SSTI Digest

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.

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.

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

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 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.

The Clinton Administration FY2000 budget proposal, submitted to Congress on Monday, calls for a 2.5% increase in civilian R&D spending. Total R&D spending, however, would decline by 1.3% to $78.24 billion, due to a proposed 5.8% drop in defense-related R&D. For comparison, the Consumer Price Index for last year was approximately 1.6%.

The 21st Century Research Fund remains the centerpiece of the Administration’s R&D investment strategy, representing $38 billion and nearly half of the federal government’s total FY2000 R&D budget request. The Fund, a packaging of several existing and new R&D initiatives, would grow by 3% over the FY1999 total of $36 billion.

Representative George Brown, Jr. (D-CA), Ranking Minority Member of the House Science Committee, introduced legislation on the opening day of the 106th session of Congress to restore protection of federally-funded research data developed within universities and non-profit organizations.  Brown’s bill would repeal a provision quietly inserted without hearings into the final omnibus appropriations bill (Public Law 105-277) by Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL), Trent Lott (R-MS) Ben Campbell (R-CO) and Lauch Fiarcloth (R-NC).

The accompanying table on the SSTI website http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/NSFfy98_SBIR1.htm presents the results of the 1998 SBIR Phase I competition held by the National Science Foundation in rank order by total dollars awards in each state. The award figures were compiled from the NSF Fast Lane website. (There were no Phase I awards reported within the 13 states omitted from the table.

Details on each specific award may be obtained from the NSF FastLane website at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov

The Engineering Workforce Commission (EWC) of the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) has released its latest survey on engineering degrees, which reveals that the number of students receiving bachelor’s of science degrees in engineering in the United States has fallen to a 17-year low.

The 1998 edition of the EWC Engineering and Technology Degrees survey covers data from 340 schools with engineering programs and 284 schools with engineering technology programs in the United States. It is billed as the most comprehensive, accurate, and authoritative source for engineering and technology degree data in the country.

The Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce has announced the selection of seven awards under the first round of funding for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT). Matching grants, totaling $1.6 million, will be made to the following seven lead organizations and their partners:

Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs: $300,000 for developing and implementing technology-based economic development in Alabama, including analysis of the state’s industrial base and private sector technology investments.

Boise State University: $72,820 for the creation of the Idaho Technology Business Development Network to link and cross-train several economic development and technology service organizations.

Last Friday, President Clinton announced his intent to nominate Dr. Cheryl L. Shavers as Under Secretary for Technology at the Department of Commerce. Dr. Shavers is currently a senior manager at Intel Corporation and has more than 20 years of experience within the technology industry, holding various engineering and managerial positions at several Fortune 500 companies such as Motorola, Varian Associates, and Hewlett-Packard. She has a B.S. degree in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Solid State Chemistry from Arizona State University.

The Under Secretary for Technology serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and as the Department's spokesperson for science and technology matters. The Under Secretary develops and promotes federal technology programs to increase U.S. commercial and industrial innovation, productivity and growth, and to improve the competitiveness of U.S. firms in the global economy.