SSTI Digest

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy in the U.S. Department of Commerce has requested public comments on proposed changes to the rights to inventions made by non-profit organizations and small businesses through cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) between government-owned and -operated laboratory and a collaborating party.  Under the Bayh-Dole Act (Pub. L. 96-517), nonprofit and small business contractors and grantees have the option to retain rights in their inventions in order to facilitate the commercialization of the results of federally funded research. These rights may be limited in exceptional circumstances. For instance, there is a need to limit the rights of certain contractors and grantees in their inventions when they are performing research for the Government under CRADA with a collaborating party as authorized by the Federal Technology Transfer Act (Pub. L. 99-502) (FTTA). If these rights are not limited, the collaborating party would not receive the rights to which it would normally be entitled under a CRADA, which includes the option…

One of the federal government's most potent programs for building tech-based businesses is two weeks away from expiration. Authorization for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is due to expire September 30, and as of today, no date has been set for a House vote to reauthorize the program.  Prior reauthorizations of the SBIR program have been relatively uneventful with passage occurring through voice votes. This year's SBIR reauthorization appeared to be headed on the same course.  After nearly a year of hearings, meetings, and negotiations among congressional members, their staff, and constituents, a bill emerged this summer with strong bipartisan support from both chambers of Congress. This year's reauthorization bill is unique, too, in that it identifies and strengthens the roles state and local economic development organizations should play in making SBIR a more effective program. The bill would create the Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) to encourage technology development and commercialization in small businesses across the country.…

Jon Baron, formerly Manager of the Defense Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, has taken a position as the Director of the Presidential Commission on Offsets.  Vic Johnson, Director for Policy, Planning & Technology in the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LDED), is taking the position as manager of the Technology Transfer Office of the Louisiana Business & Technology Center. Mark Galyean will be handling Vic’s responsibilities at LDED.  After many years with the variously named New York offices for science & technology, Bruce Layton is moving to Illinois to become the Director of Government Relations for Northwestern University. In addition to working for the New York State Science and Technology Foundation and the New York State Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR), Bruce served in a variety of positions with the Science and Technology Council of the States (STCS), most recently as Secretary and keeper of institutional memory.  SSTI wishes Shannon Burnett good luck as she leaves our team to take a…

Jon Baron, formerly Manager of the Defense Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, has taken a position as the Director of the Presidential Commission on Offsets. 

Vic Johnson, Director for Policy, Planning & Technology in the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LDED), is taking the position as manager of the Technology Transfer Office of the Louisiana Business & Technology Center. Mark Galyean will be handling Vic’s responsibilities at LDED. 

After many years with the variously named New York offices for science & technology, Bruce Layton is moving to Illinois to become the Director of Government Relations for Northwestern University. In addition to working for the New York State Science and Technology Foundation and the New York State Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR), Bruce served in a variety of positions with the Science and Technology Council of the States (STCS), most recently as Secretary and keeper of institutional memory. 

SSTI wishes Shannon Burnett good luck as she leaves our team to take a position with the Ohio Air Quality Board.

NASA and the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) have announced 3 and 14 inventions, respectively, that are available for licensing. Invention titles and, for DHHS, abstracts for each licensing opportunity are posted at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/091500t.htm 

State Industries of the Future, a partnership strategy of the Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT), has successfully facilitated development of industry visions and roadmaps for the Agriculture, Aluminum, Chemicals, Forest Products, Glass, Metalcasting, Mining, and Steel industries. Beginning with a pilot project in West Virginia, OIT is now partnering with states to pursue these industry-defined visions and roadmaps on a state level.  The goals of this initiative are to boost industrial efficiency and productivity by working with states that have significant activity in one or more of the nine target industries. A typical state approach establishes a state team, targets specific industries, promotes industry alliances, builds industry interest and leadership, identifies business and technology needs, outlines a state strategy, and generates action plans and partnerships. State benefits include potential industry and job growth, alignment of customer and supplier base with core industries, improved environmental performance, increased resource efficiency, and enhanced…

Gross State Products in the nation, after adjustment for inflation, grew at an average annual rate of 3.9 percent from 1992 to 1998, according to a paper released this week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Gross State Product measures value added in production. Not too surprising, the agency found growth was particularly strong in the sectors driving the New Economy, including software development, communications, and high-tech manufacturing — such as electronics, electronic devices, industrial machinery and computer equipment. Government grew the slowest of the major industry sectors at 0.8 percent on average annually. The ten states which experienced the greatest average annual growth in GSP over the period were: Arizona (7.5 percent average annual increase in GSP), Oregon (7.2%), Nevada (6.9%), Utah (6.9%), Colorado (6.6%), New Hampshire (6.3%), New Mexico (6.2%), Idaho (6.1%), Georgia (5.8%), and Texas (5.6%). The 10-page report includes tables presenting GSP statistics for all 50 states and the District of Columbia annually from 1992-…

Registrations for SSTI’s fourth annual conference, Beyond the Hype: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, have been brisk. As a result, the Regal Knickerbocker Hotel has no more vacancies at our special conference discount rate -- if any rooms are available at all by the time of this release. The hotel was kind enough to extend our room block by 50 percent before the discount deadline this past weekend. To help those of you planning to attend Beyond the Hype but are without accommodations, we have posted on our web site the phone numbers for several hotels within easy walking distance to the conference site that had rooms available as of Wednesday, Sept. 6. The deadline for early conference registration is September 15. Please be advised though, that seating is limited at this point: we may have to close conference registration prior to the 15th. If necessary, we will develop a waiting list for cancellations for those registrations not paid or secured by a credit card before September 15. More conference details and the additional hotel list are available on our web site at: http://www.ssti.…

During its six years in operation, the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program has awarded more than $150 million in grants to strengthen the education of technicians for the high tech fields driving our economy. The ATE Program is managed jointly by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Undergraduate Education and the Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education. The recently released 1999 Awards and Activities for the ATE Program shows the diversity of projects funded in effort to prepare technicians for rewarding careers in strategic technology fields. The program supports the development and dissemination of educational materials and curricula, professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers, and technical internships for students. In FY1999, 164 projects were funded and 11 Centers of Excellence received continued funding. ATE-funded projects and centers focus on science-related technologies, engineering and computer technologies, core mathematics and science, and special projects. Two-year colleges are expected to play a…