Armed with professional advice from mentors in scientific fields and free access to sophisticated design and engineering software, teachers and students from Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia will participate in a national competition to solve a real-world engineering challenge defined by the aviation industry.
 

An upcoming report finds that Hawaiian high-tech industries contributed $3 billion to the state's economy in 2007.

Last week, three contracts between North Dakota State University (NDSU) and research partners at two Department of Energy federal laboratories were announced, building research opportunities within the Red River Valley Research Corridor. They included the following:

• A $50,000 contract from Sandia National Laboratories to develop water purification membranes through polymer research;
• A $25,000 contract also from Sandia for solar cell research which will utilize technologies patented at NDSU; and,

Karl Fooks, a past managing director for J.P. Morgan & Co. in Asia, is the new president of the Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation. Fooks replaces John Chock who retired last year.

With less money to spend on risky endeavors, many states are taking more targeted approaches toward economic development, seeking out sectors of the economy they consider most likely to grow and be sustainable beyond current conditions. In Hawaii, for example, lawmakers established an Aerospace Advisory Committee this session seeking long-term growth in aerospace-related industries.

The Piedmont Triad Research Park laid off Bill Dean, director of the park, and Nancy Johnson, marketing director. Park officials said that the park's project manager and executive assistant also were laid off.

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle recently allowed a significant revision to the state's High-Technology Investment Tax Credits program become law without her signature. The program, which has provided a 100 percent credit on high-tech investments since 2001, now will cap its credits at 80 percent. Investors also will no longer be able to transfer their credits to other investors. The revisions will apply through December 2010, when the tax credit program is scheduled to expire.

Saving the state an estimated $93 million a year, Hawaii House and Senate negotiators agreed to suspend the High-Tech Tax Credit, known as Act 221, for three years, reports the Honolulu Advertiser. Lawmakers also agreed to repeal the tax credits in May rather than at the end of December, the article states.

Citing further damage to the state's reputation as a place to do business, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, vetoed SB 2401, a measure to suspend Hawaii's high-tech tax credit, which provides a 100 percent refundable tax credit for investments in qualified high-tech businesses. Lt. Gov.

In April, University of Hawaii's President M.R.C. Greenwood appointed an eight-member council to develop a strategy that would increase innovation and technology transfers throughout the university system. The council recently announced a drafted of four recommendations that would help the university system to "achieve a high-value economy in Hawaii." The recommendations build and approve upon the system's existing research capacity. The recommendation also focuses heavily on creating an innovation ecosystem built upon entrepreneurship and university-private partnerships.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, and Vermont. The first three installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12 and Jan. 19 issues of the Digest.

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, a semi-autonomous Hawaii State agency that developed and manages a globally unique and innovative technology incubation and commercial park in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii, currently is seeking an Executive Director.

Providing strong evidence for how public investments in research and TBED pay off even on a short time horizon, a recent impact analysis calculated the total impact from the first $19.9 million North Dakota spent over the past four years for the establishment of 20 Centers of Excellence across the state. The analysts from North Dakota State University reported a combined cumulative impact of $329.5 million for the 30 months ending June 2009. The total includes both direct reported results and estimates for indirect impacts.

With an overall projected reserve of about $1.2 billion at the end of the 2011-13 biennium, North Dakota is well positioned to invest in growing economic sectors during a time when most states across the country are cutting programs to fill massive budget deficits. Gov. Jack Dalrymple outlined a budget for the next two years that would capitalize on the state's institutions of higher education and energy industry.

The 11th Annual Tech Talkin' Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states:

The first three installments of SSTI's annual look at how TBED will play in the 2005 legislative priorities of the governors can be found in the Digest archives on our website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm

Hawaii

Building on a successful legislative session in 2007, Gov. Lingle is requesting additional funds to supplement various ongoing TBED programs.

 

With the goals of reducing crude oil consumption by a whopping 72 percent and identifying clean energy sources to cover 70 percent of the state’s energy needs by 2030, Hawaii has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to figure out exactly how to get the job done under the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.