People
Steve Bryant has been named the project director for the Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership in Indiana.
Conference Profile: Sandia National Laboratories
As a national security laboratory operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, Sandia’s science and technology competencies are leveraged to support several missions that are synergistic to its primary mission — to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of underground testing, indefinitely.
State & Local Round Up
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.
People
Maria Estela de Rios has been named chairwoman of the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership Board of Directors. She is executive vice president of Orion International Technologies, which is based in Albuquerque.
People
Joseph Hornett has been selected to serve as senior vice president and treasurer of the nonprofit Purdue Research Foundation (PRF). Hornett currently is COO for Sport Service, Inc. in Indianapolis. PRF holds more than 130 properties and 10,000 acres of Indiana farmland near Purdue University, including the Purdue Research Park.
People
The Indiana Technology Partnership named Jim Wheeler as its new president. A former partner with Andersen LLP, Wheeler takes the position vacated by Tom Miller last fall.
MEP Career Opportunity
The New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program is recruiting a technology transfer and commercialization project manager with a proven track record in related disciplines from the private and/or public sector.
People
Ron Gifford is the new president and CEO of the Indy Partnership. Gifford replaces Gordon Hendry, who left to take an executive position with CB Richard Ellis.
People
John Hertig was appointed executive director of the Alfred Mann Institute for Biomedical Development at Purdue University.
People
Kenneth Kahn will be the Avrum and Joyce Gray Director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue University, effective Jan. 1. In addition to directing the center, Kahn will be a professor in the university's Department of Industrial Technology.
New Mexico Governor Signs Budget Bills, Vetoes Capital Package
New Mexico’s 2008 legislative session wrapped up last week, resulting in no final action on several TBED-related bills and leading Gov. Bill Richardson to call a special legislative session to address his health care reform agenda.
New Mexico Legislature: Tax Credits, Energy Initiatives among Successes of 2007 Regular Session
With the close of its 2007 regular session, the New Mexico State Legislature wrapped up "one of the most productive sessions in state history." Those were the words of Gov. Bill Richardson, following the legislature's adjournment last month. The governor had outlined a number of economic development and energy initiatives in his 2007 State of the State Address that he hoped would be brought to bear (see the Jan. 15, 2007 issue of the Digest).
Initiative to Strengthen Presence of Life Sciences in Central Indiana
Leaders of Central Indiana's top research, academic and economic development organizations announced on Wednesday an effort to develop the region as a world-class center for the life sciences industry.
People
Roberto Salazar is leaving his post as the Director of the New Mexico Office of Science and Technology at the end of March to assume the position of State Director of the USDA's Rural Development Agency for New Mexico.
Indiana Initiative Targets Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics
A new initiative to target and promote Indiana's manufacturing and logistics sector will do so in a similar manner to the 2002 BioCrossroads initiative that aided in transforming the region’s life sciences industry, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) recently announced.
People & TBED Organizations
Conexus Indiana, a new initiative focused on the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics industries, will be led by President and CEO Carol D’Amico, former executive vice president and chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College.
People & TBED Organizations
Rick Homans announced that he will step down as executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, effective July 27.
Regional TBED Strategies: New Announcements, Past Experiences and Some Thoughts
Over the last few months, three states have announced new strategies to encourage regional tech-based economic development. Several states have experimented with how best to support or encourage regional TBED in the past, resulting in both successes and failures. In some cases, state sought partnerships at the local level in the creation of new programs while other states took a more hands off approach, such as providing seed funding to create regional technology councils.
People
Rick Homans will step down as secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department to become executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, effective May 1.
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
People and Organizational News
The Indiana Proteomics Consortium has changed its name to Inproteo.
People and Organizational News
Larry Willard, president of the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, is leaving the position to become chairman of the New Mexico Economic Development Corp.
New Mexico Establishes Statewide Research Collaborative
With a combined annual research budget totaling $4.8 billion, New Mexico's 12 largest research facilities signed a Memorandum of Agreement on May 30 to help turn intellectual property into jobs for New Mexicans. Members of the newly formed New Mexico Technology Research Corridor (TRC) include:
Privatization Moves Underway in Indiana, Minnesota
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.