SSTI Digest

Governor Urges Pension Fund to Invest in Emerging Tech Companies Starting in January, a new advisory council within the Texas Governor’s Office will begin work on a long-term strategy to bolster the state’s economic competitiveness. The Competitiveness Council will be charged with designing an overall framework for cooperation between public and private organizations involved in economic development. Gov. Rick Perry will appoint the group’s members by the end of the year.   The governor made the announcement during his keynote address at the Texas Lyceum’s 2006 Public Conference in San Antonio earlier this month. Gov. Perry told the audience of state economic development leaders that the new state strategy devised by the council would be a logical extension of other recent Texas TBED initiatives, such as the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Emerging Technology Fund.  

Ramiro Cavazos is resigning as economic development director for the City of San Antonio to become director of research and economic development for the University of Texas Health Science Center, effective Nov. 3.

John Butler, director of the Institute for Innovation and Creativity, was appointed distinguished scholar and adjunct professor at Babson College.

The University of Texas at El Paso hired Tony Woo as the assistant vice provost for research and technology transfer.

Rice University invites applications for a Baker Institute Fellow (postdoctoral researcher) to lead a new and potentially long-term project sponsored by the Baker Institute of Public Policy, the Computer and Information Technology Institute, and the Fondren Library. This interdisciplinary effort, involving faculty in social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, and engineering, will focus on the nature and implications of the transformational effects of technology on many sectors of public and private life. The successful candidate will enjoy broad latitude in coordinating and developing a holistic program involving research seminars, research collaboration with faculty in multiple disciplines, and an on-campus workshop series. A full description of this opportunity and others is available through the SSTI Job Corner: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm

BioMed SA, a recently founded technology council to promote the development of San Antonio’s health and bioscience community, selected Ann Stevens to serve as its first executive director.

Jim Aanstoos is the new economic development director for the city of San Marcos, Texas.

The San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative (SATAI) announced that James Poage is SATAI's new president and CEO. Poage replaces Randy Goldsmith, who continues as a director.

Coming off the heels of the state legislature's approval of a new Emerging Technologies Fund (see the June 13 issue of the Digest), Gov. Rick Perry announced last Saturday that Texas would provide a $50 million grant to establish the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM). The Emerging Tech Fund remains untouched, however, as the $50 million will be taken out of the original $295 million appropriated for the governor's discretionary Texas Enterprise Fund.

The nonprofit TIGM is a collaborative effort between the Texas A&M University System and Lexicon Genetics, a private technology firm located in Woodland, Texas, north of Houston. Lexicon will receive $35 million of the grant to create two copies of its library of 350,000 mouse stem cell lines for use by TIGM to identify new drugs for combating human diseases.

Randy Goldsmith resigned his position as president and CEO of the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative (SATAI) Network to become assistant vice president of tech transfer and economic development at the University of Texas at San Antonio. SATAI is currently accepting applications to fill the vacancy (see item below).

Jeff Moseley will replace Jim Kollaer as president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership.

The San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative (SATAI) Network, a nonprofit organization, is accepting applications from qualified candidates to fill the position of President and CEO. The SATAI Network seeks someone with strong leadership and team-building skills, as well as experience in linking venture capital to venture creation and cultivating an environment and resources for start-up enterprises. A bachelor's degree and at least five years of experience in business/economic development within a private or public sector technology-based industry or organization are required. An MBA is desired. Applicants are due July 11, 2005. A complete job description is available through the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.