SSTI Digest

Seven federal labs from the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s Midwest Region - representing the Air Force, Army, Navy, Department of Energy, NASA, Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - are cooperating in an initiative to help automotive manufacturers and suppliers access the resources of the federal laboratory system. These labs have provided technologies that were presented and discussed at an interagency meeting held February 9-10 at the National Automotive Center (NAC) in Warren, MI. NAC is part of the Army's Tank-Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC). At the interagency meeting, lab representatives and a group of industry advisers formed several technology teams whose respective organizations are looking at similar problems from different perspectives. The technology teams are: Safety, Environment, Vehicle Systems, Electrical/ Electronics, Materials, and Powertrain. For more information on the initiative, contact Sue Leitner, FLC Midwest Regional Support Office, at 513/948-4032 or leitner@iams.org

The President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science is currently accepting nominations for the year 2000 award. Nominations and supporting information must be postmarked by May 31. The National Medal of Science recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to knowledge in the fields of physical, behavioral, biological, social, mathematical, or engineering sciences. Since the Medal’s establishment in 1959, 362 scientists and engineers have been honored. Nomination procedures and guidelines are available from the Committee’s Program Manager, Susan Fannoney, by calling the National Science Foundation at 703/306-1096 or by e-mail at nms@nsf.gov.

NASA Lewis Research Center, located in Ohio, has been renamed the "John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field" to honor the contributions John Glenn has made in American space history.

Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Co-chairs of the Science & Technology Caucus, issued a joint statement reacting to the Clinton Administration’s FY 2000 budget request for R&D. Calling the President’s request a "mixed blessing," the senators praised the commitment to civilian R&D, while disagreeing with proposed cuts for defense research of nearly six percent. The senators also raised concern that in future years, according to the President’s projections and citing spending caps, appropriations for much of the civilian R&D program would see only modest increases, remain static or even face reductions. Earlier this month, Senator Frist introduced S 726, legislation calling for doubling federal civilian R&D spending over the next twelve years; Senator Lieberman was a co-sponsor of the bill (see related article). In the House, Science Committee Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) issued an eight-page critical reaction to the Administration’s budget request for R&D. Rep. Sensenbrenner said the President’s budget overspends the budget cap by $17 billion…

Investment capital to develop and commercialize new technologies may soon be easier to find in Missouri. The Commerce Committee of the Missouri House of Representatives last week endorsed House Bill 753, a proposal to create a $40 million seed capital fund supported by Governor Mel Carnahan. The fund would be capitalized at $10 million each year for four years. Additionally, private investors would get a 100-percent tax credit for all money they contributed to the new seed capital fund. Investments would be limited to Missouri businesses. To find money for the new seed capital fund, the bill calls for implementing a temporary suspension of the state’s corporate research and development tax credit, which is capped at $10 million a year. For four years, no new credits would be granted under the R&D tax credit. The biggest losers under the proposal are the three large St. Louis corporations which claimed 69 percent of the credits last fiscal year: Boeing, Monsanto, and Southwestern Bell Telephone. According to published reports, none of the corporations has voiced opposition to the…

BILL REINTRODUCED TO DOUBLE CIVILIAN R&D Senators Bill Frist (R- TN) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced legislation to nearly double civilian and pre-competitive research over the next 11 years. S. 296, titled the Federal Research Investment Act , was cosponsored by 18 other Democrats and Republicans. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation for consideration. A similar bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent last session; the House did not act on the bill before adjourning. Civilian R&D made up only 2.1 percent of the overall federal budget in FY 1998, according to the bill. S. 296 calls for a steady 2.5 percent annual increase above the rate of inflation (assumed to be 3% each year) throughout an 11 year period beginning in 2000. The end result could be civilian R&D  representing 2.6% of the total federal budget and nearly double FY 1998 expenditures. Text of S. 296 can be found on the Web through http://thomas.loc.gov

U.S. House Science Committee Chairman, James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) has introduced H.R. 760, a bill to make the national research and development tax credit permanent. Ranking Minority Member George Brown (D-CA) has agreed to cosponsor the legislation. Proponents of the bill say making the credit permanent would remove uncertainty and disincentives for companies in pursuing longer-term research projects. The R&D tax credit is slated to expire June 30, 1999.  The President’s FY 2000 budget request extends the credit for one more year until June 30, 2000. Since it was first enacted in 1981, the tax credit has been extended eight times and modified five times.

The National Science Foundation has issued a call for nominations for the 1999 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM). Each award is accompanied by a $10,000 grant. Awards will be made to individuals or institutions. The award recognizes individuals who have "demonstrated outstanding and sustained mentoring and effective guidance to a significant number of students at the K-12, undergraduate or graduate education level." Institutions will be recognized for programming that enables "a substantial number of students underrepresented in science, mathematics and engineering to successfully pursue and complete relevant degree programs." Post-secondary institutions must demonstrate students have been mentored successfully to either the baccalaureate, master’s or doctoral levels. All nominees must have served as mentors for at least five years. The deadline for PAESMEM nominations is March 31, 1999. The program is administered by NSF on behalf of the White House and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Awardees will be…

A review of State of the State speeches, inaugural addresses, and budget messages delivered by 48 governors over the last six weeks indicates a high level of interest in science and technology based economic development. Governors discussed research and development tax incentives, education, and new initiatives to encourage technology-based economic development. As usual on the state level, support for science and technology transcended political parties. Over the coming weeks, the SSTI Weekly Digest will examine a number of the governors’ proposals in more detail. Selected highlights include: Alaska: Governor Knowles said that the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation will "continue to pay dividends, if we protect and grow [its] assets." Knowles made the commitment despite budget difficulties brought on by declining oil prices. Arizona: Governor Hull called on the Legislature to "significantly augment the research and development tax credit. Arizona corporations will initially save $6 million annually. That amount will grow as we…

The Department of Defense's Dual Use Science and Technology (DUS&T) Program, now in its fourth year of operation, is seeking participation from companies that are developing commercial technologies that could be used in military applications. DOD has issued a Broad Agency Announcement and is seeking proposals in eight areas of technology: Affordable Sensors Advanced Propulsion, Power, and Fuel Efficiency Information and Communications Systems Medical and Bioengineering Technologies Weapons Systems Sustainment Distributed Mission Training Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Environmental Technologies Congress established goals for the initiation of dual use projects based on a percentage of the military Services' applied research budgets. In 1999, the goal is seven percent (roughly $115 million) that the Services are striving to commit to commercially relevant…

On Monday, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced a series of initiatives to promote technology development for the city, including an information technology incubator, formation of a Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors, and a Civic Network to support capacity needs for Internet commerce by Chicago businesses. The cornerstone of the Mayor’s technology initiatives, however, is the formation of the Chicago Technology Growth Fund, a $3 million venture capital fund to provide seed-stage financing in conjunction with private investors for high-tech startup firms located within Chicago. The Illinois Coalition was named to manage the fund for the city. The Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors will work to position Chicago as a leader in information technology (IT) by promoting the growth and retention of IT businesses, helping to meeting the growing capital needs of entrepreneurs, developing a strategy to pool technology talent in the city, and promoting access and understanding of IT throughout the city. The Council will be chaired by the Illinois Coalition…

The President announced his intent to nominate Dr. Joseph Bordogna as Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Bordogna has served as Acting Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Science Foundation since 1996. For the four years prior to this service, he was the Assistant Director for Engineering at the National Science Foundation. He has served at the University of Pennsylvania in a variety of teaching and research positions, as a professor of engineering and director of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering and as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.