The Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), housed at the U.S. Department of Energy, has released a Request for Information (RFI) to assist the development of its future funding opportunities and initiatives. Public and stakeholder ideas are needed in two categories:
Once again, SSTI's annual conference continues to be the most affordable professional development event of the year for the state, local, and university-based TBED community. Early registration discounts, which knock off $100 from the lowest prices already in the field, will expire Sept 29. Make the smart investment for your TBED program and your career by registering today. More information, including a registration form, is available at: http://www.ssticonference.org
The United States Army has unveiled a new competition to foster the development of software and services that will be of use to the military. Apps for the Army would help speed the development process for Defense IT projects by providing an incentive for the military community to participate in creating innovative applications. Officials say that the program will help tap into the work already being done by military personnel to design software that is tailored to the demands of the battlefield.
President Obama has named Ron Bloom as the administration's senior counselor for manufacturing policy. Since, February, Bloom has been a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and he sits on the president's automotive industry task force.
Often overshadowed in the media by state budget deficit reporting, city fiscal conditions are rapidly declining and expected to worsen through 2010 and beyond, finds the National League of Cities (NLC) annual survey. Additionally, pessimism about the ability to meet city fiscal needs is at its highest level in the history of NLC's 24-year survey on city fiscal conditions.
Tom Ballard was named director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Partnerships Directorate, formerly known as Technology Transfer and Economic Development. Ballard had been serving as the organization's interim director since August 2007.
The Howard County Economic Development Authority appointed Larry Collins as a new technology manager and as executive director of the new Howard Technology Council.
Tom Ballard was named director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Partnerships Directorate, formerly known as Technology Transfer and Economic Development. Ballard had been serving as the organization's interim director since August 2007.
The Howard County Economic Development Authority appointed Larry Collins as a new technology manager and as executive director of the new Howard Technology Council.
The Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest hired Diane Durance as its new executive director, succeeding Art DeMonte, now a full-time business consultant. Durance formerly was president of the Ann Arbor IT Zone.
William "Chip" Farmer was named interim director of the Greater Richmond Technology Council. Farmer replaces Robert Stolle, who left in December 2007 to join Core Consulting, a business and information technology consulting firm.
The Indiana Business Incubator Society announced its plans to become a formal organization.
The Illinois Technology Development Alliance (ITDA) this week promoted John Noel to become ITDA's permanent president. Noel had been serving as interim president over the past 15 months.
Lisa Porter was named the first director of the new Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. Porter, NASA's associate administrator of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, said she will leave the agency in February.
Karen Sievewright is the new director of research and analysis at the Toronto Region Research Alliance. Sievewright replaces George Tolomiczenko, who left to become the executive director of research and scientific liaison at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada.
Brenda Wyland will join the Research & Technology Park Inc. at North Dakota State University as the incubator manager, effective Feb. 1, 2008.
A complete description of this opportunity is available at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
This week's Digest covers two new independent reports that separately assess two critical aspects to how well nations are prepared for the economic recovery: competitiveness and educational attainment. The news, obvious in our choice of headlines, may suggest the past year - actually several years - has not been kind to the United States relative to other nations. Reading the articles one will see, however, that it isn't time that is working against the U.S.
In the nation with the greatest difference in lifetime incomes between those people with college degrees and those without, it may be surprising to learn the U.S. ranking for college graduation rates has fallen from 1st in 1995 to 14th in 2007. The finding is included in Education at a Glance 2009, an indicator report looking at countries who belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The United States fell from its position as the most competitive national economy according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) recently released annual Global Competitiveness Report. Switzerland took the top spot as the U.S. fell to a close second place in the weighted ranking system. The report attributed the switch in positions to a number of growing weaknesses that have plagued the U.S. over the past year, while the Swiss economy remained relatively stable. Though the U.S.
As economists and policymakers debate the details of how and when the nation will recover from the recession, the topic of entrepreneurship and the role it will play in shaping the new economy continually arises. In the coming years, some analysts predict a rise in entrepreneurship both as a result of massive layoffs and an aging workforce not yet ready or able to retire.
Yes, it could happen. Bid packets are available today. Your organization could host SSTI's 14th annual conference during the fall of 2010. More than 350 of the nation's greatest thinkers and practitioners for building tech-based economies could descend on YOUR city.
Offering some good news for universities and companies looking for funding, the National Science Board (NSB) has recommended the elimination of any evidence of voluntary cost share from most grant proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF). However, the board recommended mandatory cost matching should be reinstated in a handful of initiatives, including its Engineering Research Centers (ERC) program, its Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) program, and its EPSCoR program.
Much emphasis has been placed on the importance of green jobs in the next economy as the nation continues to shed jobs in traditional industries. Creating these specialized jobs is a major priority for states across the nation that will compete for renewable energy industries. Two recent announcements in California and Michigan illustrate efforts underway to recruit and prepare a workforce capable of meeting critical industry needs.
SSTI believes conference sponsors deserve to stand out to attendees so exhibits are placed prominently in a highly-visible location. Only our exhibit and host partners are provided with the opportunity to exhibit.
The newly-created Clean Energy Leadership Council, convened by the Washington governor's office and a state-wide public-private clean energy alliance, held its first meeting. The council will deliver a clean energy strategy and recommendations by December 1, 2010.