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The importance states are placing on the biosciences to fuel future economic growth is clearly evident in a monumental study released today at the annual international convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Laboratories of Innovation: State Bioscience Initiatives 2004 is the most comprehensive analysis ever done to quantify the scope and impact of bioscience employment in all 50 states.

Only a handful of metropolitan areas have the critical mass necessary to ensure sustainability of their local biotech communities, according to America’s Biotech and Life Science Clusters, a new study from the Milken Institute. At the top of the list is San Diego, followed closely by Boston and the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metro area. Only another nine are in the running, the report contends.

Anxiety over offshoring is an increasingly prevalent issue among Americans and a hot button issue for the upcoming presidential election. With concerns looming from all sectors, it can be difficult to assess which ones hold the most validity. According to a new report from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), the real threat to offshoring is it could alter the occupational distribution of the economy and, particularly, squeeze the middle class.

While the federal government supports fuel cell research, nearly every state across the country has taken a more active role in advancing the development and commercialization of fuel cell and renewable energy technologies, according to two recent reports from the North Carolina State University Solar Center. A web-based directory of more than 875 state and federal initiatives managed by the center helps prove that point.

Overall retention rates for female engineering graduates has remained steady over the last few years, and according to the latest survey from the American Society for Engineering Education, a significant percentage of women are focusing on the less traditional fields of engineering.

To commemorate its 75th Anniversary, the Kellogg Foundation along with the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) is funding a project to foster entrepreneurship across rural regions of the country.

Washington has the second highest employment growth rate in the U.S., according to the 2001 Index of Innovation and Technology for Washington — a report released by the Washington Technology Center. The state's 33 percent increase in employment growth rate over the last five years allowed it to move up four positions, second only to Utah. 

On Tuesday, President Bush announced the nomination of Phillip Bond to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology. The position oversees the Technology Administration which includes the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), the Office of Technology Policy, and the National Technical Information Service. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program are part of NIST. 

The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) received unanimous endorsement by four federal agencies during a recent House committee hearing, although two federal witnesses emphasized the Administration’s opposition to expanding the program. Language to gradually double the size of STTR, which supports small business-university research projects that could lead to commercializable technologies, is included in S. 856, the reauthorization bill working its way through Congress. 

On June 25, President Bush named John H. Marburger, III, as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

After nearly two years of discussion between the state legislature and the Governor’s office, Pennsylvania has enacted a plan for its $11 billion share of the national tobacco settlement. The final plan includes $160 million in one-time outlays for research and commercialization of life science technologies and a formula ensuring research gets nearly one-fifth of the total money received over the 25-year span of the settlement agreement.



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To strengthen Maine’s ability to compete in a knowledge-based economy, Governor Angus King proposed last year that the state create a $65 million endowment that would annually purchase and place a laptop in the hands of every seventh grade student in the state. A one-time $50 million state appropriation was to be matched by $15 million in private contributions. Interest off the endowment would have allowed every 7th-12th grader to own a laptop PC by 2007.

Representing ten percent of U.S. manufacturers and accounting for the largest trade surpluses of the non-defense sectors, the chemical industry remains an important contributor to the U.S. economy. Despite substantial growth in R&D investments by chemical companies during the past decade – R&D investment as a percentage of sales grew from 2.47 percent in 1980 to 4.70 percent in 1999 – the industry remains below the national average for several indicators of R&D expenditures.

Atlanta, Georgia

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on June 20 that the 

Comment Period on the Policy Directive Extended In response to Congressional requests, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has reopened the comment period on the draft policy directive to guide agencies’ administration of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. Interested parties may now submit their comments to the SBA Office of Technology through July 23, 2001.

The Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce is accepting nominations for the National Medal of Technology program. The Medal, established by Congress in 1980 as part of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act, is presented annually by the President as the highest honor for technological achievement.

58 Inventions Also Offered by Health, Navy

The latest semi-annual state fiscal survey, released jointly this week by the National Association of State Budget Officers and the National Governors' Association, reconfirms the increasing pressure on state coffers found six months ago. Slowing revenues and increasing Medicare and health care costs have resulted in 16 states reducing expenditures in the current fiscal year by $1.6 billion. Eleven states also are reducing their FY 2002 revenue projections.

With the establishment of a $1 million trust fund to serve as seed money, the new Oklahoma Institute of Technology intends to position the state as a national leader in information technology, engineering, and biotechnology. Governor Frank Keating signed Senate Bill 694 into law June 8, creating the public-private collaboration. Tulsa World news reports indicate supporters of the institute anticipate raising a $100 million endowment for the project and securing additional state support.

Editor’s Note: Results of the 2000 Census indicate that the U.S. population is aging. The median age, at 35.3 years, is the highest ever, and those 62 years and older total almost 10 percent more than they did in 1990. In every state except West Virginia, the census shows an increase of at least 20 percent in the 35 to 54 age group. Twenty-seven states saw a more than 30 percent increase in that age cohort.