SSTI Digest

Terri Adams is serving as Chief of the Science, Technology and Energy Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Martha McInnis resigned from ADECA in January.

U.S. dominance as a source of technology for other economies is in serious trouble, according to "R&D Trends in the U.S. Economy: Strategies and Policy Implications," a new report by Gregory Tassey, senior economist with the Strategic Planning and Economic Analysis Group of the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). The report highlights trends and global developments that are changing the nature of innovation and underlying research and development activities. NIST concludes that without the merger of R&D policy and a long-term economic growth policy, the U.S. role in innovation and the world economy is threatened. Only seven percent of US industries have the necessary R&D intensity, measured by R&D-to-sales ratios, to maintain world class innovation, Tassey observed. Equally discouraging is the shift of US private R&D objectives to shorter-term projects and quicker paybacks. The report reviews the economic dimensions of technology policy, the role of technology in the increasing volatility of the global markets, characteristics of market…

An interagency task force of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has released its findings on the state of the science and technology partnership between the federal government and universities. The review of the government/university partnership began three years ago in response to letters from leaders in industry and academia, state governors, and Congress stating that incremental changes in government policy and administrative practices were undermining national objectives and harming universities. They urged a thorough review of the government-university research partnership to strengthen it and make it more effective. A review of the issue was conducted by a task force under the auspices of the NSTC. The task force, comprised of the major federal research agencies (NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, NASA, USDA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and chaired by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), solicited input from universities and federal agencies on matters considered most pressing and in need of review. The task force made the following…

The United States Innovation Partnership (USIP) reported on a recent roundtable discussion on the 21st Century Economy. The topic of the discussion was the role of states in science and technology. The roundtable highlighted "best practices" in technology-based economic development in five states (Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Utah, and Pennsylvania). USIP is a state-federal partnership, created in 1997, to establish a new working relationship between the states and the federal government which will promote the development of a national innovation system. The roundtable was profiled in the most recent issue of PACESETTER, a publication of the Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. A complete copy of the text of this article will be available soon at http://www.ta.doc.gov/Newsletters.htm  

The Mid-America Commercialization Corporation (Manhattan, Kansas) announced that the Eaton Corporation is donating a substantial portfolio of patented technologies for the benefit of the corporation and Kansas State University. The patent donation, valued at approximately $17 million, will be used as a technology platform upon which additional research programs in automotive, semiconductor and other areas might be developed at Kansas State University. The patents will be available for commercial licensing as well. Eaton, which has its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, is a manufacturer of highly engineered products that serve industrial, vehicle, construction, commercial, aerospace and semiconductor markets. The Eaton portfolio of donated patents includes 57 patents across six different technology areas, including: vehicular four wheel steering systems; excimer laser-based processes for semiconductor manufacturing; AC frequency conversion techniques for controlling electric motors; electromechanical sensors and controls; hypergolic combustion; and anti-…

The number of technology degrees awarded have declined by 5 percent since 1990, according to a new report issued by the American Electronics Association (AEA). The one area in which there has been a significant increase in degrees conferred is business information systems, which increased by 24 percent. The report, CyberEducation: U.S. Education and the High-Technology Workforce, A National and State-by-State Perspective, examines technology education trends in both K-12 and higher education. At the college and university level, the report examines the number of students awarded associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in six core technology fields (engineering, engineering technology, computer science, business information systems, mathematics, and physics). The top five states, ranked by technology degrees conferred are: California (20,809) New York (16,437) Texas (12,991) Pennsylvania (11,074) Ohio (10,315) The top five states in terms of percentage increase in the number of technology degrees conferred are: Virginia Texas North Carolina…

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced two new programs to assist small businesses. Y2K Loans SBA will begin accepting applications in early May for a loan program to help small businesses with problems related to the date change from 1999 to 2000 (Y2K). The new loan guaranties are designed to meet two needs. First, the program will enable small businesses to purchase systems, software, equipment, and services necessary to become Y2K compliant. Second, the program will assist small firms that suffer economic injury as a result of the date change. More information about the program is available on the SBA's web site at www.sba.gov/y2k  or by calling 1-800-U-ASK-SBA. Free Financial Software The SBA, working in partnership with the Intuit corporation, will distribute free copies of Quickbooks Pro software to new business owners. The partnership is part of the agency's efforts to support the use of technology in small business management. More than 4,000 copies of the accounting…

In what could be the beginning of a new trend in state economic development incentive/inducements, bills receiving bi-partisan support in the Michigan and Delaware state legislatures would address businesses= needs for more technically skilled workers by having the states pick up the students' tab for community college tuition and technical training. Governors in at least 14 other states have proposed establishing, increasing or expanding scholarship programs this year, according to SSTI's latest Issue Brief Science & Technology in the States: Excerpts from the 1999 Governors' Addresses (see related article in this Digest). Michigan A bill introduced in the Michigan Senate last week would provide a $300 state tax credit to cover the balance of a student's Michigan community college tuition that is not covered by the federal Hope Scholarship tax credit. The state tax credit would be available to all students from two-parent households with incomes under $100,000 and single-parent families with less than $50,000 in annual income. The bill's sponsor estimates 90 percent of…

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) is seeking a chief executive officer. OCAST's statutory mandate is to contribute to the public policy goals of expanding and diversifying Oklahoma=s economy, providing new and higher quality jobs to improve Oklahoma's per capita income and encouraging the development of new products, new processes, and whole new industries in Oklahoma. The full description can be found on the SSTI homepage at http://www.ssti.org Applications are due by May 7.

Science, technology and workforce development are prominent themes in the plans 42 governors outlined for their states, according to the latest SSTI Issue Brief, Science & Technology in the States: Excerpts from the 1999 Governors' Addresses.  The publication provides a collection of 109 research, workforce development and technology-related quotes from 1999 Inaugural Addresses, State of the State Addresses, and Budget Addresses by the governors. An SSTI review of more than 80 gubernatorial speeches delivered during the past four months revealed several common technology-related themes for many governors: Increasing 21st century workforce preparedness through job training programs and greater accessibility to college and technical school courses; Expanding use of information technology in state government, libraries, and the classroom; Strengthening the research capacity of higher education institutions as an economic development tool; Launching several new S&T…

Yahoo! Internet Life magazine has named its 1999 list of the "100 most wired" colleges and universities.  This is the third year in which the magazine has published the list. Listed  in the top five are: Case Western Reserve University (OH); Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Wake Forest University (NC); the New Jersey Institute of Technology;  and, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY). Compiled in conjunction with Peterson's (known  for its expertise in education information guides and services), the rankings  are based on a survey of 571 four-year institutions in the U.S. In analyzing the data, Yahoo! noted that schools have made great strides in developing  their computer networks. Of the "100 Most Wired" Colleges: 98% offer online course schedules 90% allow electronic applications 82% allow students to register online 54% offer distance learning courses 48% offer alumni free access to the campus  network The Top 100 rankings, by state are: Rank State…

The expected economic benefits from the Advanced Technology Program far outweigh program costs, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology. The report, Advanced Technology Program Performance of Completed Projects, Status Report Number 1, was prepared by economist William F. Long of Business Performance Research Associates Inc. The report provides the most detailed examination to date of the outcomes of the earliest ATP projects. The study covers all 38 ATP projects completed by the end of March 1997, documenting research accomplishments, subsequent work by the companies to commercialize the results, and near-term outlooks for the technologies. It also lists the reasons for failure of 12 other terminated projects that were selected between 1991 and March 1997. The 38 projects surveyed in Long's report cover a broad range of ATP investments. Most (34) were single-company projects, though many of them involved subcontractors. Of these, almost all were projects by small…