The recipients of the 1997 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology were announced last week. The awards are described as the United States' equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
The sunset provision on Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers would be removed under authorizing language approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last week. The action came in authorization language for key U.S. Department of Commerce and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) programs.
In the April 18, 1997 edition of the SSTI Weekly Digest, we reported on Congressional earmarks for research projects involving specific universities. The totals for six states were incorrect and, as a result, the rankings for five states were also incorrect.
A demonstration program using federal loan guarantees to attract venture capital funds to rural areas is being created by the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). RBS is seeking public comment on the program by May 9.
Position descriptions for three new positions have been posted on the Institute's home page (http://www.ssti.org). The KPB Economic Development District in Alaska is seeking a Chief Executive Officer. The Associate Director position of Iowa State University's Center for Advanced Technology Development is open. Auburn University is accepting applications for the Associate Director of Industrial Programs and Technology Transfer position.
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently released its annual report on funding for university projects that Congress specifically directed federal agencies to support. The Chronicle reported that Congress earmarked at least $440 million for projects involving specific universities for FY1997. That is a 49 percent increase from FY1996 total of $296 million.
Dr. Paul S. Huyffer has been named Executive Director of the Vermont Technology Council and Special Assistant to the President of the University of Vermont for Economic Development. The Vermont Technology Council has been in existence since 1992 and has been responsible for the development of a science and technology plan for the state.
As part of a review of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) ordered by Commerce Secretary William Daley, public input is being sought on the operations and direction of the program. The outcome of the review is to be incorporated in the Department's recommendations to the Secretary on possible program modifications.
The House Committee on Science recently submitted its budget recom-endations to the House Budget Com-mittee. The recommendations call for a three percent total spending increase for federal research and development over FY 1997. The Administration's budget calls for a one percent increase for the civilian science and technology programs that are under the House Science Committee's jurisdiction. Those programs include NASA, FEMA, DOE, EPA, NOAA, NIST, and the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration.
A newly formed panel will work with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Department of Energy to provide recommendations on how to ensure the U.S. energy R&D program addresses the economic, environmental and national security needs of the nation for the next century.
Increasing spending on education and research and development (R&D) was cited as the best means for the federal government to increase the long-term economic growth rate of the country, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey of academic economists.
In what is touted as the first major national study of the economic impact of a research university, BankBoston recently reported on the economic impact of companies founded by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The report, MIT: The Impact of Innovation, "is a case study of the significant effect that research universities have on the economies of the nation and its 50 states."
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has released information on the status of Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) for fiscal years 1990 through 1996. The report, Update of Information on SBA's Small Business Investment Company Programs, provides data on the performance of the programs and related investment activities.
Pittsburg State University in Kansas is seeking a person to serve as the executive director of its Business & Technology Institute (BTI) and as Director of the Center for Design, Development, and Production. BTI is the primary economic development unit of the university. Its mission is to serve as interface between education, technology, business and industry by providing management, finance, and technological services. Review of applications will begin on April 28.
The Coopers & Lybrand Money Tree Report, reported on in the March 7 issue of the Digest, inadvertently omitted Ohio from its list of the top states receiving venture capital investments in 1996. The Survey should have ranked Ohio tenth with $279.0 million in investments. This revised information drops Virginia to 11th with $275.7 million, New Jersey to 12th with $264.3 million, and Tennessee to 13th with $261.5 million.
The present organizational structure for science and technology advice in the White House should be retained and its operations fine-tuned to better serve the needs of the President, according to recommendations of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government.
NASA selected the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to lead a consortium for its new National Space Biomedical Research Institute.
New York Governor George Pataki amended his proposed FY 1997-98 budget to restore funding for the state's technology programs. Pataki's revised budget calls for more than $20 million for technology programs, almost twice what was originally submitted to the legislature in January.
Results are in from a new nationwide survey of 2,000 manufacturing executives conducted by the National Association of Manufacturing (NAM). Nearly two-thirds of the respondents to the 1997 Survey on Economic Growth believe that a lack of skilled workers is hindering their ability to grow. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed report that a significant number of their entry level employees do not have the skills needed to help increase productivity and growth.
Nominations of individuals to serve on the Sea Grant Review panel are being solicited. The panel advises the National Sea Grant College Program on the operations of the program, including review of applications or proposals for grants and contracts and the designation and operation of sea grant colleges and sea grant regional consortia.
Arati Prabhakar, director of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), announced this week that she will be leaving NIST to become senior vice president and chief technology officer of the Raychem Corporation, Menlo Park, Calif.
Two recent reports indicate the amount of venture capital financing increased in 1996, although the two reports differ on the amount of financing and the most active investors. Both surveys agreed that California and Massachusetts were the lead states in attracting venture capital.
Price Waterhouse, in conjunction with the National Venture Capital Association, recently published the results of the 1996 National Venture Capital Survey. Venture capitalists reported investing $9.5 billion in 1996, a 25% increase over 1995.
In its annual Money Tree Survey of venture firms, Coopers & Lybrand, which also tracks venture capital activity, reported greater growth in 1996 than Price Waterhouse did. According to this survey, venture capital investment reached $10.1 billion in 1996. Surveyed venture firms participated in 2,163 deals during 1996. The average size of each financing rose in 1996 to $4.7 million, up from the $4.3 million average investment reported in 1995.
The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has concluded a year-long examination of the state's economy with a call for nine recommendations to be implemented.