SSTI Digest

With what’s shaping up to be the closest presidential election in the last 40 years and control of the U.S. House and Senate up in the air, little press attention has been focused on the other elections occurring throughout the country. Today’s issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest provides an overview of some of the other races affecting S&T. On Thursday we’ll report on the results. Gubernatorial Candidates on Technology . . . While much of the country is focused on the race for the White House, eleven states will hold elections for governor (Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia). In at least five of those states, technology issues were on the front burner for at least one of the candidates. Most of the candidates’ technology initiatives center on access to the Internet, providing tax incentives, and supporting research and educational opportunities for universities and their students. In Indiana, both candidates include a technology angle in their stated positions…

Minnesota Technology Inc. (MTI), the leading technology-based economic development organization in the state of Minnesota, is seeking a Deputy Director to serve as the right hand to the CEO. This critical position will be responsible for the following: Identifying and evaluating technology initiatives being developed in other public sector jurisdictions, educational institutions, or private sector associations for their potential application in Minnesota. Working with the CEO and other key partners to develop MTIs strategic direction and related products and services. Directing the development of an annual operations plan that supports the strategic direction. Working closely with internal managers to monitor progress with the operating plan. Representing MTI with key public and private sector leaders in promoting the role of technology-based economic development and serving as the organization liaison with related groups such as SSTI, NIST, and MEP. More information concerning this and other career opportunities can be found on S&T Job Corner of the SSTI…

In an economy driven increasingly by computer literacy and connectivity, leading the nation in the percentage of households not connected to the Internet is a distinction many in the South are working to eliminate. One South, Digitally Divided, the second annual TelecomSouth conference of the Southern Technology Council (STC), and its accompanying report Creating the CyberSouth are efforts in that direction. Creating the CyberSouth, prepared for STC by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, presents a discussion of the implications of the Digital Divide, statistics revealing the extent of the Divide in each of fourteen southern states, and examples of the programs and actions underway in several southern states to address the inequalities. Thirteen of the 14 Southern states were below the national average for the percentage of households with home computers in 1998. Virginia Polytechnic found all of the Southern Growth members are responding in one way or another to the challenge of the Divide. For example, all 13 states and Puerto Rico have been actively working to…

After surpassing $1 billion in university-based R&D for the first time ever in FY 2000, and receiving a budget increase of $633 million for FY 2001, NASA has kicked off a major effort to further strengthen its relationship with universities and colleges. On October 19, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin and NASA Science Advisor General Spence Armstrong hosted a NASA/University Cyber-Conference laying out funding opportunities and technical research areas for universities to be more integral partners in NASA research and development programs. In his opening remarks Administrator Goldin lamented the recent 6.5 percent and 2.0 percent decline in science and engineering (S&E) graduates, respectively, and the 15 percent drop in foreign-born Ph.D.s at the same time that the U.S. demand for scientists and engineers is projected to grow by 50 percent. The impact on the mission and activities of an agency like NASA, which is driven entirely by science and engineering, will be enormous if steps are not taken to address the trends, Goldin warned. NASA recognizes the critical role universities…

With the goal of developing a common technology agenda among the region’s leaders, the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance (larta) has compiled its first regional innovation index benchmarking the area’s strengths and weaknesses in S&T. The Southern California Technology Innovation Index compares the five-county Los Angeles consolidated metropolitan statistical area with the California Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose), Austin, Texas, and Massachusetts. The San Diego and Santa Barbara metro areas are not included in the definition of Southern California. The Index presents aggregated and standardized data for 20 indicators across three categories — economic vitality, innovation, and resources. Several areas of strength and others in need of improvement are identified in the process. For example: Southern California edges out Austin in total technology employment and greatly surpasses the other three regions in total number of technology firms. Per capita venture capital investments are only $147 in Southern California. The highest per capita investments were…

This year’s Global Competitiveness Report 2000, released in September by the World Economic Forum, marks a significant departure from earlier editions by its level of sophistication in addressing the increasingly global nature of the economies of the Forum’s 59 member nations. While past reports have relied on one index providing a snapshot of a country’s economic performance, two indices are used to measure productivity and advances in the standard of living over different time horizons. A third index is introduced this year to measure the role of technology and innovation in a country’s economy while a fourth index is added to reflect the environmental sustainability of nation’s economic growth. The United States replaced Singapore for top ranking among countries in a Growth Competitiveness Index developed by Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner of Harvard University. The index is designed to capture the ability for a country to achieve rapid economic growth over a long-period. Countries scoring high on economic indicators shown empirically to be related to cross-country growth rates are deemed…

From a pool of more than 1200 applications, NASA has selected 111 projects across 30 states to receive funding through the Cross-Enterprise Technology Development (CETD) program. Designed to support one-to-three year research projects with high payoff technologies to revolutionize future space-flight systems, the $120 million CETD program is a primary method for identifying and developing revolutionary space technologies to stimulate new concepts for missions not yet conceived. Forty-nine percent of the awards were made to universities. The balance of projects will be conducted by industry, and private and government laboratories. The list of selected proposals is available on the Internet at http://www.aero-space.nasa.gov/programs/xenterprise.htm More information about the CETD program is available at: http://cetdp.jpl.nasa.gov/

More Americans than ever have Internet access and own computers, but disparities remain in many areas, according to two new reports by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion, completed by NTIA staff, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Assessment of Networking and Connectivity, which was conducted by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, offer insights as well as outline work which still needs to be done to address the Digital Divide. Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Assessment of Networking and Connectivity contains findings from a technology needs assessment conducted for the Technology Opportunities Program at NTIA. The study was sparked by the NTIA’s series Falling Through the Net as well as a Yahoo report of America’s top 100 most-wired campuses. None of the HBCUs were included in that 1998 top 100 list. The resulting study assesses the computing resources, networking, and connectivity of HBCUs and other institutions that provide educational…

As the digital economy matures and more regions around the country are prepared to offer the telecommunications infrastructure and skilled workforce required to compete for high-tech businesses, the implications for Silicon Valley were presented in a new report from Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network. Internet Cluster Analysis 2000, released last week, outlines several challenges facing the region. Unlike Joint Venture's first internet cluster analysis last year, which focused on Silicon Valley's position in the Internet economy as well as identifying other key Internet Cluster regions (Austin, Washington DC, Seattle), Internet Cluster Analysis 2000 characterizes the global nature of the Internet industry today and presents the results of interviews with more than 100 Internet executives around the country. The report urges local governments in the Valley to take a more proactive and innovative role to attract, retain, and nurture Internet firms. One reason is that in addition to the five key attributes identified in last year's report as essential to attracting high-tech businesses…

While the Development Report Card of the States, issued annually by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CfED) usually generates a news story in most local papers, a quick scan of several articles reveals the science and technology-related components of the report card get mixed play. This year’s report, funded by the Economic Development Administration, is available on-line in its entirety and has a customizing feature for ease of comparison. CfED uses more than 70 measures and data sets as indicators of the effectiveness of each state’s economic development policies in three broad categories: performance, business vitality and development capacity. Each category has a number of sub units, which in turn consist of several individual measures. S&T indicators and those more generally related to tech-based economic development are somewhat scattered throughout the report card. (Note that most of the individual sets of statistics have been discussed in earlier editions of the Digest. The uniqueness of the CfED report card is the selection and aggregation of the particular…

In an effort to improve the image of technology professionals and encourage teens to prepare for technical careers, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Technology Policy (OTP) has kicked off Get Tech, a national awareness campaign directed at America’s youth. The campaign is designed to inspire teens to prepare for the technology-driven jobs of tomorrow. A centerpiece of the campaign will be radio and television public service announcements (PSAs) urging teens to take advantage of the opportunities open to those proficient in math, science, and computers. In addition to PSAs, Get Tech has developed a web site, www.gettech.org, that provides students with information about the careers of the future along with other features. Joining OTP as founding sponsors of Get Tech are the National Association of Manufacturers and Women in Film. The sponsors are seeking other partners, including groups that will distribute information to students, parents and teachers; host local events and support local Get Tech activities; and, provide high visibility to the initiative. For more…

As mentioned in the last week's SSTI Weekly Digest, access to capital is a challenge for women-owned businesses. Springboard 2000, one nationwide initiative to overcome that obstacle, in less than one year, has assisted women entrepreneurs in science and technology businesses to raise more than $235 million in venture funding. The investments have been raised directly as a result of two forums held this year in Redwood City, California and Dulles, Virginia. The forums are co-hosted by the National Women’s Business Council, and other groups such as the Women’s Growth Capital Fund, the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, American Online, the Morino Institute, and the Oracle Corporation. Another forum will be held at Harvard Business School in New England this November. Approximately one month prior to the forum, selected entrepreneurs will participate in a boot camp which will help to prepare them for their upcoming presentations to venture capitalists. Springboard 2000 will continue its series of forums into 2001 with events to be held in Silicon Valley in February, New York City in March, and Chicago…