Although Massachusetts' universities may be at the fore of nanotechnology research and development (R&D), they must continue to win on research for the state to stay competitive for federal funds, suggests a recent report by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and the Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI).
A significant reduction in employment among southwestern Pennsylvania's technology industries in 2002 was not enough to offset signs of a turnaround, according to new data released by the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC). Over the second half of the year, a turnaround began to emerge and technology companies accounted for nearly 17.5 percent of the region’s workforce, PTC's annual State of the Industry Report shows.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced last month a partnership with the Loudoun County, Va., school district to donate $1 million per year to establish a biotech magnet program for area high school students.
Oklahoma's Higher Education Day, when students and faculty are given the chance to discuss their concerns with the state legislature, recently provided a golden opportunity of sorts for Gov. Brad Henry. Held March 9 at the State House, the event enabled the governor to advocate support for a bond issue that would fund endowed chairs at Oklahoma's colleges and universities.
A new fund developed by the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) is expected to lead to greater commercialization of technologies in the northeast state. Created through a reserved proportion of MTI’s annual grantable funds, the Accelerated Commercialization Fund (ACF) will allow previously funded MTI companies the chance to achieve significant growth. To qualify for funding, companies must at a minimum demonstrate significant potential for financial and economic development returns.
Innovations in public and private institutions could be the key to aligning governance with opportunity, according to the Center for the Study of Rural America's latest annual report.
Looking to jumpstart the federal policy process regarding broadband Internet access, the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) has released A Nation of Laboratories, Broadband Experiments in The States, a report examining various broadband policies and programs nationwide.
One of the hottest political topics this year is the outsourcing of U.S. jobs to other countries. A Google search on "outsourcing" returns about 4.8 million pages. Reports from Gartner, Forrester Research, McKinsey & Company, AeA, and the Institute for International Economics, among others, have looked at the topic and fed the interest.
For years, defining "high technology" and identifying industries that fit within that classification has been a difficult task loaded with political implications. AeA, for example, has used a definition of high tech in its publication Cyberstates that places heavy emphasis on information technology.
Although their courses of action may differ, competing proposals sponsored by the New York State Senate and Assembly would seem to have the same goal — create jobs, support small businesses, and transform the state's manufacturing sector.
Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher joined National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials earlier this month to announce a partnership in support of the Moon-Mars initiative. The agreement pairs the Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC) with the nation's principal agency for space exploration.
States must develop a supportive environment for entrepreneurs to prosper in an increasingly competitive global economy, according to A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship and Policy, a recent report from the National Governors Association’s (NGA) Center for Best Practices.
The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, partially funded by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, shows firm births, deaths, and the net change for 2001, at the national and state level. Often called business "churning," the figures reflect one measure of entrepreneurial activity within a state.
Although much collaborative work is underway in the United Kingdom, there is more to be done on the parts of universities, government and businesses, according to the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration. The conclusions and recommendations of the report span the Atlantic, offering advice of potential value for American university-industry relations.
A new report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) suggests research and innovation will be key to the department’s success in fiscal year 2005.
The Technology Administration (TA) has released the fourth edition of its guide of state science and technology (S&T) indicators. The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development provides an updated collection of data on the technology infrastructure of states, such as high school and advanced degree graduation levels, R&D investment and the numbers of patents issued. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are included in the report.
On Feb. 12, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the first round of Phase I awards under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program competition. Administered by the Homeland Security Advanced Research Project Agency (HSARPA), the DHS SBIR 2004.1 solicitation selection process took only three months — quick by most SBIR standards. HSARPA selected 66 winning projects across 23 states from 368 proposals.
For just over eight years, the SSTI Weekly Digest has come to you every Friday...first it was by fax, then by e-mail. Starting with this issue, the Digest makes a change and will be distributed each Monday. We believe this change will help you get your week started right...and will give the SSTI staff something to do on the weekend.
The South Carolina Technology Alliance calls it the most significant victory for South Carolina's research universities and tech entrepreneurs in the last 50 years. An idle exaggeration? Probably not.
With the recent passage of much economic development legislation in South Dakota, Gov. Mike Rounds' 2010 Initiative would seem to be moving along as planned. The 2010 Initiative, an economic stimulus plan introduced last fall, outlines a series of goals for growth in South Dakota by the year 2010 (see the Oct. 31, 2003, issue of the Digest).
The Indiana General Assembly recently passed legislation that would make permanent a 10 percent research and development (R&D) tax credit, if signed by Gov. Joe Kernan.
The creation and subsidization of CAPCOs, certified capital corporations intended to encourage venture capital (VC) investment, is one of the more controversial policies some states have adopted to encourage the growth of tech-based economies. With substantial revisions to Colorado's short CAPCO experiment this month, questions are raised once again for other states that either have passed or are considering various approaches to increasing the availability of risk capital for new tech firms.
Legislators in Utah have passed a constitutional amendment that, with approval by voters, would allow the state's universities to take ownership in private businesses in exchange for intellectual property. The proposed amendment cleared the Utah State Legislature with relative ease, despite some concerns it will thwart the incentive of researchers wanting to commercialize their results.
With the goal of encouraging interdisciplinary and collaborative research, the Research Business Models Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has issued a list of initiatives to improve management of academic research grants made by various agencies of the federal government. The recommendations are also expected to result in greater consistency across agencies in award policies and reporting requirements.
With contributions of nearly $64 billion annually to the gross state product, manufacturing remains the largest of all industry sectors in Pennsylvania, according to a new report sponsored by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation. Data released by the nonprofit public-private partnership documents the role of manufacturing in Pennsylvania and analyzes the forces shaping the future of the industry.