SSTI Digest

Backed by a Technology Foresight Fund of more than $550 million annually, the Science Foundation Ireland has given the go-ahead to a new awards system designed to attract top researchers and support industry-university partnerships.



The new system includes SFI awards for world-class researchers who move to Ireland, for Irish and international researchers already based in Ireland, for the support of scientific conferences for scientists based in Ireland and for a requirement for collaboration among certain SFI-funded researchers and industry:

An historic, five-year reauthorization bill for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awaits only the President's signature after being approved Tuesday by Congress.



President Bush is expected to sign the legislation into law, making the reauthorization of ARC the longest in its history and only the second congressional reauthorization of the agency since the Carter Administration.



The reauthorization bill contains several key provisions:

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has $335 million available for grants to support state, regional and community efforts to create wealth and minimize poverty by promoting a favorable business environment to attract private capital investment and high skill, high wage jobs through world-class capacity building, infrastructure, business assistance, research grants and strategic initiatives.



EDA encourages only those investment proposals that will significantly benefit areas experiencing or threatened with substantial economic distress. Distress may exist in a variety of forms, including but not limited to: High levels of unemployment, low income levels, large concentrations of low-income families, significant declines in per capita income, substantial loss of population because of the lack of employment opportunities, large numbers (or high rates) of business failures, sudden major layoffs or plant closures, military base closures, natural or other major disasters, depletion of natural resources, and/or reduced tax bases.

Colorado

On Monday, Colorado Secretary of Technology Marc Holtzman announced a new $11 million partnership between the Public Employees’ Retirement Association of Colorado and ITU Ventures, LLC. The partnership was formed to invest in technology emerging from Colorado's research institutions. ITU will assist the commercial growth of technological innovation by working with researchers, administration and university tech transfer offices. More information is available at: http://www.oit.state.co.us/about/press_1.asp?prid=16

While some practitioners have centered themselves on running programs and shoring up budgets during the present fiscal crisis, other efforts are underway, including that of the Innovation Policy and the Economy (IPE) group of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).



The IPE group is presenting five papers developed by leading academic researchers on April 16 at its annual forum in Washington, D.C. The papers, to be published in an annual series by NBER, will be open to discussion by policymakers and those interested in the interaction between public policy and innovation who typically attend the half-day event. The papers include:

During the last eight weeks, communities across the U.S. have witnessed the rise or fall of small business incubators. Here are some of the developments:



Albany, N.Y. — A major expansion of the Albany College of Pharmacy will include incubator space for drug discovery enterprises related to research at the new Center for Medical Science to be built nearby. Plans for the incubator fall under the college's $10 million capital campaign launched in 2000 to increase faculty research, gain new space and offer scholarships to students.



Augusta, Ga. — The Georgia Medical Center Authority is partnering with the Medical College of Georgia to create an incubator designed to grow life sciences companies. The 15,000-square-foot Life Sciences Business Development Center will enable MCG to recruit investigators looking to develop their discoveries and secure patents.

In January, Phil Bond, the Undersecretary for Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, took on the additional responsibilities as Chief of Staff.



James Hayward, CEO of a biotech materials supply company, has been named the first chairman of the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative. Joseph Scaduto is serving part-time as the new executive director for the group.



John Hightower, executive director of the Baton Rouge Technology Council for the past seven months, has resigned to resume a career in public relations and lobbying. The Council has started a search for his replacement.



Don Smith has been appointed Vice President for Economic Development at the new Mellon Pitt Carnegie Corporation. MPC, a joint venture of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, is intended to coordinate the economic development and tech commercialization activities of both schools.

In January, Phil Bond, the Undersecretary for Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, took on the additional responsibilities as Chief of Staff.