SSTI Digest

Last week, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced his administration and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) had reached an agreement that would allow companies sponsoring stem cell research in Wisconsin to obtain a free, non-exclusive research license under the stem cell patents held by WARF. WARF, which manages more than 720 pending and 880 issued U.S. patents on University of Wisconsin at Madison technologies, will not charge Wisconsin research centers for licenses on its stem cell patents. The agreement is part of Gov. Doyle's plan to help the state capture 10 percent of the national stem cell market by 2015. The WiCell Research Institute, a subsidiary of WARF and operator of the National Stem Cell Bank, offers technology licenses, stem cell lines, and training for university and private sectors researchers around the world. WiCell provides five of the 21 stem cell lines available for federal funding and maintains more than 460 academic and commercial licenses on human embryonic stem cells. Its licenses directly affect all U.S. companies and research in the field.

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Paper Technology Transfer Center has changed its name to the Paper Industry Resource Center.

Barbara Fleisner is the new vice president of economic development for the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. She succeeds Paul Ehrfurth, who retired in June.

Brian Thompson, formerly a managing director of Wisconsin's TechStar, is now senior advisor for research and strategic initiatives at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Foundation.

The six-month-old Information Technology Association of Wisconsin selected Jim Rice to serve as the organization's first president and CEO.

The Information Technology Association of Wisconsin, formed in June 2005, selected Jim Rice as its president and CEO.

Wisconsin manufacturers must adapt to a fast-changing world in order to grow and succeed in the 21st century. That is the thrust of a recent study of the state’s industrial economy recently released by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP).

In 2004, Wisconsin’s manufacturers generated more than $46 billion in gross product, employed 512,630 workers, produced $90,000 in gross product per employee, and exported $14 billion in manufactured goods, the Wisconsin Manufacturing Study shows. By 2008, the study projects the state's manufacturing gross product will be $54 billion.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle today unveiled the plan that will guide his Administration's legislative agenda for the next 12 months. Grow Wisconsin: The 2005 Agenda focuses on three areas: investing in business, investing in people, and fostering a competitive business climate.

While the largest single funding element in the plan calls for changing the structure of the state's $500 million affordable housing program, tech-based economic development initiatives are prevalent. Highlights include:

In signing the state budget last Thursday, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle approved spending $5 million for two new programs supporting agricultural and forestry bio-based industrial development. Bio-based industries convert the carbohydrates in plants into fuels, polymers, fabrics, and other chemicals. Advocates for bio-based fuels industries argue every function now served by petro-chemicals also can be more simply, safely and sustainably served by bio-chemicals.

As part of the governor's new biobased initiative announced in June, the two newly funded programs include:

Pat Dillon has taken a position with the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network, an initiative to support high tech, high growth companies in Wisconsin.

As trends in federal funding priorities shift from domestic R&D to defense-related R&D, universities are scrambling to get their piece of the pie. The president's fiscal year 2006 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes increased funding of 6.6 percent over the fiscal year 2005 appropriation (see the Feb. 14 issue of the Digest). In comparison, increased funding requested for research-related activities within the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health are not proposed even to keep pace with inflation.

Gov. Jim Doyle named Mary Burke as the new head of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. Burke replaces Cory Nettles, who resigned last month.