SSTI Digest

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…

NASA has announced 48 awards in microgravity biotechnology research. The selections, including 34 new projects and 14 continuation grants, were made from 165 proposals and total approximately $33 million. The total amount of the 48 awards was not available. The research will permit researchers to Atake advantage of a low-gravity environment to improve understanding of fundamental physical and chemical processes associated with biotechnology,@ according to NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Science and Applications. The grants include 40 ground-based research projects and eight flight-definition efforts. Awards were made in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The table below presents the number of grants made in each state by academic institutions, businesses, non-profit organizations and federal facilities. A list of winning project titles and organizations can be downloaded from: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1998/98-217a.txt.     STATE AWARDS …

President Clinton recently announced the winners of the 1998 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Three companies C Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, Long Beach, Calif.; Solar Turbines Inc., San Diego, Calif.; and Texas Nameplate Co. Inc., Dallas, Texas C are being honored for their achievements in performance excellence. With 66 employees, Texas Nameplate Co., Inc. is the smallest company to ever received the award. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established by Congress in 1987 to enhance U.S. competitiveness by promoting quality awareness, recognizing quality and business achievements of U.S. companies, and publicizing these companies' successful performance. The program is managed by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in conjunction with private industry. Since 1988, 34 companies have received the Baldrige Award. Currently, Baldrige Awards are given in manufacturing, service, and small business. Starting in 1999, non-profit educational organizations and health care providers will be eligible to apply…

The State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) has released its most recent publication, California's Regional Technology Alliances. This is the third in a series of Program Briefs designed to highlight states' experiences with various initiatives. The Regional Technology Alliances (RTA) program was initially designed to provide matching funds for California projects applying for funding from the Technology Reinvestment Project. The RTAs have since developed into organizations that provide technology-based companies with access to technical and business service providers, information on current and upcoming state and federal funding opportunities and technology assistance programs. The RTAs, which are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego, also seek to facilitate technology transfer from government laboratories to and among local companies, link smaller companies with larger firms, and assist emerging companies in finding sources of equity financing. Other publications in the Program Brief series are Maryland's…

West Virginia University is seeking candidates to fill the newly created, high-profile position of Economic Development Director and Senior Advisor to the WVU leadership. He/she will be the primary WVU spokesperson for economic development with the mission to maximize the impact of WVU on West Virginia's economy. Review of applications will begin January 15, 1999. Additional information, including application procedures, are available at http//www.wvu.edu/~exten/. The complete job posting is available on the SSTI website at http://www.ssti.org.

As of January 6, 1999, our new address will be: 5039 Pine Creek Dr. Westerville OH 43081 Our new phone: 614/901-1690 Our new fax: 614/901-1696 Contact us through January 5, 1999 at: 751 Northwest Blvd, Suite 305 Columbus, OH 43212 phone: 614/421-SSTI (7784) fax: 614/421-9123