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Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski has named Edgar Blatchford, a journalism professor at the University of Alaska, to serve as commissioner for the Department of Community and Economic Development.

John Harrison is Governor Bob Riley's pick to serve as director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Harrison was the Mayor of Luverne, Alabama for the past 14 years.

Ellen Hemmerly has been named president of the nonprofit Association of University Research Parks.

David Iannucci is the new head of the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano named Gilbert Jimenez to lead the Department of Commerce and has asked Gail Howard to serve as her policy advisor on economic development. Jimenez was Bank One International's Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Mexico/Latin America. Howard comes to the administration from Arizona State University, where she has served since 1990 as the University's Director of Economic Development and Constituent Outreach.

Charles W. Steger, President of Virginia Tech. has been elected chairman of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. Paula S. Gulak, Founding Partner of SyCom Technologies, is the new Vice Chairman.

Dennis Yablonsky, chief executive officer for the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, is Governor Ed Rendell's pick to serve as Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Stephen Jeffery has been appointed the new president/executive director of the Technology Association of Georgia.

Sandy Layman was named commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Agency (IRRRA) earlier this month. IRRRA promotes economic development in Northeastern Minnesota.

Stephen Jeffery has been appointed the new president/executive director of the Technology Association of Georgia.

Sandy Layman was named commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Agency (IRRRA) earlier this month. IRRRA promotes economic development in Northeastern Minnesota.

Tim Witsman recently resigned as president of the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce to pursue other opportunities in the community. Witsman headed the area's lead economic development agency for 15 years.

Congress begins consideration of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) reauthorization legislation, which continues to include several initiatives to promote tech-based economic development. With the current authorization due to expire on September 30, 2003, the new legislation would authorize EDA's operations for five more years, beginning in FY 2004 and extending to FY 2008. The Administration's proposal includes $331.03 million for assistance programs and planning grants.

Within two years, Indiana's agency for promoting economic development will become a quasi public-private partnership similar in concept to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

While in Minnesota, an agreement that resolved the budget impasse gives the state's lead science and tech organization a 12-month timeline to fully privatize from the state's support.

The Army last week announced the creation of a $25 million Venture Capital Initiative (VCI) to satisfy a critical Army technology requirement — obtaining lighter, more efficient power sources for individual soldier systems.

A 19-year veteran of the technology-based economic development field has co-authored a guide that outlines strategies for growth in the knowledge-based economy. The Keys to Growth in the New Economy:Investing in Discovery, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship draws on the experiences of John Ahlen, who has led the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority (ASTA) since 1984. The report is co-authored by Mark Diggs, Chairman and CEO of Maryland-based Ontology Works, Inc.

Royalties on product sales from technology developed by Canadian and U.S. academic research institutions jumped to $845 million in 2001, up 12 percent from the previous year, according to the AUTM Licensing Survey: FY 2001. Gross licensing income received from licenses and options, however, declined from $1.26 billion in FY 2000 to only $1.071 billion in FY 2001 as 7 percent fewer new licenses and options were executed.

Initial public offerings (IPOs), the darlings of the dot-com boom, would be put on the endangered species list if they were a plant or animal — based on how few have been seen in the past year. Investor sentiment toward IPOs has been almost as negative since the bubble burst as the IT hype was positive before. But is the aversion to IPOs warranted? Have IPOs really become more risky than they were in years past?

A bill that includes $20 billion for state fiscal relief was to be voted on by U.S. senators Thursday, according to the Federal Funds Information for States (FFIS), a joint subscription service of the National Governors' Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Whether it is oil, gas, logging or fishing, only one other state in the nation, Alaska, is as dependent on natural resource extraction as Wyoming. Using tech-based economic development to diminish the impact of the boom and bust cycles experienced by all "colonial" economies to diversify the state's economy has been one of the goals of Alaska's gubernatorial leaders since 1988, with the creation and continuation of the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF).

The continuous decline of venture capital investing persisted in the First Quarter 2003 with total investments of $3.8 billion, down from the prior quarter of $4.3 billion, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers/Thomson Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Survey. A total of 623 companies received funding in the first quarter compared to 726 companies in the fourth quarter of last year.

To help build the state's technology sectors, Governor Jeb Bush and the State Board of Education have selected Florida's first three Centers of Excellence. The Centers are designed to foster innovative, cutting-edge technology research at Florida’s colleges and universities, develop commercially viable applications for that research, and recruit high-tech industries and thinkers to the state.

The three projects are:

The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) is holding on June 4 its fourth telecast on economic development. NARC is a nonprofit membership organization that assists regional councils and metropolitan planning organizations nationwide. Its telecast, "Three Rural Economic Development Strategies," will feature Dr. David Sampson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, and Mark Drabenstott, Vice President of the Kansas City Federal Reserve to discuss economic development in rural areas.

Richard C. Atkinson, the president of the University of California system since 1995, will receive the prestigious 2003 Vannevar Bush Award from the National Science Foundation for lifetime contributions to the nation in science and technology.

Mitch Daniels, the director of the White House Office of Management & Budget, has announced his resignation.

Richard C. Atkinson, the president of the University of California system since 1995, will receive the prestigious 2003 Vannevar Bush Award from the National Science Foundation for lifetime contributions to the nation in science and technology.

Mitch Daniels, the director of the White House Office of Management & Budget, has announced his resignation.