Alan P. Balutis, a 21-year veteran with the U.S. Department of Commerce, to be director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Advanced Technology Program. Balutis has been serving as the deputy chief information officer for the Department of Commerce since 1994.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the following four solicitations open for research and development projects.

In his recent State of the State address, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson called for the establishment of a new High Tech Corporation to assist in the development of companies for the New Economy. Toward that end, a bill has been introduced in both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature to establish the corporation.

Aaron Greenfield will serve as the new director of the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp. in Maryland.

The six-month-old Information Technology Association of Wisconsin selected Jim Rice to serve as the organization's first president and CEO.

A study released by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston is one of the more recent efforts to examine all aspects of U.S. states and their economies. Entitled State Competitiveness Report 2001, the study defines competitiveness as the ability to ensure and sustain a high level of per capita income and its continued growth.

Larry Kline has resigned as president of the Wisconsin Technology Council to take a position as chief financial officer and vice president for business development with a biotech firm.

Bill Badger announced he will resign as president and CEO of the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp. to take an executive position with M&T Bank.

Toucan Capital announced the appointment of Dr. Phillip Singerman as a new Venture Partner.

A new report from the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), A Toolkit for Evaluating Public R&D Investment, provides useful information to anyone interested in evaluating publicly-sponsored research and development (R&D) programs. While the report focuses on more than 40 evaluations that have been performed for ATP, it offers one of the most comprehensive and understandable overviews of evaluation methods and applying those approaches.

Thomas Still has been selected at the new president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Still, currently associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, will fill the vacancy created by Larry Kline's departure this past spring.

Candidates are sought for a Senior Executive position (Salary $100,000+) to provide visionary and high level leadership for the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, a new statewide technology transfer and commercialization nonprofit organization. Resume and salary requirements must be submitted no later than July 12, 1999.

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development appointed Christine Plater as its new director of small business programs.

The expected economic benefits from the Advanced Technology Program far outweigh program costs, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Three separate public initiatives are underway in Wisconsin which could result in the availability of more than $100 million for new venture capital financing. The efforts are designed to spur venture capital investment in the state (ranked 45th in the 1998 Pricewaterhouse Coopers survey) and to increase entrepreneurial activity in the Wisconsin biotechnology community.

The November 20 SSTI Weekly Digest article on the current Advanced Technology Program (ATP) competition should have stated the following information on ATP's indirect cost policy:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) has issued a request for public comment on several changes to ATP rules.

Dr. Lura Powell, Director of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) since 1995, has decided to take early retirement from the National Institute of Standards & Technology and pursue career opportunities in the private sector. Because of the voluntary early retirement option deadline, Dr. Powell’s retirement was effective September 30.

The State of Maryland has created a new Small Business Programs unit as part of the Governor's Office of Business Advocacy and Small Business Assistance.

With last week’s release of “The Maryland Innovation and Technology Index 1999,” Maryland became the latest state to release an “S&T report card” as they are also sometimes called. Indices have become popular tools for benchmarking a state’s or region’s comparative position across several technological, economic, and social

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking to fill two positions at its Gaithersburg headquarters. Both positions — an Evaluation Program Leader and an Evaluation Specialist — will work on MEP program evaluation, economic impact measurement, and data interpretation efforts. Resumes will be accepted until the positions are filled.

Phil Singerman, the head of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Adminstration, was named president of the new Maryland Technology Economic Development Corporation.