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An initiative aimed at creating 2,500 new jobs throughout New Hampshire will offer low-interest loans to companies who commit to creating new jobs or expanding their current employment base in the state.

Gov. Sonny Perdue recently announced the creation of the state's fourth Center of Innovation. Located in Augusta, the Life Sciences Innovation Center (LSIC) will assist with business incubation and securing matching grants for applied R&D with industry partners through the Georgia Research Alliance.

While wider market opportunities have led to increased exporting and lower costs for business operations in some Minnesota companies, others are facing difficult operational challenges as a result of the rapid integration of global business practices, according to a new Issue Brief from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and Minnesota Technology, Inc.

The same benefits of higher education to society and individuals found on a national level also are evident at the individual state level and need to be taken into account in state policy discussions, including those on state funding, says a new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).

Funding research and development (R&D) is risky business. Using the popular baseball analogies, venture capitalists count on one home run to make up for all of the strikeouts and pop flies. Public support for R&D in private firms, then, could be considered a gamble if policymakers are not patient or understanding of that risk. These programs also must be well managed, with an eye on the market or business aspect of any resulting technologies, to minimize the public's risk.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) data on the top 100 cities for NIH awards in FY 2003 indicates Boston reasserted its leadership over New York for the top spot by increasing its spread by $401 million. Philadelphia and Baltimore remain in third and fourth place for the second year.

The University of Toledo and its partners are seeking a director for the Toledo Science and Technology Corridor. The Corridor is an initiative to enhance the region's innovation-based economy through investments that promote linkages and collaboration among academic institutions, business industries and government entities.

Dramatic increases in research and development (R&D) investments during the past decade, largely from industry, have contributed to U.S. standing as a global economic power, according to Science and Engineering Indicators 2002, a biennial report of the National Science Board. The U.S. had $244.1 billion in R&D investments in 1999, an increase of nearly $33 billion from 1997, the report shows. In addition, the U.S.

Defense Concedes: Will Honor 2.5% Set Aside

Two recent studies on Internet usage in Maryland and Maine offer detailed maps of broadband infrastructure. The studies offer some insights on how businesses and, in the case of Maryland, private citizens are accessing the Internet. Specific findings are not presented below; however, each of the studies are available in their entirety via the links that follow the respective summaries.

The National Science Foundation reports the number of doctorate awards from U.S. universities in physics, after hitting a record high in 1994, fell 22 percent by the year 2000. Doctorates in engineering declined 15 percent by the year 2000 from the 1996 peak.

With a large land mass and a population surpassing the 21 least populated states and the District of Columbia combined, California has scores of public programs and nonprofit organizations dedicated to encouraging technology-based economic development on the state, regional, local and sub-local levels. Best practices in the field, then, could have applications in a number of other states and communities.

Alaska

With technology's pervasiveness and important role in most aspects of the policy agenda before Congress, the need for accurate, nonpartisan information on technology may never have been greater. Two approaches to meeting the need were the topic of Technology Assessment: Identifying the Needs of Congress, a recent forum co-hosted by ASME International and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Industrial R&D intensity, or measuring industrial research and development expenditures as a proportion of Gross State Product, is just one method to standardize the data for comparison across states (see the April 12, 2002 edition of the SSTI Weekly Digest). Reviewing a state's expenditures on the basis of its population is another technique.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Heath Copp as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Copp, 24, is a resident of Grand Forks, North Dakota.



Gary Neil Drummond has been elected chairmain of the board for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.



Joseph Hammang is leaving his position as director of science and technology at the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council to join the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Heath Copp as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Copp, 24, is a resident of Grand Forks, North Dakota.