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By the end of the week, SSTI will be sending Digest subscribers our ninth annual review of the president's federal budget proposal. We will highlight dozens of science and technology programs and initiatives of interest to our readers. Early indications are the 2006 request, released this afternoon, if enacted would result in significant changes for nearly every program of importance for the tech-based economic development (TBED) community.

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).

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

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.