Common wisdom says engineering is hard and a high proportion of engineering students, particularly female engineering students, changes majors during the course of their time in college. A recent study suggests just the opposite actually is true.
SSTI is so excited about this year's conference that we're providing Digest subscribers the first peak at the 28-page, full-color brochure while its still on the presses. It will be arriving in mailboxes by the end of the week, but is available now as a PDF by clicking either of the links below or by email request.
Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
Delaware Economic Development Office announced Ken Anderson as its new director of entrepreneurial and small business development.
Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission has named Mike Bobroff as its chief operating officer. Bobroff is also the commission's executive vice president.
Chris Copenhaver, an employee of the Department of Economic Development in Roanoke, Va., was named the city's first entrepreneurial specialist.
Ron Gifford is the new president and CEO of the Indy Partnership. Gifford replaces Gordon Hendry, who left to take an executive position with CB Richard Ellis.
Linda Hartsock was hired by Empire State Development to serve as regional director for Central New York.
John Hertig was appointed executive director of the Alfred Mann Institute for Biomedical Development at Purdue University.
Marilyn Higgins joined Syracuse University as vice president for community engagement and economic impact.
Kenneth Kahn will be the Avrum and Joyce Gray Director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue University, effective Jan. 1. In addition to directing the center, Kahn will be a professor in the university's Department of Industrial Technology.
Daniel Krichbaum was named Gov. Jennifer Granholm's new chief operating officer, replacing Mary Lannoye who left the administration as chief of staff.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has selected Brian McGowan to replace Yoland Benson as deputy secretary for economic development in California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. McGowan, San Bernardino County's economic development administrator, will start his new position in January. Gov. Schwarzenegger also has appointed Teresa Takai as the state's first Cabinet-level chief information officer.
Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal has appointed Stephen Moret as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development. Moret will assume his new post on Jan. 14, leaving behind his duties as president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce.
Mark Robinson resigned as chief operating officer of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Steven Zylstra was appointed as vice president of global corporate communication and public relations for Mylan. Zylstra had been president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Pittsburgh Biomedical Development Corp.
A complete description of this opportunity and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
The circumstances leading to SSTI's 13th Annual Conference make this year's event critical. We encourage you to join us in Overland Park, Kansas October 21 - 23, 2009 to Seize the Moment. As you scan the conference website, you'll discover we're putting together our most complete and complex conference yet.
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle recently allowed a significant revision to the state's High-Technology Investment Tax Credits program become law without her signature. The program, which has provided a 100 percent credit on high-tech investments since 2001, now will cap its credits at 80 percent. Investors also will no longer be able to transfer their credits to other investors. The revisions will apply through December 2010, when the tax credit program is scheduled to expire.
As the U.S. has experienced rising unemployment rates during the recent economic downturn, larger numbers of individuals with technology-based skills are finding themselves out of work. One policy option to seize the moment is to engage the unemployed, assisting them on a path to starting their own business. But what are the characteristics and family backgrounds of the general population who have become successful tech-based entrepreneurs?
Historically viewed as an important contributor to job creation in emerging fields and a revenue generator for cities and states, science and technology parks serve an essential role in driving high-tech economies.
Over the five-year period from 2004 to 2008, 124 of the 366 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas experienced a change in per capita income at a greater rate than the U.S. as a whole, according to statistics released last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). In 2008, per capita personal income in the U.S. was $39,582, a 19.4 percent increase since 2004. To further examine all 366 metro areas in the U.S., SSTI has prepared a table showing the amount and change in per capita income for each MSA from 2004 to 2008.
Congress has approved a two-month extension for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, which was set to expire on Friday, July 31. S. 1513 extends the program in its current form until Sept 30, 2009, which coincides with the end of the federal fiscal year.
The New York State legislature passed an act enabling New York City to move forward with a $3 million biotech tax credit that is expected to encourage biotechnology firms to bring their jobs, innovation, and emerging technologies to the city. The bill (S.4845-B/A.8131) is expected to be signed into law by Gov. David Paterson.
Decreases in the number of young adults in the state are more a result of fewer children being born 25 to 35 years ago, and not because of a substantial brain drain or outmigration of talent from New Hampshire, according to a task force convened by New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch. However, attracting and retaining younger workers to the state is imperative because of the large share of baby-boomers in the workforce that will be retiring in the next decade.