SSTI Digest

This year’s second attempt to pass legislation establishing a state-funded seed capital program in Missouri was successful during the waning hours of the 1999 session of the Missouri General Assembly. SB 518, the Missouri New Enterprise Creation Act, authorizes the creation of up to four seed capital funds at the state’s innovation centers to support new technology-based companies in the state. Funding for the program will be generated through $20 million in tax credits, with a maximum limit of $5 million in credits each year.

NASA has named 20 companies from 13 states as recipients of the agency’s 1999 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Phase I solicitation. NASA received 82 proposals from 59 companies in this year’s competition.



Each selected project will receive a fixed-price, one-year contract with NASA for up to $100,000. Successful Phase I recipients may compete for two-year Phase II contracts of up to $500,000 next year.



All STTR awards involve partnerships between the selected companies and research institutions. While the small business is the recipient of the award, a minimum of 30 percent of the research must be completed at the research institution, and the small business must perform at least 40 percent.



The accompanying table presents the state-by-state awards-to-proposals statistics and a breakdown of home state for each of the selected companies and their research partners. Eight of the NASA awards involve small businesses and research institutions from different states.



More information on the NASA STTR program, including abstracts of the selected projects, can be found on the World Wide Web at http://sbir.nasa.gov

Vice President Gore has announced the creation of an interagency task force to recommend ways to strengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector for the 21st century. Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, will lead the group, charged with presenting specific recommendations on how government policies and programs can preserve and enhance American manufacturing.

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on Technology has called for issue papers to identify top priorities and outline ideas for reforming federal support of science and technology. The agency is seeking papers as a contribution to the development of a long-term action plan for improving federal policies, regulations, and programs to foster science and technology innovation.

With a $50 million appropriation in FY 2000, the State of Michigan has made the first installment toward spending $1 billion over the next 20 years for life sciences research, development, and commercialization. The funding is derived from Michigan's tobacco settlement. Other public and private sources are expected to match much of the state's investment over the two decades.

President Clinton has issued an Executive Order to develop and promote biobased products and bioenergy as economically viable alternatives to fossil fuel-based production and energy generation. The order calls for the development of a national strategy that includes research, development, and private sector incentives to stimulate the creation and early adoption of technologies needed to make biobased products and bioenergy cost competitive.



The Executive Order specifically outlined the following three action items for the departments of Agriculture, Energy, and Treasury, and the EPA:

The Markle Foundation has announced plans to give away $100 million -- more than half of the Foundation's current endowment -- over the next five years for projects and programs to improve public benefit from the Internet. Recipients will include non-profit organizations as well as for-profit companies.



Awards are concentrated in four areas:



Public Engagement through Interactive Technology -- "supports research, applications, and experimentation that encourage the use of communications technology for active engagement in the pursuit of knowledge and for effective participation in democratic society."

The following people in the S&T field have announced or made career changes over the past few months:



Phil Singerman, the head of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Adminstration, has been named president of the new Maryland Technology Economic Development Corporation.



Catherine Renault, managing director of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, has accepted a position with Advantage Consulting.



Cary Nourie has been named Vice President of Policy and Planning for the Illinois Coalition; he previously was with the North Carolina Governor's Washington Office.



Brent Gregory has announced his resignation as Vice President for Technology Development with Enterprise Florida to accept a position in the private sector.



Douglas Goodall has been appointed CEO of Innovation Works, the successor to the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Western Pennsylvania.



Patrick Quinlan, a former staffer for Rep. George Brown, has been selected as the ASME Fellow in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Phil Singerman, the head of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Adminstration, was named president of the new Maryland Technology Economic Development Corporation.

Catherine Renault, managing director of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, has accepted a position with Advantage Consulting.

Cary Nourie has been named Vice President of Policy and Planning for the Illinois Coalition; he previously was with the North Carolina Governor's Washington Office.

Brent Gregory has announced his resignation as Vice President for Technology Development with Enterprise Florida to accept a position in the private sector.