SSTI Digest

Nearly 70,000 manufacturers received services from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) from July 1995 through December 1997, according to a new report released by MEP.

Two of the state-wide issues Oklahomans will decide on November 3 would allow major changes in the way the state conducts technology transfer activities. The purpose of the initiatives is to promote the commercialization of university research and support university innovation.

A new report issued by the Council on Competitiveness maintains that the U.S. must have a strong, sustained commitment to investment in science and technology to maintain its global competitiveness. In Going Global: The New Shape of American Innovation, the Council focuses on support for basic research, the need for a skilled talent pool, and favorable legal, regulatory and accounting rules to promote U.S. innovation as three key factors for innovation.

Mainers will vote on Election Day on a research and development bond issue that if passed would allocate $20 million to improve the Maine economy by supporting innovative research and development in the fields of biotechnology, computers and other information technology, aquiculture and marine technology, forestry and agriculture, and advanced materials.

Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships announces a competition for U.S. citizens in leadership positions with significant professional experience (10-20 years) for Fellowships to:

"State-based organizations have considerable advantages over the federal government in assisting in the commercial development of new technologies including their proximity to the firms that will actually employ new technologies, their close relationships with local university systems, and their ability to focus their efforts," says an extensive policy study recently completed by the U.S. House Science Committee.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) has issued a request for public comment on several changes to ATP rules.

The State Science and Technology Institute 1998 Annual Conference, "Science & Technology Programs: Catalysts for Economic Growth," was a success with over 100 S&T professionals from 30 states and the District of Columbia attending. The conference, which was held in

States spent more than $3 billion on research and development in fiscal year 1995, according to a new National Science Foundation-funded report. The report, the most thorough study ever undertaken of state government R&D expenditures, was conducted by Battelle and the State Science and Technology Institute.

Last week President Clinton called on the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to develop recommendations for achieving greater diversity in the United States’ scientific and technical work force.  By 2010, approximately half of America's school-age population will be from minority groups. As stated by the White House, minority participation in science and engineering careers should keep pace with this growing diversity. Currently, only one-eighth of all high school graduates have the math and science preparation that would permit advanced study in a technical field; for under-represented minorities, that fraction is only half as much. The U.S. Department of Labor projects that the demand for computer scientists, systems analysts and other information technology positions will double over the next 10 years, requiring 1.3 million new workers in this area alone. Expansion of the participation of women, minorities, and people with disabilities in these critical fields is crucial in meeting the growing demand for workers in technology fields.

Innovative manufacturing, plasma and photon processing, and Internet technology will be the focus of three new Centers of Excellence in Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia and Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) recently announced the selection of these three new Centers as the second-generation of CIT’s Technology Development Centers program. The new centers will host research and development efforts focused on existing and emerging technologies of importance to the growth of Virginia’s technology industry. The centers will develop technology, apply and commercialize the technology with industry partners and provide a rapid response capability to assist technology-based companies with short-term needs. Thirteen Technology Development Centers (TDCs) have been funded at Virginia state-supported universities since 1986. The TDCs have focused on such areas as fiber optics, composite materials, advanced computer technology, biotechnology and wireless communications. In

Sue Rhoades, formerly of Delaware, has taken a new position with Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Partnership as State Coordinator. She will be working with the four regional Ben Franklin Technology Centers on a variety of statewide collaborative and strategic initiatives. The Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO) is seeking a Manager of Technology Programs to fill Sue’s position. The DEDO is the state agency responsible for economic development in Delaware. The duties of this position include managing the state's Advanced Technology Centers program and acting as liaison to state-supported manufacturing extension, entrepreneurial development, and related technology-based economic development efforts. The position is based in Wilmington, DE. Interested applicants should send a resume to Harold Stafford, Administrative Director, DEDO,   99 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901-7305.