SSTI Digest

Kentucky Governor Paul Patton has appointed Bill Brundage to the serve as the state's first Commissioner for the New Economy. Dr. Brundage will oversee the new Kentucky Innovations Commission, which is attached to the Governor's Office and tasked to oversee the state's $55 million New Economy initiative. Margie Boccieri has announced she is leaving the North Carolina Governor's Office to join Southeast Interactive Technology Funds, a Research Triangle Park venture capital firm, as its Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. Lee Martin has stepped down as executive director from TennesSeed. Tom Rogers, CEO of Tech 2020, has agreed to serve as interim director of TennesSeed for a six-month period. SSTI welcomes Alan Aldinger to our staff in the new position of Communications Director. Alan comes to SSTI from the office of public relations for Wittenburg University.

Kentucky Governor Paul Patton has appointed Bill Brundage to the serve as the state's first Commissioner for the New Economy. Dr. Brundage will oversee the new Kentucky Innovations Commission, which is attached to the Governor's Office and tasked to oversee the state's $55 million New Economy initiative.

Margie Boccieri has announced she is leaving the North Carolina Governor's Office to join Southeast Interactive Technology Funds, a Research Triangle Park venture capital firm, as its Vice President of Business Development and Strategy.

Lee Martin has stepped down as executive director from TennesSeed. Tom Rogers, CEO of Tech 2020, has agreed to serve as interim director of TennesSeed for a six-month period.

SSTI welcomes Alan Aldinger to our staff in the new position of Communications Director. Alan comes to SSTI from the office of public relations for Wittenburg University.

The National Institutes of Health released information on six inventions that are available for license. Descriptions and contact information for each invention/patent are presented on the accompanying SSTI webpage

Does the level of entrepreneurial activity vary between countries, and, if so, by how much? Does the level of entrepreneurial activity affect a country’s economic growth? What makes a country entrepreneurial? These questions are the focus of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2000, (GEM 2000), a year-long study involving 43,000 individuals in 21 countries. Researchers also interviewed almost 800 experts and scholars on entrepreneurship across the world in preparation of the report. Key findings, many of which could also have relevance to regional differences in entrepreneurship across the US, include: Financial support is highly associated with the level of entrepreneurial activity. Venture capital investments accounted for 0.52 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in the United States, compared to Japan's 0.022 percent, the lowest rate found. The US led the world in this category. Measured by number of adults starting businesses and number of businesses that are less than 42 months old, GEM 2000 found entrepreneurial activity differs widely between countries. One out…

The Maine Science & Technology Foundation (MSTF) has issued a request for proposals to conduct an "Initial Evaluation of Maine's Public Investments in Research and Development." The study, to be completed by July 1, 2001, will provide baseline data for the first comprehensive evaluation MSTF is required by law to prepare for the state legislature and Governor by July, 2006. Subsequent comprehensive evaluations are to be completed every five years. The effort will: establish outcome measures considered appropriate by public and private practitioners in R&D and economic development; assess the competitiveness of technology sectors in Maine and the impact of R&D within the state on Maine economic development; and, include recommendations on existing and proposed state-supported R&D programs and activities affecting technology-based economic development. To aid in the design and development of the initial evaluation, MSTF has prepared an Evaluation Guide which provides a framework for addressing the following three questions: How competitive is Maine’s state-…

Organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area will spend more than $20 million this year to bridge the digital divide, according to Who's Funding the Digital Connect?, a report released this month by the San Francisco Foundation. More than 54 organizations will provide computer access and/or training to more than 75,000 low income and underserved individuals in one of the most technology-savvy regions in the country, according to the study. The study provides a base inventory of the digital divide programs and services provided in the area, the sources and stability of funding, and critical gaps in both service delivery and funding. The San Francisco Foundation will use the information as a component of Digital Connect, a larger strategy to eliminate barriers to technology for low income, under-represented, and underserved communities. Key findings include: Fifty percent of the funding came from government sources and 35 percent from foundations.  Foundations provided twice as many grants as government sources, but the average grant amount was only one-third the size of…

Twenty researchers supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) received the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers award late last month. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are in the early stages of building their independent research careers. To receive the award, nominees must be NSF CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) awards recipients. The CAREER award supports exceptionally promising college and university junior faculty who are committed to the integration of research and education. This year’s 20 recipients bring the total to 120 that have received the honor since it was established in 1996. The recipients are: Sara C. Billey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reinhold Blumel, Wesleyan University Wilfredo Colón, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute John N. DuPont, Lehigh University Carl T. Friedrichs, College of William and Mary Theresa Gaasterland, Rockefeller University Susan C. Hagness, University of Wisconsin-Madison Youssef…

The commercialization of academic research in 1999 resulted in more than $40 billion in economic activity that supported more than 270,000 jobs, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). The 1999 AUTM Licensing Survey reports that business activity associated with sales of products from academic research last year is estimated to have generated $5 billion in tax revenues in the U.S. at the federal, state, and local levels. AUTM's ninth licensing survey on technology transfer activities among academic institutions in the U.S. and Canada found: 417 new products resulting from academic licenses were first made commercially available to the public in 1999. More than 340 new companies based on an academic discovery were formed in 1999, with 82% of them operating in the academic institution's home state. In 1999 alone, more than 3,900 new licenses were signed with businesses including 12% to start-ups, 50% to small businesses, and 38% to large companies. More than 12,000 new discoveries were disclosed in 1999; 5,545…

Venture-based investments in the third quarter of 2000 reached $17.6 billion, a decrease of 12.5 percent drop from the record $19.8 billion reported in the second quarter of 2000, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTreeTM Survey results. Investments, however, are still nearly double the $8.9 billion reported in the third quarter of 1999. The MoneytreeTM figures correspond with declines reported by other quarterly venture capital surveys compiled by the Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association. Most of the 12.5 percent decrease in activity between the two most recent quarters is accounted for by a $1.9 billion drop in investments in Internet-related companies. The number of Internet-based companies receiving funding, however, only declined by 5 percent for the period. Survey analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers report VC shifted significantly from website development, content and B2B/ecommerce to more tangible tools, networking, equipment and applications. Regionally, declines in total investments were reported in New England, the Southeast, and Texas while…