SSTI Digest

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 has 13 statewide "driver" industries that are the underpinning of its industrial economy, according to the study. Wisconsin’s primary driver industries include agricultural and industrial machinery, fabricated metal products, electrical equipment, wood products, paper and dairy product manufacturing. The report suggests the state's 13 such industries give it a competitive advantage and demonstrate the diversity of the state's manufacturing economy. The study's…

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: Deploying $30 million in Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) bonds to support creation of more business Incubators; Modifying legislation to make it easier for University of Wisconsin faculty to start their own businesses while serving in the university system; Providing $2 million for the Biomedical Technology Alliance in southeast Wisconsin, beginning with a $500,000 seed grant to promote research; Creating $170 million in tax credits statewide as incentives for businesses to locate high-wage jobs in distressed areas. In addition, Governor Doyle is calling…

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: A $1 million grant program for agricultural businesses. These grants will help entrepreneurs develop ways to use plant and animal resources for no-waste, bio-based energy, fuels or products. Up to a $4 million grant program for the forestry industry. These grants will leverage federal dollars for the research, development and implementation of forestry biomass technology in Wisconsin, encouraging the use of forestry biomass as an energy source. In June, Gov. Doyle appointed a Consortium on Biobased Industry to help…

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. Maneuvering around a decades-old policy banning classified and sensitive military projects, the University of Wisconsin (UW) System, The Medical College of Wisconsin, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, and the Marshfield Clinic announced earlier this month the formation of the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium. The independent nonprofit entity will allow the institutions to bid for funding available for military and high-security projects from federal agencies such as DHS. An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out that UW has a…

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

Wisconsin commerce secretary Cory Nettles is resigning his position and will join his old law firm as a partner.

Two legislative bills encompassing economic development priorities of Gov. Jim Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin initiative recently were signed to provide assistance for both entrepreneurs and manufacturers. Senate Bill 261 creates two tax credit programs to spur investment in start-up companies and fosters a new measure to provide funding and technical assistance to entrepreneurs. To encourage investors to take a chance on new Wisconsin companies, SB 261 offers $65 million in tax credits over the next 10 years. When fully deployed, the credits will leverage more than $260 million of investments from the private sector, Gov. Doyle said. The second part of the act provides $2.6 million for technology commercialization grant and loan programs in order to create a network of assistance centers to support entrepreneurs. Also signed was Assembly Bill 859, which aims to restore Wisconsin's manufacturing sector. Gov. Doyle noted that the industry has lost more than 84,000 jobs in the last three years. Under the legislation, $1.5 million in funding will be allotted to manufacturing extension programs…

Alexandria, La. An Alexandria native is looking to give his city its first research park, according to the Daily Town Talk. Originally proposed in November 2002, developer Jeff Richardson's plan would combine city resources as well as those of Louisiana State University and Southern University. The plan's first phase would cost $1.1 million annually, employing 15 workers, as part of a U.S. Navy project. The second phase would average about $1.5 million annually and add 10-12 positions. Farmingdale, N.Y. Following several years of anticipation, supporters of the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park expansion at Farmingdale State University can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The park will add a second building to its campus, starting this August, with the $17.2 million it received from the State University Construction Fund earlier this month, Newsday recently reported. Approval for financing of the 50,000-square-foot addition was in the works since the first building opened in 2000. Of the 20 acres available, only six are presently used by the park. A third building that…