SSTI Digest

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed an executive order establishing the Governor's Office of Economic Development. The new office will offer assistance to businesses, connect entrepreneurs to state and regional organizations and encourage collaboration among research institutions and the private sector to promote emerging sectors. Read the announcement at: http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/14844/.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order establishing the Governor's Office of Economic Development and appointed Joel Ayala as the director of the new office. Dennis Lower has been named the new president and chief executive office of the Center of Research, Technology and Entrepreneurial Exchange. Currently, Lower serves as vice president of planning and development and director of InterTech Science Park for the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana. He will start at CORTEX in May. Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel has resigned as secretary of the Department to pursue a new opportunity.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week signed a bill creating a sales tax exemption for equipment used by clean-tech manufacturers — a measure the governor hopes will attract entrepreneurs investing in the clean energy sector. SB 71 is part of the governor's $500 million jobs initiative announced during his State of the State address that aims to train up to 140,000 workers create 100,000 jobs. The enacted legislation will allow the state to maintain a competitive edge by expanding the range of projects that may be approved for a sales tax exemption to include all clean-tech manufacturers, according to a press release. The enrolled version of the bill is available at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0051-0100/sb_71_bill_20100322_enrolled.pdf

Bryan Allinson has joined Ohio University as director of technology transfer. Martha Connolly, director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute Maryland Industrial Partnership program (MIPS) at the University of Maryland, was given the President's Award at the Greater Baltimore Committee's fifth annual Bioscience Awards ceremony. In 2007, the MIPS program received an SSTI Excellence in TBED Award in the Improving Competitiveness of Existing Industries Category. Stephen Cross has been selected as Georgia Tech's executive vice president for research. Cross has served as vice president and director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute since 2003. Tony Jeff has been selected as the Mississippi Technology Alliance's new president and CEO. Jeff previously served as vice president and chief operating officer and director of MTA's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell tapped State Rep. Samuel Nixon to become Virginia's CIO. Nixon, who will take over April 5, becomes the third person to serve as state CIO in the past nine months, following George Coulter and Lem Stewart. OCTANe and the Orange County Venture Group…

Adding to a growing number of states seeking to increase their percentage of power from renewable sources, Gov. Jack Markell last week introduced the Delaware Clean Energy Jobs Act.  A key component of the legislation is increasing the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which governors often say generates job growth. The overarching goal of the Delaware bill is to create a competitive climate for the clean energy market, which is addressed under four main goals, including: Setting a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for the state to receive 30 percent of its energy supplies from renewable sources by 2029 (up from 20 percent); Facilitating job creation through modifications to the existing RPS and expanding local manufacturing to establish Delaware as a national leader in the adoption of renewable energy; Driving local economic development by creating a new "local generation" component to the RPS and incentives for the use of systems manufactured in Delaware through enhanced renewable energy credit values; and, Modernizing the Green Energy Fund by establishing a market-based method for financing renewable energy projects.   A…

Silicon Valley, a region often looked to for trends in the technology field, is expected to see a rise in the number of new high-tech incubators and the expansion of existing incubators in the coming months. A recent Wall Street Journal article points to these openings as a sign of revival for technology startup companies amid a relatively slow period last year as startup investment plunged during the recession. Across the nation, specialized incubators spanning clean energy, sustainable architecture and advanced materials have emerged over the past several months to support high-tech ventures. USTAR announced in January the opening of Utah's first incubator focused on information technology and renewable energy. The Southern Utah Information Technology and Renewable Energy Incubator, located in St. George, will support businesses focused on high technology, green technology and alternative energy. Another high-tech business incubator opened in Utah late last year. The BioInnovations Gateway (BiG) located in Salt Lake City is in an incubator for emerging biotech and medical device companies, a high-tech training facility for the next generation of bio-innovators, and…

Entering its tenth year covering governors’ State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses, SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states: Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer, State of the State Address, Jan. 11, 2010 “… I am taking the following specific actions to make Arizona even more competitive in creating jobs. First, I am announcing the formation of a Governor's Jobs Cabinet. This team of key state agency directors will cut through the red tape and the green tape to speed job creation. “Second, I will be allocating a significant portion of remaining federal stimulus funds directly to bring new jobs to Arizona. Specifically, I am devoting $10 million in one-time federal stimulus funds for job training. … “… Third, under the leadership of Jerry Colangelo and Commerce Director Don Cardon ... I have created the Governor's Commerce Advisory Council. Working with other Arizona business leaders, they will transform the Department of Commerce into…

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation has approved what is being called the region's first consensus strategic plan for economic development. The plan includes support for local research and commercialization activities, sector-based worker training and placement programs and provides assistance to entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.lacountystrategicplan.com.

Much emphasis has been placed on the importance of green jobs in the next economy as the nation continues to shed jobs in traditional industries. Creating these specialized jobs is a major priority for states across the nation that will compete for renewable energy industries. Two recent announcements in California and Michigan illustrate efforts underway to recruit and prepare a workforce capable of meeting critical industry needs. California Leveraging $20 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding with additional public and private funds, California is investing $75 million to establish the Clean Energy Workforce Training Program. The goal is to train more than 20,000 new or re-skilled clean energy workers specifically targeting unemployed, underemployed, and new workers, according to the governor's office. Training through community colleges, workforce investment boards, and partnership academies in high schools will prepare workers for jobs as solar installers, sustainable landscapers and water systems designers, and green building designers. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the program will help to develop a highly-trained workforce,…

The newly-created Clean Energy Leadership Council, convened by the Washington governor's office and a state-wide public-private clean energy alliance, held its first meeting. The council will deliver a clean energy strategy and recommendations by December 1, 2010. Vicki Gaddy has been appointed director of workforce development for BioNJ. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear shuffled two top positions in his administration. Larry Hayes will be secretary of the state Economic Development Cabinet and budget director Mary Lassiter will replace Hayes as Executive Cabinet secretary. Hayes has been interim Economic Development Cabinet secretary since last September. Lassiter will keep her position as budget director. Cecil Burge is retiring as the University of Southern Mississippi , vice president for research and economic development after leading the university's research enterprise for the past five-and-one-half years. His retirement is effective Dec. 31. A national search for a successor will begin later this fall. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of California, Santa Barbara have named biomedical researcher Jamey Marth director…

Three metropolitan areas dominate the U.S. venture capital landscape: San Francisco, Boston and New York. These cities are home to about half of all U.S. venture firms and about half of all U.S. venture-backed companies. Though venture firms have sprung up around the country over the past 25 years, the three cities have maintained, and even expanded, their share of national firms and investment. The continuing dominance of these cities may be frustrating to policymakers, industry leaders and entrepreneurs in other parts of the country, but a recent paper argues that there is a logic behind the clustering of firms in a few cities and that this distribution may be optimal for both the venture industry and the high-tech economy. Authors Henry Chen, Paul Gompers, Anna Kovner and Josh Lerner map the location of main and branch offices of U.S. venture firms, along with data on their investments and the location of the venture-backed firms between 1975 and 2005. This data is used to discern whether individual investments took place within the same combined statistical area (CSA) of the venture firm's main office, a branch office or outside of those CSAs. This data also was…

President Obama nominated Francis Collins, a physician and scientist who helped guide the Human Genome Project to completion, as the next director of the National Institutes of Health. Stephen Fleming has been named vice provost of Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute. Since 2005, Fleming has served as chief commercialization officer and led the Enterprise Innovation Institute's Commercialization Services Division. Fleming succeeds Wayne Hodges, who retired recently after a 40-year career at Georgia Tech. Larry Irving will step down as co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance in September. Irving will join Hewlett Packard, the world's leading technology company, as vice president of Global Government Affairs. The Oregon Legislature approved legislation renaming and refocusing the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. When Governor Kulongoski signs the bill, the department will be renamed the Oregon Business Development Department and will do business under the name Business Oregon. Sandra Watson has been promoted to assistant deputy director, Innovation & Global Business Development within the Arizona Department…