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Matt Kramer stepped down from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to become vice president of sales and marketing with a Plymouth health care provider. Kramer served three years with DEED.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute named Nag Patibandla as director of the Center for Future Energy Systems, a New York State Center for Advanced Technology.

The State of Maryland has created a new Small Business Programs unit as part of the Governor's Office of Business Advocacy and Small Business Assistance.

Team NEO appointed Thomas Waltermire as CEO of the organization, a private sector-led economic development organization that helps to grow companies in Northeast Ohio.

Janice Whitehouse was named president of CyberMichigan, an institute within the nonprofit Altarum.

The University of Texas at El Paso hired Tony Woo as the assistant vice provost for research and technology transfer.

On March 25, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Thomas Dorr announced that Open Range Communications, headquartered in Denver, Colo., will receive a $267 million loan from USDA Rural Development to provide broadband service to 518 rural communities in 17 states. The commitment represents one of the largest public-private investments for broadband service by the federal government, the USDA reports. It is also the first USDA Rural Development investment to support Wi-Max technology.
 

By now, you've probably seen many of the articles covering the record number of earmarks academic institutions secured in the federal FY 2008 budget. The Chronicle of Higher Education identified more than 2,300 individual projects distributed across 920 institutions - mostly for research. The figure is 25 percent higher than the previous record and totals at least $2.25 billion. The wealth, though, is also more distributed this year than previously.

Every year, the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) releases its U.S. Licensing Activity Survey. The most recent version provides information on fiscal year 2006 (see the Dec. 5, 2007 issue of the Digest) and contains data for 189 universities, hospitals and research institutions.

Rice University invites applications for a Baker Institute Fellow (postdoctoral researcher) to lead a new and potentially long-term project sponsored by the Baker Institute of Public Policy, the Computer and Information Technology Institute, and the Fondren Library.

An overwhelming majority of residents in Georgia see higher education as vital to the state’s economic growth and quality of life, as more educational attainment is aligned with higher incomes, higher levels of entrepreneurship and less government spending.

Though Silicon Valley and New England still dominate the U.S. venture capital landscape, several other regions - whether through local initiatives or the natural evolution of the economy - have emerged as respectable national hubs of investment over the last decade. Some areas, like San Diego, have seen greatly expanded investments and have joined the top tier of venture markets as VC firms turned their attention toward biotech.
 

Publisher's Note: SSTI notes with much sadness the March 5 passing of Indiana State Sen. David Ford, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. David was a good friend not only of SSTI's, but also of the tech-based economic development community across the nation. In addition to being a tireless and cheerful advocate for investing in science and technology, he was also a gentleman in the true sense of the word, and we miss him greatly.

Rob Atkinson resigned from the Progressive Policy Institute to become president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a new think tank.

Rob Atkinson resigned from the Progressive Policy Institute to become president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a new think tank.

Richard Bendis, an SSTI Board member, is leaving his position as president and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia to become president and CEO of True Product ID, Inc..

The Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center selected Alan Brown as its executive director.

Anne Conroy was named president of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit agency in New York.

Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp. named Trish Costello as its newest Entrepreneur in Residence.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Robert Cresanti as the Department of Commerce's undersecretary for technology, succeeding Phil Bond as head of the Technology Administration.

Krisztina Holly was named executive director of the University of Southern California's Mark and Mary Stevens Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization.

President Bush selected Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to replace Gale Norton as secretary of the Department of Interior.

Thad LeVar was appointed deputy director of the Utah Department of Commerce. LeVar replaces Jason Perry, who was named director of the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED). Richard Bradford, the former director of GOED, retired from state government after 13 years of service.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Debra Lyons to lead the newly created Office of Workforce Development.

Anthony Martoccia was appointed associate deputy administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Government Contracting and Business Development.