SSTI Digest

Dr. Phillips Bradford the Executive Director of the Colorado Advanced Technology Institute has resigned his position. Lenie Roos-Gabridge has been appointed Interim Chief Operating Officer. Bradford’s resignation is the latest in an unprecedented turnover of state technology-based economic development officials. In the last year alone, the leaders of 14 states’ technology efforts have left their positions. Other recent departures include those of:  Dr. Diana Weigmann, director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Education and Technology; and, Dr. Carolyn Sales, the long-time president of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST).  Dr. Sales was also a member of the SSTI Board of Trustees; her place on the SSTI Board has been filled by Del Schuh, president of the Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corp.

NASA announced the selection of 125 Phase II awards, totaling approximately $73 million, for its FY 1997 SBIR Program. The agency funded 40 percent of the 312 Phase II proposals received from small businesses completing Phase I NASA research. Each NASA SBIR Phase II award may receive up to $600,000 to cover research costs over a two-year performance period. Contracts for the awards will be negotiated with 113 companies located in 26 states. The accompanying table provides the distribution of awards and firms by state: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/NASAfy97_SBIR.htm More detailed information on the selections may be found on the NASA SBIR website at http://sbir.nasa.gov

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) has released the Kansas Innovation Index 1999. The major finding of the report is that "Kansas has a realistic opportunity to create a competitive advantage for economic growth and high wage industries by supporting its emerging innovation economy." The report examines 33 performance indicators in four broad categories: Economic Structure, Innovation, Competitiveness, and Human Resources and Infrastructure. For each indicator, Kansas is compared to neighboring states and U.S. averages. The KTEC report is the latest in a series of states’ reports on innovation indices. Massachusetts and Illinois have previously published reports, and Maryland is expected to release one soon. Copies of the Kansas Innovation Index are available by contacting KTEC at 785/296-5272.

Connecticut Innovations, Inc. (CII) is seeking a manager for its Renewable Energy Investment Fund. Responsibilities of the position include providing strategic planning and program direction for the Renewable Energy Investment Fund program. The full position description can be found on the SSTI website at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm

The National Institutes of Health also released state award statistics for the FY 1998 Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). The accompanying table presents the SBIR Phase I and Phase II results in rank order by total dollars awarded for each state in which awards were made: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/NIHfy98_SBIR.htm No awards were made in states omitted from the table. More detailed information for each award may be obtained at the NIH SBIR/STTR website: http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm

State governments are reaping the benefits of the strong economy and sound fiscal leadership, according to the December, 1998 edition of Fiscal Survey of States. The semi-annual report, released last week by the National Governors’ Association (NGA) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), indicates states are maintaining healthy reserves to help manage economic uncertainties. Year-end balances in approximately two-thirds of the states are projected to be 5 percent or more of spending in fiscal 1999.  Nineteen states anticipate balances in excess of 10 percent of 1998 spending. According to the survey, states are holding down the rate of increase in general fund spending to 5.7 percent in fiscal 1998 and 6.3 percent in fiscal 1999, compared with a 6.5 percent average annual increase over the past twenty years. Only two states, Hawaii and Alaska, had to enforce budget cuts in 1998. States reported that, on average, their revenues for fiscal 1998 exceeded budget estimates by 3.6 percent. States used the surplus funds in a…

Most of the press coverage on the ascension of the new Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), has focused on his skills at building bridges among Republicans and with Democrats. Rep. Hastert’s ties to science and technology communities have not been as widely reported. Rep. Hastert’s Illinois district includes Fermilab, a Department of Energy facility. According to the Illinois Coalition, he has been a Coalition director since 1994, received the Coalition’s "Technology Leader of the Year" award in 1996, and a proponent of a research park near Fermilab to spur high-tech growth. The Illinois Coalition is a non-profit organization working to encourage technology-based economic development in Illinois.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released award statistics for the FY 1998 Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR).  No awards were made in FY 1998 to companies in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina or South Dakota. NIH reports awards by the location of the principal investigator’s company. Subsequently, there may be some universities or small businesses from these states that are involved in a FY 1998 NIH STTR project but are not reflected in the award statistics. Follow this link to a table showing the STTR Phase I and Phase II results in rank order by total dollars awarded for each of 34 states in which awards were made. More information for each award may be obtained at the NIH SBIR/STTR website: http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) have selected two of potentially six microelectronics research centers. The centers will focus on core chip technologies with long term technological payback. Funding will be provided by SIA (50%), DARPA (25%) and SEMATECH, a consortia of U.S. semiconductor suppliers (25%). Each center, when fully operational, is expected to receive approximately $10 million annually, however, actual funding levels and the number of centers established will depend on the review of these two centers following their first two years of operations. Total funding for the centers could reach $600 million over 10 years. The concept of the focused centers is to address several areas of concern for U.S. semiconductor manufacturers: reduced semiconductor research funding from all traditional sources, including the Department of Defense and large industrial labs, increased industry emphasis on short-term research — heightened by a industry-funded university research environment not conducive…

The President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has issued the fourth in a series of inquiries into the state of critical technologies in the United States. New Forces at Work: Industry Views Critical Technologies presents an analysis of information gained from interviews with business and industry leaders. The report: Presents and analyzes interviewees’ responses to what technologies they consider to be critical to their firm or industry Explores the question of what "critical technology" means Reports interviewees’ assessments of the status of U.S. efforts and performance in the areas of technology they deemed critical Considers the respective roles of industry, universities, and government in contributing to and sustaining the U.S. technology base Suggests a process whereby the dialogue between government and industry on the public policy issues relating to technology might be made more integral and informative to…

The 1998 annual report of the Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corporation (BMT) addresses various changes encountered by the organization this year. The most significant organizational change was BMT’s decision to operate without annual state appropriations. The program is funded with a combination of reserves from the previous 15 years of state support, federal grants and fee-for-service income. The annual report states that BMT is meeting the challenges that come with this significant programmatic change. To make the transition from direct state support, BMT has increased its menu of services available within its three service areas of retail (one-on-one assistance to companies), wholesale (multi-company assistance projects i.e. industry alliances), and technology (federal lab access, university technology assistance, microelectronic design, etc.) While many of BMT's services remain free of charge to Indiana companies, new services are creating revenue. Annual returns on BMT's high-risk loan portfolio has aided in the transition.…

The 1998 recipients of the nation's highest science and technology honors, the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology, were announced last week. The National Medal of Science, established by Congress in 1959 and administered by the National Science Foundation, honors individuals for contributions to the present state of knowledge in a variety of science frontiers. The National Medal of Technology, established by Congress in 1980 and administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, recognizes technological innovation and advancement of the nation's global competitive-ness, as well as ground-breaking contributions that commercialize a technology, create jobs, improve productivity, or stimulate the nation's growth and development in other ways. The nine winners of the Medal of Science and the five winners of the Medal of Technology are: 1998 National Medal of Science Recipients Bruce N. Ames, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at…