Frank Shafroth has left his position as lobbyist for the National Governors' Association.

Bill Todd, former CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance, has joined the staff of Gov. Sonny Perdue to work on special projects.

Patrick Von Bargen has joined the leadership team in the Office of the Chairman at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as Managing Executive for Policy and Staff. Mr. Von Bargen formerly was Executive Director of the National Center for Regional Innovation and Competitiveness and Vice President of the Council on Competitiveness.

A Note from the Editor

Perhaps in no other sector are efforts to grow an industry so dependent on a strong public-private partnership as they are for biotech and the life sciences. Most of the research funding for the field flows from the government to universities and research institutions. Industry then steps up for clinical studies and commercialization.

With only two months left in most fiscal years, states must still close a $21.5 billion budget gap in order to comply with their balanced budget requirements, according to a report issued today by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Senate and Congressional Manufacturing Task Forces garnered support from a majority of senators and representatives for continued funding of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), co-chairs of the Senate Task Force, drew support from 58 Senators with both parties joining forces to support MEP.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently announced the recipients of its 2003 Excellence in Economic Development Awards. A total of eight award-winners were named across seven broad award categories. Those pocketing awards in Innovation and Technology-led Economic Development, respectively, are described below.

Innovation

Washington Governor Gary Locke signed legislation last week that will give a tax break for research and development (R&D) firms. HB 1462 – passing unanimously, 96-0, in the State House and by a majority, 41-4, in the State Senate – prohibits Washington's local governments from taxing the intellectual property of these companies.

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) has announced the launch of a statewide trade association to provide support to Kansas' software and information technology industry. The nonprofit has been registered with the state as the Software and Information Technology Association of Kansas (SITAKS) and is designed to support Kansas software, information technology and telecommunications companies.

Additional job opportunities are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Venture investors are increasingly turning to overseas markets for promising investments in key high-tech industries, according to the 2008 Global Venture Capital Survey conducted by Deloitte and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). The annual poll of 400 international venture capital investors found that the U.S. is still perceived as the strongest technology economy in all sectors, but other countries are developing industry specializations that allow them to be competitive with the U.S. in one or two particular areas. While no single country is likely to overtake the U.S.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley recently announced a plan to launch an advanced robotics research, training and education center to prepare workers for the robotics industry and attract high-tech employers to the state. Calhoun Community College in Decatur will host the $71 million center, in partnership with the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Gov. Riley first proposed the robotics campus in 2006 and believes the center will help increase the state’s profile as a leader in the robotics industry.

This summer, 12 former CEOs with substantial experience in raising venture capital and no particular ties to clean energy will participate in an extensive curriculum-based fellowship program designed to rapidly transition them into a leadership role, in order to help grow the cleantech cluster in the New England region.

Despite a growing national demand for their skills, the number of engineers graduating from American colleges went down in 2007, according to latest edition of Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges, prepared by the American Society for Engineering Education.
 

While California and Massachusetts may overshadow much of the venture capital (VC) activity going on around the country, other states have made significant progress in developing venture industries that serve the needs of their economy. Though larger investments in later-stage companies are becoming more prevalent in the U.S. venture industry, some states are seeing increases in smaller, early-stage investments that, if successful, should lead to significant growth in their total VC investment in years to come.

As a group, the country’s metropolitan areas face substantial long-term challenges as large gaps in issues such as productivity growth, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion separate the leaders from the laggards. Earlier this month, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program released the second of its “core” reports from its Blueprint for American Prosperity initiative to lay out an economic agenda for U.S. metro areas.
 

SBIR Phase II awards with additional personal and/or internal business funding are more significant predictors of a technology reaching commercialization than SBIR awards with venture capital, external private equity or foreign investment, and funding from state and local governments or universities, new research shows.
 

NorTech is inviting all SSTI conference attendees to an opening reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Tuesday, Oct. 14, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Just like the music it pays homage to, inside and out, the Rock Hall exudes coolness. From the adventurously wide-open architecture and eye-popping displays to the sing-along soundtrack of continuously streaming rock and roll hits, this is one museum experience that really gets your heart pumping.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

President Bush announced he will nominate Assistant Secretary of Commerce Sandy Baruah to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.

The Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce has created the Economic Development Partnership to help businesses relocate to or expand in the county.

On Monday, President Bush signed the $161.8 billion supplemental appropriations bill for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, 2008. Though the appropriation primarily provides funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the bill also includes almost $3.6 billion in non-war funding. Of this, $400 million was approved for U.S. science programs.

Coming together for a special one-day session last week, the South Carolina Legislature voted to override a line-item veto issued by Gov. Mark Sanford concerning the funding of the state’s Endowed Chairs program, now called the S.C. Centers for Economic Excellence. The override raises the budget allocation for the program from $20 million to $30 million, which surpasses the original multi-year cap of $200 million set for the Endowed Chairs/Centers of Economic Excellence program, when enacted in 2002.

Arizona legislators approved the fiscal year 2009 budget last week, providing funds for proposals aimed at stimulating the state’s economy through investments in higher education infrastructure and increasing R&D activity.
 
Proceeds from an expansion of the state’s lottery will finance $1 billion in bonding for construction projects across the state’s three universities, including $470 million for completion of the Phoenix biomedical campus and upgrades to several buildings.

The Louisiana State Legislature recently approved several bills as part of a comprehensive package designed to revamp the state’s workforce development programs to focus on job training in emerging industries to ensure these fields have a highly qualified labor pool in the coming years.