SSTI Digest

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 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:

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.

PricewaterhouseCoopers recently announced that venture capital investments in the third quarter of 1998 set an all-time high of $3.77 billion, just slightly above the previous record of $3.73 billion set last quarter despite the current stock market turmoil. Compared to the third quarter of 1997, investments increased 29% over the $2.92 billion reported one year ago.

These findings were released in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Money Tree, a quarterly report of venture capital investments throughout the United States. This survey is a result of the merger of the Price Waterhouse National Venture Capital Survey and the Coopers & Lybrand Money Tree Survey.

The following table shows the amount of venture capital dollars invested by region in the third quarter of 1998:

 

Region

Investment Amount

The long-time executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, Jay Brandinger, recently announced his decision to resign as Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. Consequently, the Commission is seeking an Executive Director.

The New Jersey Commission on Science & Technology is appointed by the Governor to oversee a competitive grants program of $20 million annually that spans science and technology research, technology transfer and business development.

Technology 2020, a public-private partnership, is seeking a Director of New Business Development. Technology 2020is supported by a number of large corporate "technology partners" in the Knoxville/Oak Ridge Area of east Tennessee. Technology 2020's primary objective is to leverage talent and reputation of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and grow new technology businesses that will create new jobs and help diversify the economy of the region. Oak Ridge is the nation's largest multi-disciplinary laboratory and is a primary source for technology commercialization.

The Director of New Business Development will have a pivotal role in Technology 2020's success in identifying and creating new businesses in the region. Reporting to the President and CEO, the ideal candidate will blend a broad knowledge of business and finance with excellent personal skills and a strategic mindset regarding new ventures. The focus of the Director's work will be to identify or create new businesses in the area and help grow these new ventures.

The omnibus spending bill signed into law last week also includes extensions of several tax credits, including the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit which expired on June 30 of this year. The R&E Tax Credit is now in effect, retroactively, for the period from July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999.

Maine and Oklahoma voters both approved ballot initiatives designed to encourage technology-based economic development, while voters in other states elected 13 new governors. Eight legislative chambers also switched control.

The Maine initiative authorizes a $20 million bond issue for research and development. The University of Maine system will receive $13.5 million for capital improvements; the Maine Science and Technology Foundation will receive $4.5 million in part for a Research Challenge Grants Program to enhance R&D capacity and productivity; and, the Department of Economic and Community Development will receive $2 million for a laboratory to support applied fishery and marine biotechnology research.

November 17, 1998 The National Association of Seed Venture Funds is sponsoring a seminar entitled "Seed Investing as a Team Sport" to be held in Des Moines. The purpose of the seminar is to expand the attendees' understanding of business investing, help locate a team of like-minded investors in the region, and provide new tools to help optimize investment dollars. For more information, visit NASVF's website at http://www.nasvf.org

November 18-19, 1998 The Progressive Policy Institute is sponsoring a two-day conference "Understanding America's Transformation To a New Economy" in Washington, DC. Scheduled speakers include Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Tom Daschle. For more information, contact PPI at 202/608-1235.