SSTI Digest

Georgia Tech and Emory University are investing more than $1 billion in artificial intelligence, with plans to expand computing power, prepare students for the workforce, and advance research in Georgia. The combined investment includes approximately $600 million from Emory and more than $575 million from Georgia Tech, according to the universities. 

The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center will accelerate brain cancer and neuro-oncology research through the new Jeff Schwarz Center for Neuro-Oncology Research, established with a $10 million gift. 

Once viewed primarily as an economic development issue, data center growth has emerged as a major policy platform in this year's gubernatorial contests, with candidates from both parties advancing policies that place varying limits and regulations on data center development. And as the November elections approach, candidates continue revise their data center positions.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded more than $30 million to Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Utah, and Vermont. The selected awardees and their funding amounts are: 

According to NSF and the SEMI Foundation, “By 2030, the United States is projected to face a shortfall of approximately 127,000 to 157,000 semiconductor and microelectronics workers.” In an effort to counteract the potential challenge to U.S. competitiveness, the foundation is serving as the Hub Operator for the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME) and recently announced the launch of the first four Regional Nodes of the NNME. Three of the four nodes are led by SSTI members: Boise State University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Arizona Commerce Authority. The fourth node is led by NY Creates. 

The momentum building in the 21 “Building Better Regions” (BBR) projects is growing, and RTI, the leader of the BBBRC Community of Practice, and SSTI are seeing positive impacts and approaches to collaborative regional innovation that could benefit other practitioners and TBED stakeholders if made aware of the success.

“Buckeye Bridge,” a new initiative between The Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College, will provide students with a tuition-free path to finish their bachelor’s degree. Low- to middle-income Ohioans who earn an associate degree from Columbus State will qualify for the new program at Ohio State, which will cover all tuition and mandatory fees.

The Feb. 7, 2025, memo from the NIH Office of the Director (NOT-OD-25-068), now on hold because of two federal judge actions, announced the implementation of a flat 15% Facilities and Administrative fee (F&A) “across all NIH grants.” While the historic average F&A, or indirect cost rate, paid for by NIH is between 27 and 28%, the memo stated, the agency has previously allowed private small businesses without a negotiated F&A rate to charge up to 40% on their SBIR/STTR awards without further justification, drastically lowering their administrative burdens. Thus, a flat 15% fee on F&A if ever implemented would likely lead to some hardship for the small businesses.

NOTE: The nation’s community of technology-based economic development organizations has entered annual report season, and already we've seen several released from SSTI members. All document the impact TBED can have for advancing research, moving it to market, and helping businesses improve their profitability and competitiveness.

To help the TBED community in preparing their own annual report, SSTI is speaking with a few of our members to learn more about their evolving approaches for preparing their annual reports. This week, we share insights from our first conversation, based on an interview with Amanda Schroeder, senior vice president, external engagement for the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA).

 

FYI This Week, a science policy newsletter from the American Institute of Physics, reported in their November 25 article Commerce aims to commit CHIPS money before Trump returns that “Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said … she is trying to allocate all the semiconductor manufacturing and research funds appropriated by the CHIPS and Science Act before President Joe Biden leaves office." Since Raimondo made that statement, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) has announced the following CHIPS and Science Act Awards:

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) recently awarded  $14.5 million in Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) grants for five projects. ARISE is ARC’s multi-state initiative that aims to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through collaborative projects.

After a busy election season that saw gubernatorial elections in 36 states, newly elected and re-elected governors delivered their annual State of the State addresses, kicking off new programs and reviewing the conditions of their states. SSTI reviews the speeches every year and covers news of new developments and initiatives the governors have highlighted as they relate to the innovation economy. New programs are laid out here in the governors own words as excerpts from their State of the State or budget addresses. Not all governors delivered a State of the State, and some that did may not have revealed new innovation-related initiatives and so are not included in our coverage. Common initiatives among the governors that touched on innovation included an emphasis on workforce, education and broadband; water issues for Western governors; and, clean energy.

The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) — a nonprofit working to grow Georgia’s economy through supporting research at state universities — recently announced that its portfolio of companies had raised more than over $2 billion in venture capital. These startups also had a high survival rate — 88% were still in business four years after launch, outpacing the national average of 44%. Along with this announcement, GRA released 2021 data on their economic impact on the state, demonstrating growth from the previous year.

GRA’s portfolio now contains 226 startups, up from 195 in 2020. Additionally, these companies currently employ 1,710 professionals, a 22% increase from 2020, generated over $153 million in revenue and attracted over $37 million in public and private grants in 2021.