In his recent State of the State address, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson called for the establishment of a new High Tech Corporation to assist in the development of companies for the New Economy. Toward that end, a bill has been introduced in both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature to establish the corporation.
This past winter, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released most of the statistical tables compiled from the 1998 surveys of federal, academic and industrial research and development expenditures. Also included are early release tables presenting federal support for science and engineering to universities, colleges and nonprofit institutions.
At its winter meeting last week, the National Governors' Association (NGA) launched a new initiative to explore how states can meet the challenges of governing in the New Economy. During the next six months, NGA's Center for Best Practices will release a series of papers that focus on seven different aspects of the New Economy.
The State of Maine’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Committee seeks a Statewide EPSCoR Director to coordinate and facilitate the activities of the State’s EPSCoR Steering Committee, called the Research Capacity Committee (RCC). A three-person management team consisting of the Chancellor of the University of Maine System (UMS), the President of the Maine Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF), and the Chair of the RCC appoint the Director and oversee the Director’s activities.
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Earlier this month, Governor Ben Cayetano released The New Millenium Growth Strategy for Hawaii's Economy, an economic development plan to improve the state's performance in a knowledge-based economy. The 90-page report, penned by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, includes several new initiatives for developing and growing technology businesses as well as strengthening existing economic development efforts.
Efforts to transform rural Berkshire County, Massachusetts from an area of economic decline into an equal player for the New Economy through improved telecommunications access are bearing fruit. Berkshire Connect, a consortium of business, cultural, academic, and community leaders has successfully negotiated an agreement with Global Crossing, Ltd. and Equal Access Networks to provide low-cost, equal access telecommunications throughout the region.
The Army Medical Research and Materiel Command has recently posted in the Commerce Business Daily the following solicitations for research proposals:
Cliff Numark has been named CEO for the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance, filling the position vacated by Joe Raguso when he became Deputy Secretary in the California Department of Trade and Commerce.
Mike Wojcicki, chief operating officer and vice president of research at KTEC, has been named President of the Modernization Forum (ModForum) in Livonia, Michigan
Nola Miyasaki is serving as Acting Executive Director and CEO of the Hawaii High Technology Development Corp
Dan Hill, Assistant Administrator responsible for SBIR activities in the SBA, is leaving to work on international trade issues in the Department of Commerce.
Jack MacLennan, Manager of the Office of Business Technology and Competitiveness within the Illinois Department of Commerce & Community Affairs, has announced he will be leaving state government at the end of February.
The following agencies have advertised government-owned inventions and software available for licensing: the Department of Energy (2), the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Navy (2). Descriptions of each offering are available on the accompanying web page: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/022500t.htm
As part of his FY 2001 budget request, Illinois Governor George Ryan announced a five-year, $1.9 billion package of technology-related initiatives intended to put Illinois in a leadership position among states in science and technology. Illinois VentureTech includes several education and computer technology acquisition programs and the following S&T and research-related initiatives:
The most recent PricewaterhouseCoopers Moneytree™ survey reported $35.6 billion in venture capital investments were made in 1999 – 150% higher than the record survey results collected in 1998. In fact, at $14.69 billion, fourth quarter 1999 investments alone surpassed the survey results for all of 1998.
Kentucky Governor Paul Patton and House Speaker Jody Richardson have announced a new technology bill to help Kentucky develop an innovation-driven economy. House Bill 572, the Kentucky Innovation Act, is a result of the Science and Technology Strategy designed by the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation in August, 1999 (see September 3, 1999 SSTI Weekly Digest (http://www.ssti.org/Digest/1999/090399.htm).
The Department of Energy has announced the selection of 32 grants under National Industrial Competitiveness Through Energy, Environment, and Economics Program (NICE3) and Inventions and Innovations Program (I&I). NICE3 grants support projects for commercial demonstration of innovative industrial technologies that reduce energy consumption, waste production, and operating costs. Eight NICE3 projects will share $3.8 million from DOE; industry will contribute $6.4 million in match.
On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act (NITRD), nearly doubling federal information technology (IT) research over the next five years. Introduced by House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., (R-WI), H.R. 2086 focuses federal IT resources towards fundamental basic research and establishes the National Science Foundation (NSF) as the lead agency for federal civilian IT programs.
The Clinton Administration’s final budget request calls for substantial increases in most civilian R&D areas. Overall, civilian R&D would see a six percent increase totaling $2.5 billion and would surpass military R&D spending, which, at $42 billion, essentially would be held level with FY 2000 appropriations.
The overall FY2001 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture reflects a decrease of more than 9% over FY2000. For several research and economic development programs, the Administration is requesting the opportunity to use funds appropriated in previous years but blocked from use by Congressional appropriations language in 1999 and 2000. Selected agency program highlights include:
Several Clinton Administration programs in the Department of Commerce are perennial budget battles, and this year is likely to be no exception. Selected program highlights include: