SSTI Digest

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the American Physical Society (APS) are offering qualified scientists the opportunity to spend a year on Capitol Hill as Congressional Science Fellows. The fellowships provide a mechanism for scientists to make a unique, personal contribution to national R&D policy by applying their knowledge to science-related policy matters while working as a staffer for a Member of Congress or congressional committee. The two programs are now accepting applications for the 2000-2001 Fellowships. The application deadline is January 15, 2000. Further information on the programs, qualification requirements, and how to apply can be found on the AIP web site at: http://www.aip.org/pubinfo/ or the APS web site at: http://www.aps.org/public_affairs/fellow.html Since 1973, APS has been one of the 20 to 30 professional scientific and engineering societies that sponsor Fellows annually under a program organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AIP has participated in the program since 1988…

In this off-year election, there were only a few races that are significant to the S&T community. Democrat Paul Patton, incumbent Governor of Kentucky, easily won re-election over three contenders. Patton becomes the first Kentucky Governor to be elected to a second term since 1800. On October 23, Louisiana Governor Mike Foster avoided a runoff election by winning 62 percent of the vote. Foster became Louisiana’s first Republican governor to be re-elected to a second term. Foster switched to the Republican party five years ago. Meanwhile in the neighboring state of Mississippi, the governor’s race is too close to call. Republican Congressman Mike Parker and Democrat Lt. Governor Ronnie Musgrove have split the vote with two minor party candidates. Absentee ballots to be counted over the next ten days may determine the outcome. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the Mississippi House — heavily controlled by the Democrats, 86-33 — will decide the winner. The other closely…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has made a first round of grants to researchers at 31 institutions nationwide under a new program enabling talented graduate students and advanced undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering and technology to serve as teaching fellows in K-12 schools. The grants, made under the NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program, will go to institutions in 24 states from New York to Hawaii, as well as Puerto Rico. The multi-year awards were made after reviewing proposals from 157 institutions in 46 states. Collectively, the 31 new grants, totaling $13.4 million for the first year, will fund about 300 graduate and 100 undergraduate students annually. Planned as a pilot effort in 1999, the program received such a positive response from colleges and universities that NSF allocated more funds than originally planned. A formal program has been requested and approved by Congress as part of NSF's 2000 budget. Graduate students in the GK-12 program will receive annual stipends of $…

The House of Representatives approved an amendment to H.R. 2, the Student Results Act, that would require all states to develop standards and testing requirements for science education. Similar standards and testing requirements already exist for math and reading. The amendment to add the words “and science” to the list of standards and testing requirements in section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was offered by Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Michigan) and Congressman Tom Petri (R-Wisconsin). As written, the new requirements take effect for the 2005-06 school year, allowing districts time to meet the new standards. H.R. 2 now advances to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for its consideration. The bill can be downloaded through: http://thomas.loc.gov/  

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) seeks proposals that support innovation, invention, and entrepreneurship programs in U.S. colleges and universities. Through December 1999, NCIIA will award $400,000 in grants to faculty and students of member institutions. The next deadline is December 15, 1999. The NCIIA is interested in proposals for courses and projects which further the concept of E-Teams. E-Teams (the "E" stands for "excellence" and "entrepreneurship") are groups of students, faculty, and professionals who join together to pursue the development of an idea, product, or invention, or to solve a problem in a way that has the promise of developing an enterprise that will generate jobs and social benefits. NCIIA offers two types of grants: E-Team Course and Program Development Grants. Grants ranging from $2,000 to $50,000 will be awarded to support the development, implementation, and institutionalization of new courses and programs in which student teams will develop innovative, entrepreneurial…

The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) will host a six-state regional conference promoting three federal business technology investment programs: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. All ten federal agencies participating in SBIR will make presentations and have representatives available for one-on-one sessions with conference attendees. ATP will be the focus of a plenary session led by Marc Stanley, ATP Associate Director for Policy & Operations. The two-day event will be held December 14-15 in Research Triangle Park, NC, and was developed and promoted in cooperation with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. The event also is supported by the Department of the Navy and the NC Biotechnology Center. More information on the conference and the SBTDC can be found at http://www.sbtdc.org  or by contacting Kay…

The Air Force Dual Use Science & Technology Program (DUS&T) will be holding a pre-solicitation conference to provide businesses an opportunity to participate in the process of generating topics for the Air Force DUS&T solicitation to be released in January. The DUS&T Program is designed to help the Department of Defense partner with industry to jointly fund the development of technologies that have both military utility and sufficient commercial potential to support a viable industrial base. This is accomplished through streamlined contracting procedures, and cost sharing between the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the individual Services, and industry. At the upcoming conference, the Air Force will provide an overview to DUS&T and the FY 2001 solicitation cycle. Four technical sessions will be held to present and discuss the roadmaps for four technology thrusts: information systems and human factors; advanced materials and manufacturing processes; power, including space-based systems; and sensors. The workshop will be held at the Hope Hotel &…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded almost $13 million in grants for distance learning and telemedicine projects in rural areas of 34 states and Puerto Rico. The announcement was made on the 50th anniversary of the program. Since the program’s inception, $11 billion in loans and grants have been made, resulting in more than 1 million miles of phone lines and thousands of miles of optic cable being laid. The distance learning grants will provide students in rural schools the opportunity to take college preparatory classes taught by an instructor located miles away.  The telemedicine grants will provide life-enhancing and life-saving health technology, allowing patients in rural clinics to be examined by medical specialists in distant locations, providing speedier diagnosis. The accompanying table provides the number of grants awarded in each category as well as the total dollar amount by state.  For additional information on these specific awards, contact La Jaycee Brown at 202/720-9741. More general information on USDA’s Rural Distance and Telemedicine…

The Economic Development Administration has funded the creation of EconData.Net (http://www.econdata.net/), a website providing a searchable database with approximately 400 links to web-related socioeconomic data resources. EconData.Net provides a single site for referencing many materials used for developing science and technology indices or for comparing a state or region’s economic posture with other jurisdictions. More than 300 information links are sorted across ten subject categories, including: demographics employment occupation income trade & output prices economic assets quality of life industry sectors firm listings These same resource links are also organized by provider. An additional 75 sites containing on-line data sets and statistical references are collected under a third grouping on EconData.Net.

The Florida legislature recently approved legislation creating the Florida Space Research Institute (FSRI), an independent, industry-led organization designed to coordinate the space-related research capabilities of several public and private universities. FSRI will strive to expand the universities’ involvement in space research and education, and to insure that state academic resources are available to support the space-related needs of industry, NASA, and the military. The seven-member board, which includes representatives of Enterprise Florida, the Spaceport Florida Authority, the Florida Space Business Roundtable, the Florida Aviaiton Aerospace Alliance, Bionetics, Command & Control Technologies, and Boeing, held its first board meetings in early October. In the near term, FSRI will help to administer $200,000 in Spaceport Authority funds to match NASA grants to Florida universities and colleges. The institute will also support a partnership between NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Florida universities to develop a biotechnology and microgravity payload facility at Kennedy. For…

The U.S. Department of Education has selected 40 awards for the Community Technology Centers program, a new federal initiative to promote the development of model programs that demonstrate the educational effectiveness of technology in urban and rural areas and economically distressed communities. Community Technology Centers provide access to information technology and related learning services to children and adults. The Department received 750 applications from communities and organizations across all 50 states and two territories in response to the program’s first solicitation last Spring. The 1999 awards are distributed across 23 states and the District of Columbia. In making its award decisions, the Department gave preference to applications that met one or both of two competitive priorities: projects that expanded or established Community Technology Centers in a federally-designated Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community, and projects that demonstrated substantial community support. Twenty-six of the recipients are located in urban zones and 14 are in rural areas.…

Pennsylvania’s $187 million investment in the Ben Franklin Partnership boosted the state’s economy by $2.9 billion between 1989 and 1996, according to a new economic impact study. A Record of Achievement: The Economic Impact of the Ben Franklin Partnership concludes that between 1989 and 1996 the Ben Franklin Partnership achieved the following: Boosted the Pennsylvania economy by $2.9 billion; Yielded a return on the state investment of 14 to 1; Generated $168 million in additional state tax revenue; Generated on average at the client level the employment of five more people per company in each year following funding than would have occurred in the absence of the investment; Generated 21,800 additional job-years in client firms. The jobs are in industries that pay annual salaries roughly 45% higher than the average salary in Pennsylvania; and, Generated a total of 46,300 additional job-years through client impacts that spread throughout the economy, giving rise to higher employment throughout the state…