On Tuesday, President Bush announced the nomination of Phillip Bond to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology. The position oversees the Technology Administration which includes the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), the Office of Technology Policy, and the National Technical Information Service. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program are part of NIST.
The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) received unanimous endorsement by four federal agencies during a recent House committee hearing, although two federal witnesses emphasized the Administration’s opposition to expanding the program. Language to gradually double the size of STTR, which supports small business-university research projects that could lead to commercializable technologies, is included in S. 856, the reauthorization bill working its way through Congress.
On June 25, President Bush named John H. Marburger, III, as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
After nearly two years of discussion between the state legislature and the Governor’s office, Pennsylvania has enacted a plan for its $11 billion share of the national tobacco settlement. The final plan includes $160 million in one-time outlays for research and commercialization of life science technologies and a formula ensuring research gets nearly one-fifth of the total money received over the 25-year span of the settlement agreement.
Highlights include:
To strengthen Maine’s ability to compete in a knowledge-based economy, Governor Angus King proposed last year that the state create a $65 million endowment that would annually purchase and place a laptop in the hands of every seventh grade student in the state. A one-time $50 million state appropriation was to be matched by $15 million in private contributions. Interest off the endowment would have allowed every 7th-12th grader to own a laptop PC by 2007.
Representing ten percent of U.S. manufacturers and accounting for the largest trade surpluses of the non-defense sectors, the chemical industry remains an important contributor to the U.S. economy. Despite substantial growth in R&D investments by chemical companies during the past decade – R&D investment as a percentage of sales grew from 2.47 percent in 1980 to 4.70 percent in 1999 – the industry remains below the national average for several indicators of R&D expenditures.
Atlanta, Georgia
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on June 20 that the
Comment Period on the Policy Directive Extended In response to Congressional requests, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has reopened the comment period on the draft policy directive to guide agencies’ administration of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. Interested parties may now submit their comments to the SBA Office of Technology through July 23, 2001.
The Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce is accepting nominations for the National Medal of Technology program. The Medal, established by Congress in 1980 as part of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act, is presented annually by the President as the highest honor for technological achievement.
58 Inventions Also Offered by Health, Navy
With the establishment of a $1 million trust fund to serve as seed money, the new Oklahoma Institute of Technology intends to position the state as a national leader in information technology, engineering, and biotechnology. Governor Frank Keating signed Senate Bill 694 into law June 8, creating the public-private collaboration. Tulsa World news reports indicate supporters of the institute anticipate raising a $100 million endowment for the project and securing additional state support.
Editor’s Note: Results of the 2000 Census indicate that the U.S. population is aging. The median age, at 35.3 years, is the highest ever, and those 62 years and older total almost 10 percent more than they did in 1990. In every state except West Virginia, the census shows an increase of at least 20 percent in the 35 to 54 age group. Twenty-seven states saw a more than 30 percent increase in that age cohort.
SSTI has prepared a 50-state table presenting the 1990 and 2000 figures and percent change for selected age cohorts: 25-34, 35-54, and 55 & over. The table can be accessed on-line at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061501t2.htm
Indiana
The Indiana legislature approved a $50 million appropriation over the next biennium for Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. The program supports the development and commercialization of advanced technology. Created in 1999 (see related 9/10/99 Digest story), the fund received $50 million in the 2000-2001 biennium.
Cliff Numark is leaving his position as president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance to join a Los Angeles-based private consulting practice.
Cliff Numark is leaving his position as president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance to join a Los Angeles-based private consulting practice.
Governor Don Siegelman has named Norm Davis as the director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Mr. Davis had been serving as the State Banking Superintendent. Jim Hayes, director of the Alabama Development Office, has announced his resignation.
Jim Pickens will be the permanent director of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development. Mr. Pickens has served as interim director since February 2.
More than $800 million for science, engineering, research, and commercialization activities
Collaborative partnerships between universities and industry, a long-standing element of many states’ tech-based economic development strategies, are not without significant issues that threaten to hamper their effectiveness and limit the promises of research, according to Working Together, Creating Knowledge: The University-Industry Research Collaboration Initiative.
The placement and retention of women in apprenticeships and positions in nontraditional occupations (A/NTO) has posed significant challenges in fields requiring high technology skills, including computer-based information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, transportation, utilities, and general services.
On Thursday, the Department of Health & Human Services and NASA announced respectively 4 and 30 government-owned inventions available for licensing. SSTI has consolidated the announcements on the accompanying webpage: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061501t.htm
The President intends to nominate John J. Young to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Mr. Young has been with the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense since 1991.
The President intends to nominate John J. Young to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Mr. Young has been with the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense since 1991.
Ann Lansinger, the director of the Baltimore's Emerging Technology Center, has been named the first president of the Maryland Business Incubation Association, a new organization representing the state's eight publicly funded incubators in the state.