The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced last month a partnership with the Loudoun County, Va., school district to donate $1 million per year to establish a biotech magnet program for area high school students.
Whether it is "pink slip parties" in San Diego, the Washington DC beltway, or Chicago to encourage networking and placement of laid-off information technology (IT) workers or Wall Street analysts lamenting the condition of the tech-related stocks, much of the talk in the IT hot spots of the U.S. has been doom and gloom. Many other areas of the country, though, whose economies do not have a preponderance of dot-com companies that went bust are still trying hard to educate and retain IT workers.
The latest Issue Brief from the National Science Foundation (NSF) shows research and development (R&D) expenditures remain heavily concentrated in a few states. Ten states -- California, New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Maryland -- account for nearly two-thirds of national R&D investments.
The Council on Competitiveness has received a $2.3 million federal grant to support the establishment of BEST, a new nonprofit organization designed to turn around the critical shortage of women and minorities in the high technology workforce. The National Science Foundation awarded the grant, which includes funds from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the U. S.
The state-by-state results for the 2000 SBIR Phase II awards are presented on the accompanying webpage — as reported individually by 9 of the 10 participating federal agencies and compiled by SSTI. NASA awards will not be made until this fall. Totals may not reflect new awards or cancellations made by an agency after the initial award announcements. Abstract information for funded SBIR projects may be obtained on each agency’s SBIR website or by calling the federal agencies directly.
President Bush is nominating Floyd Kvamme as co-chair of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST). Mr. Kvamme is a Partner with Kleiner Perkins, a high-tech venture capital firm based in California.
President Bush is nominating Floyd Kvamme as co-chair of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST). Mr. Kvamme is a Partner with Kleiner Perkins, a high-tech venture capital firm based in California.
The President is nominating Bruce P. Mehlman to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy. Mr. Mehlman has served as Telecommunications Policy Counsel for Cisco Systems since 1999. Before joining Cisco Systems he was General Counsel and Policy Director for the House Republican Conference and served as General Counsel for the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1996 to 1999.
For the Department of Agriculture, President Bush is nominating Iowa-resident Tom Dorr to be Under Secretary for Rural Development. The office oversees the USDA's economic development and digital divide programs. The President also intends to nominate Joseph J. Jen to be Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics.
The NIST Advanced Technology Program recently announced several staffing changes and additions:
The e-newsletter of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds, NASVF Net News, reports Sallie Traxler has become the Executive Director for the Council of Development Finance Agencies. Also, the e-newsletter reports Dan Loague has been promoted to the position of NASVF Executive Director.
Bill Borgmeyer has retired from his position as Coordinator of Technology Development for the Missouri Technology Corporation.
Oklahoma's Higher Education Day, when students and faculty are given the chance to discuss their concerns with the state legislature, recently provided a golden opportunity of sorts for Gov. Brad Henry. Held March 9 at the State House, the event enabled the governor to advocate support for a bond issue that would fund endowed chairs at Oklahoma's colleges and universities.
A new fund developed by the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) is expected to lead to greater commercialization of technologies in the northeast state. Created through a reserved proportion of MTI’s annual grantable funds, the Accelerated Commercialization Fund (ACF) will allow previously funded MTI companies the chance to achieve significant growth. To qualify for funding, companies must at a minimum demonstrate significant potential for financial and economic development returns.
Innovations in public and private institutions could be the key to aligning governance with opportunity, according to the Center for the Study of Rural America's latest annual report.
Looking to jumpstart the federal policy process regarding broadband Internet access, the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) has released A Nation of Laboratories, Broadband Experiments in The States, a report examining various broadband policies and programs nationwide.
For years, defining "high technology" and identifying industries that fit within that classification has been a difficult task loaded with political implications. AeA, for example, has used a definition of high tech in its publication Cyberstates that places heavy emphasis on information technology.
Few economic sectors have experienced the combined economic, technological, social, biological, and – now with threats of mad cow and foot-and-mouth diseases – medical pressures that confront American agriculture. Adding the challenges of competing in the knowledge-based economy presents a formidable task for rural regions.
Complementing California’s support for New Valley Connexion, described above, is the state’s $2 million Rural E-Commerce program. Administered by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation within the California Technology, Trade & Commerce Agency, Rural E-Commerce provides grants to non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and local governments for innovative, community-driven solutions to the telecommunications challenges faced by rural residents.
Eliminating all state taxes on long-term capital gains and providing incentives to encourage biotech start-ups and investment are among the recommendations advanced in The Competitive Edge: Rethinking Rhode Island Tax Policy for Success in the New Economy, the first report from the Tax Competitiveness Committee of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC).
With 26 percent more of its workforce involved in information technology (IT) than the national average and with IT-producing industries growing faster in the state than the national average, Connecticut has possibly felt the pinch of the IT worker shortage more than other parts of the country. Add to that the fact that the number of IT-related graduates from the state’s universities and community colleges declined during the late 1990s.
President Bush has announced several more nominations for key positions for the tech-based economic development community, including:
President Bush has announced several more nominations for key positions for the tech-based economic development community, including:
Roberto Salazar is leaving his post as the Director of the New Mexico Office of Science and Technology at the end of March to assume the position of State Director of the USDA's Rural Development Agency for New Mexico.
The SSTI Weekly Digest will be taking a brief spring break and will resume publication on Friday, April 6.