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Earlier this year, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and the Arizona State Legislature committed $100 million over four years to support Science Foundation Arizona, a nonprofit public-private partnership to coordinate the state’s R&D investments in science and technology. The catch? The law required a dollar-to-dollar match of non-government funding of the annual $25 million allotment before the state could release its funding to Science Foundation Arizona.

 

The initial $35 million appropriation for 2007 did not come with the restriction. Science Foundation Arizona allocated $30 million of that funding to 55 recipients for projects ranging from improving science and math education to commercializing new research discoveries.

 

The first funds to be affected by the tight purse strings are for fiscal year 2008, which potentially created a sizable hurdle for developing and sustaining a long-term S&T investment strategy for the organization and state.

 

In steps the Stardust Charitable Fund with a $25 million check to cover the FY 2008 obligation. The Stardust Charitable Fund, a foundation established by the Scottsdale-based real estate developer Stardust Companies, provided Science Foundation Arizona a $2.5 million grant earlier this year. Prior to the $25 million contribution, Stardust had donated approximately $10 million in the areas of science, research, engineering and innovation as part of its Discovery and Innovation Initiative.

 

More information is available at www.sfaz.org.

Over the past few months, several new research park announcements have been made, including a $2.5 billion public-private investment in Kentucky. Gov. Ernie Fletcher last month announced plans for the expansion of the Louisville Health Sciences Campus. The project will encompass the 30-block radius that houses the Louisville health sciences campus. A current U of L parking lot, known as the Haymarket property, will be converted into a 700,000-square-foot state-of-the-art laboratory and office space.

 

The project is being financed through a proposed tax increment finance (TIF) in which a portion of the tax revenue generated by the 20-year capital investment – about $300 million – is captured for reinvestment in the development. The TIF increment is expected to be enough to complete construction of the research park and many components of the U of L Health Sciences Master Plan, according to the governor’s office. Officials hope to begin initial investment and construction soon after the anticipated approval by the state’s TIF Commission.

 

New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Arrowhead Center recently struck a deal with a private company to begin construction on the research park announced in January. Development on the first 11 acres of land will be completed in two phases with up to seven buildings and 120,000-square-feet of office and laboratory space for businesses that partner with NMSU. The research park is a public-private partnership, and the development company has agreed to donate 5 percent of the net proceeds of the development of the NMSU College of Business for an entrepreneurship program.

 

The Purdue Research Foundation announced the creation of a new technology park to help high-tech entrepreneurs create new businesses and promote the expansion of existing companies. The new Purdue Accelerator Park is the fourth technology park owned and operated by the Purdue Research Foundation and will accommodate up to 75 businesses and create 1,500 jobs with an average annual salary of $54,000, according to Purdue University. The accelerator park will include a 100,000-square-foot industrial flex building and a 50,000-square-foot multi-story office building.

 

Last month, the Economic Development Administration awarded a $100,000 grant to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to fund the Research Park business plan. The grant will supply a portion of the funds needed to create a research park targeting and promoting new industries to meet the need for new jobs.

 

A new life science based campus is scheduled to open this month in Worcester, Mass. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Worcester Business Development Corporation will open an 11-acre mixed use complex called Gateway Park to serve as a stimulus for economic development and a catalyst for life science cluster expansion in the region and throughout the state, according to WPI. Gateway Park will feature 750,000-square-feet of R&D and office space geared toward the life sciences.

 

Kent State University announced plans to develop a research park to house high-tech business accelerators. The Kent State Centennial Research Park is located in the former 10-acre bus garage on the Kent State Campus. The initial phase of the project is funded by a portion of the Ohio Third Frontier Commercialization Project for the Flexible Liquid Crystal Film Manufacturing Alliance. The alliance is supported by an additional $8 million in matching funds from the collaborators. 

 

The University of North Dakota (UND) Research Foundation broke ground last month on a $14 million Center of Excellence in Life Science and Advanced Technology facility at the new Research Enterprise and Commercialization Park. The 50,000-square-foot facility will house UND research ventures partnered with outside companies and corporations. Gov. John Hoeven presented a $3.5 million check to UND for the facility in December as part of the state’s Centers of Excellence program. Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration boosted the effort, providing an additional $1.5 million for the facility.

 

A formal agreement was reached between the University of Arizona (UA) and builder, KB Home, on a land transaction that will swap 124 acres at the UA Science and Technology Park for about 65 acres that will serve as the future site of the Arizona Bioscience Park. Development for the Bioscience Park is expected to begin in 2008 and will consist of nearly 3 million sq. ft. of office, laboratory, educational and residential facilities. The Bioscience Park is designed to provide the facilities and infrastructure required by start-up and mature biotech companies, according to UA. 

 

Green County Industrial Development Agency, located in Coxsackie, N.Y., is partnering with Galesi Management Corporation and IDC Architects to develop a 60,000-square-foot mixed-use technology space at the Greene Business & Technology Park. The space will include all levels of clean room specifications for semiconductor and nanotechnology firms.

 

With a $70 million investment from the state and contributions from numerous public and private entities, South Carolina’s Innovista Research Park represents a $250 million total investment that is designed to raise the state’s per capita income level. Located at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, the first phase, Horizon Center and Discovery Plaza, will house university researchers and is expected to be completed in 2008. Horizon Center features 125,000 sq. ft. with dry and wet lab space. Discovery Plaza will consist of university wet lab research space with a privately developed building for private-partner companies.

California

California lawmakers reached a budget agreement last week, preserving brief funding for an initiative aimed at supporting high-tech research and innovation. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled the $95 million Research and Innovation Initiative in January to provide funding to several university-based projects focused on clean energy, biotechnology and nanotechnology research and commercialization (see the Jan. 8, 2007 issue of the Digest).

 

The fiscal year 2007-08 state budget includes $70 million in lease revenue bond funding for the Energy Biosciences Institute and the Helios Project at the University of California (UC). UC Berkeley will receive $40 million for the Energy Biosciences Institute to focus on the development of alternative fuel, and $30 million is allocated for the Helios Project, an initiative by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to create sustainable, carbon neutral sources of energy. Lawmakers also approved $6 million for UC labor research programs.

 

Not included in the budget is $15 million in operating funds for the California Institutes for Science and Innovation. UC officials hope to re-engage policymakers on the subject in the future, according to a press release from the UC Office of the President.

 

The FY 2007-08 Enacted Budget is available at: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/

 

Illinois

Following a volatile legislative session in Illinois between Gov. Rod Blagojevich and lawmakers, a budget agreement was reached, but it does not include funding for several of the governor’s priorities, including a $100 million state-run venture capital fund. Gov. Blagojevich signed the FY08 budget last week, vetoing approximately $500 million.

 

Gov. Blagojevich proposed the creation of the Illinois Community Assets Fund during his combined State-of-the-State and Budget Address in March to increase access to capital and financing to economically distressed communities and populations (see the March 12, 2007 issue of the Digest).

 

Lawmakers also left out the governor’s recommendation of $20 million in grants to the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute for stem cell research.

 

The FY08 budget includes funding for existing programs within the Department of Community and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), including $5.5 million for the Community Technology Center Grant Program, $5 million for the Entrepreneurship Center Program, and $2 million for the Manufacturing Extension Program.

 

Among the governor's line item vetoes were $1 million for the Innovation Challenge Grant program, $1 million for the Entrepreneur in Residence Program, and $750,000 for a grant to the University of Illinois for Illinois VENTURES.

 

The FY08 budget is available at: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=095-0348

Jerome Mahone is the new director of Venture Creations, a business incubator at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Paul Tonko was elected as president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Tonko replaces Peter Smith, whose resignation is effective at the end of June.

Augustine Cheng was appointed managing director of Arizona Technology Enterprises.

William Archey, CEO of AeA, announced he will retire in 2008.

Deal’s Impact on Texas Operations Remains Unclear

If you follow college sports, you know all how strong rivalries can be between certain schools. Bragging rights after a football game spill over into competitions over everything. Those that cross neighboring state borders seem to have even more edge sometimes.

 

Follow the semiconductor industry for long and you will find similar rivalries arising between two states whose capitals are 1,575 miles apart: New York and Texas. Both states’ capitals – Albany and Austin – want to be the global center for nanoelectronics.

 

The trophy is SEMATECH, the semiconductor industry’s research consortium. The consortium is a research partnership that includes the largest commercial producers and consumers of semiconductors, comprising more than 50 percent of the world's microchip market.

 

The New York and Texas state governments have demonstrated over the years that they are willing to pay handsomely for that trophy, too.

 

News last week broke that New York may have pulled a coup – stealing SEMATECH’s headquarters from Austin. The truth appears to be a little less clear at this point.

 

SEMATECH has reached a preliminary deal with the state of New York to begin a $600 million expansion of the semiconductor development consortium's research presence in Albany. The expanded facilities at the University of Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering will become the new headquarters for International SEMATECH, a subsidiary arm that specializes in nanoelectronics and advanced microchip manufacturing. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced that the state will contribute $300 million over the next five years to match a $300 million commitment by the consortium.

 

The state funding will be used to build the advanced infrastructure and equipment needed at the Albany campus and to support five advanced manufacturing research centers at universities around the state.

 

According to the Austin American-Statesman, last week’s announcement came as a surprise to many in Austin, where SEMATECH began its operations in 1988 after orchestrating a multi-state competition usually reserved for large industrial plants that promise to employ thousands. The Texas bid was reported to be in the neighborhood of $485 million, a recent Albany Times-Union article states.

 

Over the last 20 years, SEMATECH has played a major role in establishing Austin as a hotspot for semiconductor research and manufacturing. The consortium also is a key partner in a number of the state’s advanced manufacturing partnerships and initiatives, including the Texas Alliance for Nanotechnology and the Texas Technology Initiative.

 

The first hint of a shift to New York appeared in 2002, when SEMATECH established a research presence in Albany after receiving a $150-200 million incentive package from the state of New York (see July 19, 2002 issue of the Digest).

 

SEMATECH North became the consortium's first research center outside of Austin, which led to a bidding war between New York and Texas over which state would host the SEMATECH headquarters. In 2003, Texas Gov. Rick Perry managed to entice the consortium into pledging to maintain its headquarters in Austin with a $40 million grant through the state's newly created Enterprise Fund (see “Chip Wars, Part II” in the July 18, 2003 Digest).

 

According to press releases and media coverage, SEMATECH will maintain its current research presence in Austin, including the consortium's headquarters and existing research subsidiaries; however, the Albany facility is expected to overtake Austin as the largest research location for the consortium and host International SEMATECH’s headquarters, a subsidiary of the original SEMATECH. The Albany Times-Union reports that the operating budget for International SEMATECH will be at least $130 million, more than four times the Austin SEMATECH budget. SEMATECH also plans to increase its number of Albany employees from 250 to 700 over the next three years.

 

Round three of the battle appears to belong to New York but the long-term impact on the Austin operations and SEMATECH’s research investment with Texas universities remains unsettled.

 

Read Gov. Eliot Spitzer's announcement about the SEMATECH agreement at: http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/0509074.html

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council has named Robert Hooley as vice president of emerging technology.

While the Tucson area is growing rapidly, surpassing one million residents last fall, regional economic development officials are concerned about personal income levels keeping pace with the growth. They argue that a highly-skilled and educated workforce within existing and emerging clusters is imperative to raise per capita personal income and to improve the region’s economic growth along with its burgeoning population.

 

Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO) recently released an Economic Blueprint that identifies five major focus areas and outlines an action plan utilizing a cluster development strategy for sustained growth and a competitive state economy. These areas include:

Jeffrey Corcoran has been named director of the new SUNY Fredonia High Technology Incubator in Dunkirk, N.Y.

The Center for Economic Growth has selected F. Michael Tucker as its new president and CEO. Tucker replaces Kelly Lovell, who left the position in December to become president and CEO of International Business Development Group.