SSTI Digest

The Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development has hired Lawrence C. Mahan to serve as the state's senior biotech executive.

Maria Estela de Rios has been named chairwoman of the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership Board of Directors. She is executive vice president of Orion International Technologies, which is based in Albuquerque.

Nearly all public schools in the U.S. are connected to the Internet, according to a survey published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The survey, Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994 – 2000, shows that 98 percent of public schools had access to the Internet by the fall of 2000, representing a 3 percent increase over 1999 and a 26 percent increase since 1997. The survey also shows the number of public schools with instructional rooms possessing Internet connections is on the rise. Seventy-seven percent of such rooms were connected to the Internet in the fall of 2000–a notable increase over the 63 percent in 1999. During this time, the ratio of students to instructional computers in public schools decreased to 5 to 1, while the ratio of students to instructional computers with Internet access improved from 9 to 1 in 1999 to 7 to 1 in 2000. Schools of different settings–city, rural, town and urban fringe–demonstrated little difference in general Internet accessibility. Of all the types, however, town schools…

Is a strong university research component critical to local tech-based economic development? Many argue this position, including SSTI (Using Research and Development to Grow State Economies). Using data on royalties, licenses, and job creation figures, others have demonstrated the economic contributions of university R&D. (See for instance, the annual licensing survey from the Association of University Technology Managers.) But can strong research universities contribute more to local technological innovation than large industrial research laboratories – or can communities achieve the same degree of success in building tech-based economies by concentrating resources toward attracting industrial research laboratories? At issue, are the local “spillover” effects of industrial and academic research. Spillovers may include, for example, new company formations, job creation, increased research contracts, etc. Which type of research on average, industrial or academic, results in more spillovers to the local economy? John Adams, with the Department of…

Arizona In spite of a tight budget resulting in cuts of $600 million, the Business Journal reports the Arizona state legislature has appropriated $3 million to launch implementation of the strategic plan developed by the APNE, the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy (see the Jan. 26, 2001 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest for a story on the plan). The funds, to be focused primarily on rural telecom initiatives, will be administered by the Department of Commerce. For more information on APNE see: http://www.commerce.state.az.us/neweconomy/APNE.htm Colorado The 12-year-old Boulder Technology Incubator has changed its name to the Colorado Technology Incubator. According to an article in the Daily Camera, the new name better reflects the non-profit's existing presence in Boulder and Longmont and a planned third branch to be located elsewhere in the state this year. Nampa, Idaho A nearly $2 million grant from the Economic Development Administration is paving the way for construction of a 40,000 sq. ft high technology business center…

President Bush has announced his intention to nominate the following people to positions within the federal government that affect state and local tech-based economic development: George G. Williams to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. He is presently the President of COLSA Corporation in Huntsville, Alabama. Williams is a graduate of North Carolina State University. Michael W. Wynne to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology. He is presently the Chairman and CEO of the Ixata Group based in San Diego, California. Originally from Florida, Wynne is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, the Air Force Institute of Technology and has received a MBA from the University of Colorado. Mark Lang, CEO of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania for the past 14 years, has announced his resignation. Lu Cordova is the new President of the Colorado Technology Incubator. The Center for Environmental Enterprise (…

President Bush has announced his intention to nominate the following people to positions within the federal government that affect state and local tech-based economic development: George G. Williams to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. He is presently the President of COLSA Corporation in Huntsville, Alabama. Williams is a graduate of North Carolina State University. Michael W. Wynne to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology. He is presently the Chairman and CEO of the Ixata Group based in San Diego, California. Originally from Florida, Wynne is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, the Air Force Institute of Technology and has received a MBA from the University of Colorado.

Mark Lang, CEO of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania for the past 14 years, has announced his resignation.

Lu Cordova is the new President of the Colorado Technology Incubator.

The Center for Environmental Enterprise (CEE) in South Portland, Maine announced the hiring of a new executive director. John Ferland assumed leadership of CEE in late April.

Due to length considerations, this week's Funding Opportunities Supplement to the SSTI Weekly Digest was sent separately. During the past two weeks, the federal register has announced 15 federally owned inventions that available for licensing from the Army, Navy, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy. The full text of the announcements, including descriptions of the inventions in many cases, can be found at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/060101t.htm A Special Issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest focusing on the SBIR and STTR programs will be released early next week. The issue will include comments on the SBIR Policy Directive from SSTI and three outside exports and other timely items related to FAST, ROP, and several individual agency programs.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), in partnership with several public and private organizations, has outlined a plan to address telecommunications infrastructure needs across the state. LinkMichigan, released last week, addresses several telecommunications infrastructure issues or concerns that were increasingly facing the public and private sector, including: Dissatisfaction with broadband or bandwidth availability in the state. Lack of an adequate backbone infrastructure in many regions of the state to carry fast-speed broadband traffic. Little or no information on availability and accessibility of telecommunications infrastructure. Lack of understanding by many communities as to the importance of developing telecommunications infrastructure in their region. Four recommendations are outlined to construct a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure throughout the state, including: “Leverage Statewide Public Demand to Create a High-Speed Backbone: The Michigan Department of Management and Budget is being asked to…