SSTI Digest

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

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) has initiated a program to help technology-based start-up companies locate and obtain equipment needed for their operations. KTEC's three Innovation and Commercialization Corporations (ICCs) may now purchase equipment used for scientific, analytical, manufacturing or other business purposes and lease it to client companies. Each of the three corporations received $55,000 for the program. Lease payments from the client companies will be used to purchase additional equipment. The ICCs provide business development and pre-seed financing to start-up, technology-based businesses. They offer a variety of business incubation services at no cost or reduced cost. These services include management services, office space, administrative support, and business plan writing. For additional information on the program, contact Ron Sampson of the Mid-America Commercialization Corporation in Manhattan, Kansas at 785/537-0110. More information on the ICCs is available on the SSTI website at http://www.ssti.org

The Wheeling Jesuit University is seeking candidates for a combined faculty/administrative position in Entre-preneurship and Technology Management and Chair of the Department of Business and Technology. Duties include teaching, advising student, seeking grants, coordinating a new undergraduate major in Entre-preneurship and Technology Management, and arranging for student internships and faculty consulting opportunities in the entrepreneurship and technology management areas. Applications will be accepted March 15, 1999. The complete job posting is available on the SSTI website at http://www.ssti.org.

The Michigan Legislative Service Bureau has an opening for a Science Research Analyst. Duties include researching scientific and technical topics of interest to the Michigan legislature and analyzing the technical accuracy of legislation. Applications for the position are due by December 18. The complete job posting is available on the SSTI website at http://www.ssti.org.

To continue to bring you the SSTI Weekly Digest, we will offer the Digest only through paid subscriptions, effective January 8, 1999. For three years, the Digest has been the only national publication focused exclusively on technology-based economic development. Each week, the Digest has kept its readers informed of news vital to the S&T community: innovations in state programs, federal funding opportunities available, award announcements, and developments on Capitol Hill and in the states. One-year subscriptions are available for $149. Current Digest subscribers can sign up at a special charter subscriber rate of $119 if payment C by check, Visa, or MasterCard C is received by January 7, 1999. Please contact us at 614/421-SSTI (7784) if you have any questions.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) released its second annual Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy earlier this month. The report tracks 31 performance indicators and explores the implications of each indicator on the long-term growth and stability of the Massachusetts economy. Included in this year's report is an analysis of "the Dynamics of Innovation" using healthcare technology's contributions to the state economy as an example. The special section illustrates the interrelationship of the innovation process and many of the indicators used in the Index. The MTC Index reports indicators from primary and secondary sources in nine key industry clusters, which represent 24 percent of the state's non-government employment and 35 percent of private-sector payroll. Eight of the measures are new this year for the Index. The 31 indicators are divided into three sections. Resource Indicators measure the availability of technological, investment, human, and infrastructure resources that are needed to support innovation. Process Indicators measure idea generation, technology…

The November 20 SSTI Weekly Digest article on the current Advanced Technology Program (ATP) competition should have stated the following information on ATP's indirect cost policy: for single proposer projects, ATP will fund only direct costs; the company must cover its indirect costs. Large businesses submitting single-company proposals must support 60 percent or more of total project costs which may include both direct and indirect costs. for joint venture projects, industry must pay at least 50 percent of the total project costs. ATP's portion may include both direct and indirect costs. Two ATP proposers' conferences will answer additional questions on ATP's policy toward indirect costs and many other issues. Those conferences will be held: December 15, 1998 from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and January 11, 1999 from 9:30 am - 12:30 p.m. at the Marriott Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. To register or request more information contact the ATP office at 1-800-ATP-FUND. Attendance is free.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has invested $10 million to fund the first year of new Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) in Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, South Carolina and Virginia. Each of the five centers will receive $2 million in the first year from the NSF, leveraged by support from industry, state governments and partnering universities. NSF will support the centers for five years, after which the support agreement is subject to renewal. The NSF has established 34 ERCs nationwide since 1985. NSF created the ERC program to foster partner-ships between government, industry and universities in research and engineering. ERC partnerships work to solve crucial research issues that could hinder advances in emerging technologies. As the ERCs develop advanced technologies, they also prepare the next generation of engineers with practical experience in leadership and team-building skills. The five new centers will be conducting research in the fields of tissue engineering, computer assisted surgery, computer modeling and visualization of industrial materials, power electronics and marine…