SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
Albany, New York
Health Reseach Inc., a branch of the New York State Department of Health, is looking to move its Pharmacogenomics Institute to a vacant laboratory in Rensselaer Technology Park, according to a recent article published in the Times Union. The 25,000-square-foot building that housed the Virogenics Corp., a vaccine-research company that left in 2000, has not been officially purchased. The state expects to lease the site when the Rensselaer County Industrial Development Agency closes on the purchase.
With a $25 million funding opportunity currently on the streets for manufacturing and infrastructure research projects, the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) has added three more locations and dates for proposers' conferences next week. The free public meetings will provide general information regarding TIP, guidance on preparing proposals, and the opportunity for questions and answers.
In 2006, three Arizona CEO groups joined forces to create Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz), a nonprofit public-private partnership charged with making strategic investments to support university research, new high-tech businesses, K-12 STEM education and to leverage outside investment. The state provided public support for these efforts through the 21st Century Fund, which in its first year included $35 million for SFAz's grant programs.
Last week the South Carolina Higher Education Study Committee, formed by the General Assembly in 2007, released its action plan to improve postsecondary education and economic opportunity within the state.
Karl Fooks, a past managing director for J.P. Morgan & Co. in Asia, is the new president of the Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation. Fooks replaces John Chock who retired last year.
Vermont Governor James Douglas has released a plan to spend some of the state's share of funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on building a stronger base for technology-based growth. The $17.1 million SmartVermont suite of proposals includes funding for technology company loans, lending to small businesses, seed capital for entrepreneurs and support for regional economic development projects.
The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) in the National Institute of Standards and Technology is using its FY09 award competition to support high-risk, high-reward research in civil infrastructure and manufacturing. The program has $25 million available to support as many as 25 new awards. TIP is open to individual small-sized or medium-sized businesses or to joint ventures that also may include institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations and national laboratories.
On March 30, the National Institutes of Health announced a new funding opportunity to use up to $100 million of Recovery Act funds to enable academic institutions "to hire, provide appropriate start-up packages, and develop pilot research projects for newly independent investigators, with the goal of augmenting and expanding the institution's community of multidisciplinary researchers focusing on areas of biomedical research relevant to NIH."
Make 2009 your organization's year to be recognized as a national leader in the TBED community!
Though angel investments dropped considerably in 2008, the total number of deals held steady, according to a year-end analysis released by the University of New Hampshire's Center for Venture Research (CVR). Total investments fell 26.2 percent from 2007 to $19.2 billion, while deals fell only 2.9 percent. Deal size, however, declined by 24 percent. CVR concludes that although the current economic climate has not reduced angel activity significantly, it has caused investors to scale back the size of their investments.
The following were named recipients of the 2005 National Medal of Technology:
The following were named recipients of the 2005 National Medal of Technology:
Gary Carter is stepping down as the executive director of the Tax Increment Financing Commission in Kansas City to become a senior vice president of Davenport One, a regional economic development agency in Davenport, Iowa.
Augustine Cheng was appointed managing director of Arizona Technology Enterprises.
Steve Gage announced he will retire as president of MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, effective July 13. Fatima Weathers will serve as acting president for the manufacturing advocate in Northeast Ohio, beginning July 16.
Craig Heim was named licensing manager for start-up companies at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Victor Hwang, the immediate past president of Larta Institute, has co-founded T2 Venture Capital.
Nick Sacia is the new executive director of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce in St. Augustine, Fla.
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.
Randy Weiss will serve as an entrepreneur-in-residence within the University of Iowa Research Foundation.
For many states facing a challenging budget year, level funding for science and technology is welcome news to the tech-based economic development (TBED) community. With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earlier this year, governors are seeking solutions to stimulate their respective states' economies through new and expanded programs within specific priority areas.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Treasury released the details of its plan to award $100 million in grants to community-based financial institutions. These funds, along with an additional $3 billion in tax credit authority, were allocated to Treasury programs by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) last month.
Utah's 2009 legislative session ended earlier this month with a significant boost in funding to the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) for recruiting science and technology researchers at the University of Utah and Utah State University.
TechConnect West Virginia (TechConnectWV) released a new plan on Monday to build a larger and more robust technology economy. The report, West Virginia Blueprint for Technology-Based Economic Development, proposes a four-part, general strategy for TBED and targets several key industries for development.