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In the midst of a national economic recession contributing to a record number of job losses in traditional industries, forward thinking states are exploring ideas and committing funds to help grow and diversify their economies and strengthen their renewable energy portfolios.

On April 14, the National Science Board NSB released for public comment a draft report, Building a Sustainable Energy Future, which calls on the nation to lead the fundamental transformation of the current energy economy from one that is dependent on fossil fuel to one that thrives on sustainable and clean energy. The draft NSB report outlines key findings and makes recommendations for the federal government, with specific priority guidance for the National Science Foundation. 

Within the last two weeks, both Kentucky and Michigan announced major developments in their ongoing efforts to build a statewide advanced battery industry. With these initiatives, the states hope to better position themselves for upcoming rounds of advanced battery development grants from the federal government and other future sources of investment.

Last week, the Board of Trustees at the University of Toledo approved the creation of a School of Solar and Advanced Renewable Energy. The School will integrate faculty from multiple science, engineering, and business disciplines to offer its own degrees and perform collaborative research, often with industrial partners associated with the region's established solar energy and photovoltaics cluster.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others 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.

While there is no question that the economic recession has taken a toll on states' fiscal conditions, the degree by which states are affected can vary widely from one state to another, as evidenced most recently in Arkansas and Georgia. In Arkansas, legislators wrapped up their 2009 session with a plan to distribute a $300 million surplus, while the budget agreement made in Georgia would cut spending by $1.6 billion in the coming year.

South Dakota shows a $3 million TBED investment in strategic research areas can yield impressive results for a state strengthening its position in an innovation-based economy. 

The expansion of undergraduate science programs within foreign countries positively affects the number of students from these same countries seeking advanced degrees at U.S. academic institutions. However, as foreign countries experience the maturation and growth of their doctoral-level programs, combined with growing employment opportunities in their economies, the flow of students to the U.S. changes.

Useful stats columns in recent issues of the Digest have characterized academic R&D expenditures from two different angles: those expenditures made from industrial sources of funding (April 1) and total academic R&D expenditures (Mar 25). The primary source for the data was the National Science Foundation's Academic R&D Expenditures series, the compilation of an annual survey NSF conducts of the 680 largest academic institutions in the country.

The  complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

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.