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Looking to launch a biotech initiative? Getting into commercializing university research? Are tight budgets leading to more rigorous program evaluation?

Bruce Mehlman, assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy in the Department of Commerce, will become the new executive director of the Computer Systems Policy Project on Dec. 1. Mehlman has run the Technology Administration's Office of Technology Policy since 2001.

Bruce Mehlman, assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy in the Department of Commerce, will become the new executive director of the Computer Systems Policy Project on Dec. 1. Mehlman has run the Technology Administration's Office of Technology Policy since 2001.

The Association of University Research Parks has recognized Sandia National Laboratories for the 2003 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award. Over the past five years, Sandia has participated in 183 new cooperative research and development agreements with industry partners to jointly develop technology that is incorporated into commercial products.

With a $310 million commitment passed by the state legislature and as much as $200 million in additional support from the county government, the California-based Scripps Research Institute has agreed to locate its first branch or satellite office in northwest Palm Beach County, Fla. In return for the financial support, Scripps is to work toward employing as many as 545 workers on the site by 2011.

Congratulations to Del Schuh and his staff at the Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corp. (BMT), honored as the Project of the Year in the Economic Development category from the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers. The award, BMT's second in as many years from the group, was for a program entitled, "Moving from Distress to Commerce through Collaboration."

James Souby, executive director of the Western Governors' Association for the past 13 years, is resigning to become president and CEO of a new private think tank.

120 Other Metro Areas included in Analysis for Northeast Ohio

As competition for leadership in stem cell research heats up across the nation, legal battles and the introduction of new legislation are becoming commonplace among many states. Following is a round-up of recent news on stem cell research legalities and legislation in several states.

One of the latest examples of the important role a foundation can play in tech-based economic development strategies comes from a recent $15 million donation to Tulsa University. The Chapman Trust, established after the deaths of Oklahoma oilman James Chapman and his wife Leta Chapman, made the donation to perpetually endow nine new junior faculty positions at the university.

The notion that, since a 2003 ruling, small businesses that are majority-owned by venture capital (VC) funds are being unfairly excluded from participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is inaccurate, according to a recent study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

$10M Donation Funds Johns Hopkins Biomed Facility, Research Park

Regional migration patterns between 2000 and 2004 revealed a continuing net average annual in-migration in the South and the West and a net average annual out-migration in the Midwest and the Northeast, according to the Census Bureau’s latest report. Domestic Net Migration in the United States: 2000 to 2004 details recent patterns of population redistribution throughout the U.S. and provides migration data from 1990-2000 to show a historical perspective in migration patterns.

Over the past six years, SSTI has dedicated a portion of the Digest to coverage on the legislative priorities of governors across the nation through the Tech Talkin' Govs series. As they say, talk is cheap. So this year, we are extending that coverage to track how the Governors' proposals fared in the respective legislative sessions.

It could be frustration at the lack of action by the federal government, displeasure with the direction of national policy or a sense of urgency and need, but states are increasingly taking matters into their own hands when it comes to many major issues. Examples abound, including states taking the lead on dealing with global warming, energy policy, health care, food quality assurance, stem cell research, broadband coverage and even foreign trade. Washington Gov.

Successful companies are forced to change business strategies as market realities shift. It happens all of the time. Browse the business section of your local bookstore and you'll see dozens of titles preaching the need for companies to adopt, adapt and innovate. The continuing restructuring of the U.S. durable manufacturing sector, as alluded to in the Useful Stats piece below, is a vivid example of the importance of abandoning old mindsets for industry: change or die.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently published its 2005 estimates of state personal income. According to the release, growth in U.S. per capita income slowed in 2005 increasing 4.6 percent in 2005, down from 5 percent growth in 2004. Regionally, the most significant increases in per capita income accompanied faster population growth, occurring in the Southwest states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and the Rocky Mountain states of Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

We're not sure how useful these stats really are, but given the political proclivity of so many of our readers and the upcoming gubernatorial elections this fall in 36 states, we thought we'd share a link from SurveyUSA.com presenting the current approval ratings for all 50 governors.

Indiana Governor Joe Kernan has nominated Katherine Lyon Davis to serve as Lieutenant Governor. Among her past positions, Davis served as manager of Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund in 1999.

Julian Manly Earls is the new director of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Bill Shipp, president of Bechtel BWXT Idaho and lab director of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, is retiring effective Oct. 25. Paul Divjak will be his replacement.

Team Northeast Ohio has picked Texan Robert Farley for its first executive director.

Holmes Foster, chairman of the Iowa Values Fund, has announced his resignation.

Tony Jeff has been selected to serve as executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appointed Kathy Kottarodis to serve as the state’s first small business advocate. Kottarodis had been director of small business and entrepreneurship within the state’s office of business and technology.