTree™ survey results are available on three websites: http://www.pwcmoneytree.com, http://www.nvca.org, and http://www.ventureeconomics.com. In addition, SSTI has prepared a table <http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/051702t.htm> to present MoneyTree™ results by state, including data for the number of deals, total amount invested, and average deal size.

Ohio Proposes to Join Race With the growing need to identify cleaner sources of power, coupled with recent advances in alternative energy technologies, many states are targeting science and technology investments toward fuel cells. California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York all have made investments in fuel cell research demonstration or commercialization projects through energy related research funds. Michigan launched its fuel cell strategy in April (see the April 19, 2002 edition of the SSTI Weekly Digest). Examples of specific fuel cell activities within the states include: The National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California Irvine is managing a pilot demonstration project launched in April that will allow rail commuters to use a pool of 50 low-emission electric vehicles to complete their commutes. The cars are recharged using solar and fuel cell technologies. Automakers participating in the program can earn credits toward a state requirement that will require 10 percent of all California car sales to involve zero-emission vehicles. In addition…

The Spring 2002 edition of the Isuma, the quarterly Canadian Journal of Policy Research, is dedicated to issues surrounding the New Economy. Many of the 16 papers in the free, online issue will be of interest to readers of SSTI's Weekly Digest, including: What’s New About the “New Economy”? by Bradford DeLong The New Economy: Myth or Reality? (Translation), by Bernard Bobe American Economic Growth in the Information Age, by Dale W. Jorgenson Information and Communication Technology and Economic Growth in France, by Jacques Mairesse, Gilbert Cette and Yusuf Kocoglu Canadian Productivity: When Do We Catch Up? (Translation), by Pierre Fortin The Importance of Information Technology: A Canada-U.S. Comparison, by John R. Baldwin, Tarek M. Harchaoui and Faouzi Tarkhani Innovation in the New Economy by Dirk Pilat Clusters and Economic Policy by Clifford Bekar and Richard G. Lipsey Intellectual Property and Innovation in the Knowledge-Based Economy, by Dominique Foray Leveraging the Skills of Knowledge Workers, by Graham S…

The 2002 Special Session of the Louisiana State Legislature has yielded a series of tax credits that aim to benefit biotechnology companies in Louisiana, promote commercialization of technology, encourage R&D investments, and make the state more competitive in information technology. The tax credits are as follows: Biotechnology Tax Credit — Excludes biotechnology companies from paying sales and use taxes on capital expenditures for new research equipment. Technology Commercialization Credit — Offers marketable R&D tax credits to induce Louisiana entrepreneurs to commercialize research conducted at Louisiana universities. Research & Development Tax Credits — Encourages the state's businesses to invest in and increase their existing levels of R&D by offering tax credits to match proportionally any company's claim for federal research credits or Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants. Customized Computer Software Development Tax Credit — Phases in a state sales and use tax exclusion for certain custom computer software over…

Buffalo The Buffalo News reports InfoNiagara, a technology council serving 230 IT companies, has signed a reciprocal membership with the Amherst Chamber of Commerce to increase the benefits offered to both organizations' members. The chamber's 2,300 members gain access to InfoNiagara's training and professional development programs, according to the paper, while the tech council is able to offer its members a variety of insurance programs the chamber has in place. Cleveland A portion of a struggling three-story, upscale mall in downtown Cleveland may become part technology incubator, according to the May 6 issue of Crain's Cleveland Business. The article reports several alternate scenarios are being discussed by civic leaders to use sections or an entire floor of the 130,000 sq. ft. glass building to house nascent software development and other IT companies. Fort Worth, Texas The University of North Texas is consolidating several departments to create a new college of engineering, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The new school, which…

The president of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp, Alan DeLisle, is leaving to become director of the Office of Economic and Employment Development in Durham, N.C. Larry Kline has resigned as president of the Wisconsin Technology Council to take a position as chief financial officer and vice president for business development with a biotech firm. Jeffrey Skolnick has been named executive director of the new Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics based at the University of Buffalo. In introducing Skolnick, Governor Pataki confirmed the new state budget includes $50 million for the center, according to the May 10 issue of the Buffalo News. Return to the top of this page

The president of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp, Alan DeLisle, is leaving to become director of the Office of Economic and Employment Development in Durham, N.C.