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Give a star academic researcher a full year to reflect on what the world understands so far about regional innovation and city-region dynamics and to offer suggestions to guide future economic development initiatives to encourage growth and the results are valuable for both his homeland of Canada and its southern neighbor, the U.S. The Conference Board of Canada named University of Toronto professor David A. Wolfe its 2009 CIBC Scholar in Residence in May of 2008.

Providing access to startup capital, promoting biotechnology, and investing in the green economy to create and grow jobs are among the priorities of Gov. Pat Quinn's Illinois Economic Recovery Plan presented during a speech in December. The governor's plan would establish an Angel Investment Tax Credit program to allow investors making an early-stage investment in a technology startup to receive a capped credit against their Illinois tax bill.

High-tech manufacturers in Connecticut seeking to innovate and diversify their processes are eligible for grants of up to $25,000 each under a new pilot program announced last week by Gov. Jodi Rell. The goal of the Connecticut Small Business Innovation and Diversification Program is to help the state's small businesses develop, produce and commercialize new products while streamlining delivery of products and services, according to the governor's press office.

The Ohio Business Roundtable's independent assessment of the outcomes and impacts from the first $473 million invested from Ohio's Third Frontier (OTF) Program since its creation in 2003 shows the program providing an annualized return of 22 percent - and climbing. Presented to the Ohio Department of Development Dec. 8, the report reveals product sales of OTF-funded projects already equal $440 million alone, nearly matching the state's investment. An additional $3.2 billion of follow-on funding has been secured for OTF projects as well.

Three University of Idaho agricultural research and extension centers slated for possible closure this month due to budget cuts will remain open through June following monetary pledges from industry groups. Last week, the state Board of Education accepted a $1.5 million offer from the J.R. Simplot Co. allowing the Parma Extension and Research Center to remain open for the next five years in return for up to half of the center’s 100 acres of cropland and other facilities for the company’s own research, reports The Idaho Statesman.

Recent college graduates may be thinking otherwise as their unemployment rate is twice what it was two years ago, but &#quot;nearly 75 percent of future jobs will require a postsecondary degree or certificate,&#quot; according to Increasing College Success: A Road Map for Governors. The 14-page issue brief by the National Governors Association outlines four steps states can take to help improve the nation’s international ranking of 12th in college success rates.

Carl Bauer is retiring from federal service and leaving the National Energy Technology Laboratory effective Feb. 28, following a four-year tenure as the laboratory’s director.

Joining the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse as executives in residence are Maureen Peszko and Michael Lang. Pierre Queiroz de Oliveira will be joining the program as an executive associate.

Though broadband services will be available to almost 95 percent of U.S. households by 2014, many homes will still lack access to low-cost, high-speed options, according to a recent report commissioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Despite the projected increase in availability, the study finds that the rate of adoption and the availability of truly high-speed Internet services will be much lower. While upgrades to cable broadband networks and new wireless technologies will help provide new options, government involvement may be the only way to keep U.S.

Indiana University is launching a $10 million venture capital fund to invest in technology companies coming out of the university. Half of the fund will be dedicated to seed- and early-stage companies, while the other $5 million will support later-stage firms. Last month the university dedicated a new $10 million Innovation Center, which will work with the fund to support university-affiliated companies.  Read more at: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/12745.html

Indiana University is launching a $10 million venture capital fund to invest in technology companies coming out of the university. Half of the fund will be dedicated to seed- and early-stage companies, while the other $5 million will support later-stage firms. Last month the university dedicated a new $10 million Innovation Center, which will work with the fund to support university-affiliated companies.  Read more at: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/12745.html

The recent creation of the Energy Alliance of Southwestern Pennsylvania is intended to advance the energy-related economy of the Pittsburgh region by funding companies, coordinating projects, devising policies, and marketing the region's assets. While staff for the Energy Alliance will come primarily from the Allegheny Conference and Innovation Works, other partners of the effort include the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and various energy-related firms in the region.

Shortly after President Obama announced that the federal government would seek out new partnerships with private companies to improve science and technology education in the U.S., the Arizona Technology Council unveiled three new offerings for Arizona students. The group will collaborate with tech companies and nonprofits to hold a statewide science fair, to develop a four-year engineering curriculum for high school students and to create an online directory of STEM opportunities.

A bill being debated in Congress would provide federal support for the development of research parks, a major contributor to scientific discovery, technology commercialization and new company formation. S. 583, entitled the Building A Stronger America Act and introduced earlier this year, would make available grants and loan guarantees for the development and construction of science parks to promote the clustering of innovation through high technology activities.

Robert Fritzinger has been named the director of the new SUNY Fredonia Business Technology Incubator.

Ioanna Morfessis, a consultant from Phoenix, was unanimously appointed as the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation by the board of directors. Morfessis is expected to start work in January, and will serve as acting director until the Senate confirms her appointment.

President Barack Obama recently launched Educate to Innovate, a campaign to partner with nonprofits and private companies to encourage K-12 students to pursue careers in science and technology. Initial partners include the MacArthur Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Time Warner Cable, Xerox, Kodak and Discovery Communications. The campaign will focus on involving students in STEM education opportunities outside of school.

To foster strategic investments and policies in the knowledge and innovation economy, Gov. Bev Perdue recently signed an executive order establishing the North Carolina Innovation Council. The council is responsible for advising the governor on public and private investments and polices to promote innovation, move innovative ideas from the lab to the marketplace more efficiently, and strengthen collaboration among business, academia, and local government.

Entrepreneurial activity in the U.S. increased from 9.6 percent in 2007 to 10.8 percent in 2008, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2008 U.S. Entrepreneurial Assessment. Though the report found that fear of failure was on the rise among potential entrepreneurs, survey respondents indicated that they still believe there were ample opportunities for new businesses. Read the full report at: http://www.gemconsortium.org/article.aspx?id=131

The current downswing in the economy is impacting appropriation levels to public institutes of higher education, requiring universities and colleges to pursue both short-term and long-term solutions to improve their revenues. In a recent survey to its membership, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) found 85 percent of schools experienced a reduction this year in state appropriations compared to the previous year. For almost half of responding public universities, the cut exceeded 10 percent.

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Eric Abelquist has been named executive vice president of Oak Ridge Associated Universities and deputy director of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Arn Boezaart, who has been interim executive director of the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center the past six months, will take over the position permanently.

The Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently announced that they are restructuring the funding process for the broadband programs introduced in the Recovery Act earlier this year.

To attract additional federal funds and boost job creation, Michigan legislators passed a bill authorizing the state to spend another $30 million on a program to create alternative energy clusters and support technology commercialization.

A recent survey found 78 percent of Americans believe innovation will be more important to the U.S. economy in the next thirty years than the previous thirty years. While the importance of innovation is recognized, 81 percent of Americans believe the quality of K-12 math and science education lags behind other countries. The survey of 1,200 U.S. respondents, commissioned by the Intel Corporation and Newsweek magazine, found that 33 percent of Americans said the U.S.

Underrepresented minorities were awarded 79,097 bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering related fields in 2006, an 18 percent increase from 2002, according to data released this month by the National Science Foundation. In 2006, 14,099 S&E master’s degrees and 1,661 S&E doctoral degrees were awarded to underrepresented minorities, a 32 percent and 12 percent increase, respectively, compared to five years earlier.

The total number of international students at colleges and universities in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 school year, rising 8 percent from the previous year and representing the largest percentage increase in 28 years. The Institute of International Education (IIE) reports in its annual Open Doors report that 15.4 percent of international students in the U.S. came from India, 14.6 percent from China, and 11.2 percent from South Korea. A record number of U.S.