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Momentum Mississippi, the state’s public-private economic development strategy first funded with $28 million last summer, could see an additional $4 million for new TBED initiatives if the state legislature passes Gov. Haley Barbour’s recommendation during its next session. Gov. Barbour announced his plans during the annual board meeting of Momentum Mississippi, which was attended by more than 75 industrial, academic and civic leaders.

 

In late October, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order designed to stimulate the growth and utilization of broadband networks throughout the state of California. Some the major components of this initiative include:

$190 million? $200 million? $250 million? Each of these figures has been advanced in Maine to support three different approaches toward tech-based economic development. The bottom line for the 2007 legislative session is Maine’s elected leaders - from the governor and the state assembly - believe a sizable injection of public funding is required to accelerate research and technology commercialization in the Pine Tree State.

 

As Ohio's General Assembly is poised to vote this week on whether or not to join a multi-state/province compact to govern use of Great Lake waters, the Brookings Institution is recommending a similar regional approach for coping with the area's economic future.

The U.S. may lose its edge in advanced military technology if it does not increase national investment in basic defense research, according to a new report issue by the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation.

Arkansas Biotech Research Threatened With 20% Cut

Peter Abramo has been named executive director of Cameron University’s Center of Emerging Technologies and Entrepreneurial Studies, effective Aug. 30.

Peter Abramo has been named executive director of Cameron University’s Center of Emerging Technologies and Entrepreneurial Studies, effective Aug. 30.

Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich has appointed Robert Brennan to succeed Hans Mayer as executive director of the Maryland Economic Development Corporation. Mayer retired after holding the position for 17 years.

James Greenwood will take over as president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization from outgoing president, Carl Feldbaum. Congressman Greenwood has represented the Eighth Congressional District since 1993.

Florence Mendelson has resigned as president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Innovation Works. She will remain in her position through the end of the year, helping to identify her successor and implement plans for fiscal year 2005.

The Purdue Research Foundation has appointed Robert J. Wichlinski as executive director of the new Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana and Kathy DeGuilio-Fox as the center’s business development manager.

Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) has released its strategic investment plan for fiscal year 2006-07, which includes grants to support university research, new high-tech businesses, and K-12 STEM education. The investment strategy will guide SFAz’s grant award decisions during its first year of operations and represents a starting point for the organization, which hopes to develop the plan into a long-term strategy for economic development.

 

Governor Urges Pension Fund to Invest in Emerging Tech Companies

Starting in January, a new advisory council within the Texas Governor’s Office will begin work on a long-term strategy to bolster the state’s economic competitiveness. The Competitiveness Council will be charged with designing an overall framework for cooperation between public and private organizations involved in economic development. Gov. Rick Perry will appoint the group’s members by the end of the year.

 

The number of doctorates awarded in the U.S. within science and engineering (S&E) fields reached an all-time high in 2005, according to a recent National Science Foundation (NSF) issue brief. After the previous high of 27,273 S&E doctorates awarded in 1998, the number decreased for four years until 2002, and has steadily increased the past three years to the 2005 number of 27,974 Ph.D. graduates.

 

One out of four public, venture-backed companies started since 1990 were founded by entrepreneurs who immigrated to the U.S. before starting their company, according to a recent study commissioned by the National Venture Capital Association. Immigrant-founded companies are even more common within high-tech industries, where 40 percent of all new publicly traded firms in the past 16 years have had immigrant founders, including widely-acclaimed IT success stories like Google, Yahoo! and eBay.

Describing the impact of universities can be a vexing issue for both the higher education and TBED communities. Two recent reports, one by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) and the other by the Iowa Board of Regents, utilize different approaches to help communicate the importance of higher education institutions to a local economy.

 

One word sums up today's efforts to build tech-based economies: challenging. A restructuring manufacturing base, revolutionary scientific breakthroughs, China and Inda heralding a truly global economy, and tight budgets have left many states and communities simply reacting to change or waiting for better times.