University of Southern Mississippi Research Foundation President Angie Dvorak was named president of the Area Development Partnership. Dvorak currently serves on the organization’s executive committee.

Julie Coons is the new president of the Technology Council of Maryland. Coons most recently served as executive vice president of PCIA -- the Wireless Infrastructure Association.

Secretary Aris Melisssaratos of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development recently announced two new appointments. Leslie Sipes-Pachol will serve in the position of executive director for the Maryland Economic Development Commission, and Paul Mauritz has been promoted to become Assistant Secretary for Technology Strategy and Business Development.

Biotechnology is one of the few tech-sectors in which jobs still seem to be in strong demand despite the weak economy, according to local news reports from around the country. As a result, many states, communities and universities have directed a portion of their economic development efforts toward encouraging life sciences research and biotech commercialization.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) has issued a new study showing Maryland continues to underperform in some key areas of innovation while leading competitor states in other areas.

Neil Shpritz, executive director of the BWI Business Partnership in Maryland, is retiring in October.

The Mississippi Technology Alliance has released a second annual index focusing on the process of innovation, the links between innovation and technology-based economic development, and activities that government, academia and the private sector provide to support innovation and economic development.

Christopher Foster has been named technology coordinator for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

John Murray has been named executive director of the Maryland Economic Development Commission.

Christopher C. Foster is the new state technology coordinator at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

Editor's note: Few federal programs that fund research have undergone as much independent review and outside scrutiny as the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) within the National Institute of Standards and Technology and come out with high marks nearly every time. Yet two more independent papers described briefly below find that ATP funds make a positive difference for spurring innovation and commercializing technology.

Community buy-in to building a technology-based economy is vital for TBED success. Establishing a strong private sector commitment to science and technology can make a significant difference, particularly as elected officials are deciding what to cut or trim from the budget. TBED organizations use different approaches to get the buy-in. In states such as Massachusetts (see story in this Digest), the top-down direction from the Governor could provide the group critical access.

As the nation's economy shifts to knowledge- and technology-based industries, Mississippi's colleges and universities must provide expertise and leadership to attract new jobs and build a stable state economy, members of a special committee told the state House of Representatives last week.

William Tew has resigned as director of the Office of Licensing and Technology Development for Johns Hopkins University.

Three I's neatly sum up the 22 recommendations recently released by Maryland Governor Robert Erlich's Commission on Development of Advanced Technology Business — Investment, Innovation, and Image. The year-long study looked at the state's existing physical, financial and intellectual infrastructures to support the state's research and technology sectors, making specific recommendations in three groupings to foster continued growth.

Leland Speed has been named the new executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority.

Ann Quinn was recently named managing director of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Venture Capital Fund.

Andy Taggart has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Mississippi Technology Alliance.

The Greater Baltimore Alliance, now renamed as the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, has appointed David Gillece as chief executive officer and Christian Johansson as managing director.

Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development has reorganized into three geographically defined divisions. Robert Hannon has been named to run the regional program.

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, V has been appointed Director of the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), effective Jan. 5, 2004.

With the support of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), BrainChild Maryland was launched this week to identify and capitalize on Maryland's most promising new technologies. The for-profit company will identify university and federal lab technologies that have the greatest potential for becoming viable products and services.

Tony Jeff has been selected to serve as executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.

To transform the nation’s medical research capabilities and speed the movement of research discoveries from the bench to the bedside, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) laid out on Monday a series of initiatives collectively known as the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research.

Tony Jeff is the new executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.