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SSTI Digest

Panel to Examine Federal Energy R&D Programs

A newly formed panel will work with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Department of Energy to provide recommendations on how to ensure the U.S. energy R&D program addresses the economic, environmental and national security needs of the nation for the next century.

Economists Approve of More Spending on Education, R&D

Increasing spending on education and research and development (R&D) was cited as the best means for the federal government to increase the long-term economic growth rate of the country, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey of academic economists.

Study Examines Economic Impact of MIT-Related Companies

In what is touted as the first major national study of the economic impact of a research university, BankBoston recently reported on the economic impact of companies founded by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The report, MIT: The Impact of Innovation, "is a case study of the significant effect that research universities have on the economies of the nation and its 50 states."

GAO Reports on Status of SBICs

The General Accounting Office (GAO) has released information on the status of Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) for fiscal years 1990 through 1996. The report, Update of Information on SBA's Small Business Investment Company Programs, provides data on the performance of the programs and related investment activities.

Position Available

Pittsburg State University in Kansas is seeking a person to serve as the executive director of its Business & Technology Institute (BTI) and as Director of the Center for Design, Development, and Production. BTI is the primary economic development unit of the university. Its mission is to serve as interface between education, technology, business and industry by providing management, finance, and technological services. Review of applications will begin on April 28.

Correction

The Coopers & Lybrand Money Tree Report, reported on in the March 7 issue of the Digest, inadvertently omitted Ohio from its list of the top states receiving venture capital investments in 1996. The Survey should have ranked Ohio tenth with $279.0 million in investments. This revised information drops Virginia to 11th with $275.7 million, New Jersey to 12th with $264.3 million, and Tennessee to 13th with $261.5 million.

Retain Organizational Structure of White House S&T Advice, Report Says

The present organizational structure for science and technology advice in the White House should be retained and its operations fine-tuned to better serve the needs of the President, according to recommendations of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government.

NASA Names New Institute, Center

NASA selected the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to lead a consortium for its new National Space Biomedical Research Institute.

New York Science & Technology Program Funding Restored

New York Governor George Pataki amended his proposed FY 1997-98 budget to restore funding for the state's technology programs. Pataki's revised budget calls for more than $20 million for technology programs, almost twice what was originally submitted to the legislature in January.

Results In From Manufacturers Economic Growth Survey

Results are in from a new nationwide survey of 2,000 manufacturing executives conducted by the National Association of Manufacturing (NAM). Nearly two-thirds of the respondents to the 1997 Survey on Economic Growth believe that a lack of skilled workers is hindering their ability to grow. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed report that a significant number of their entry level employees do not have the skills needed to help increase productivity and growth.

Panel Members Sought

Nominations of individuals to serve on the Sea Grant Review panel are being solicited. The panel advises the National Sea Grant College Program on the operations of the program, including review of applications or proposals for grants and contracts and the designation and operation of sea grant colleges and sea grant regional consortia.

Prabhakar to Leave NIST

Arati Prabhakar, director of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), announced this week that she will be leaving NIST to become senior vice president and chief technology officer of the Raychem Corporation, Menlo Park, Calif.

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