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Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker has been named President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. The Governor will assume his new position on Feb. 1.
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Lewis D. "Luke" Rich, a vice president and Western New York regional director for Empire State Development Corp., is taking early retirement at the end of the year.
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Ellis Rubinstein, former editor of the magazine Science, has been appointed to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the New York Academy of Sciences.
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Fritz Bittenbender will become president of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association in December.
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Cian Robinson, executive director of Infotech Niagara, has left the position to consult privately.
NY State Assembly Announces $11.5M for Incubators in Brooklyn, Queens
More than $11 million in two New York State Assembly grants will support several new incubators for Brooklyn and Queens. The investments were recently announced by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly members representing the two boroughs.
Innovation Index Assesses Philadelphia's Position in Innovation Economy
Innovation Philadelphia, the public-private partnership dedicated to enhancing the global innovation economy of Philadelphia, has unveiled the first Innovation and Entrepreneurial Index, a comprehensive study examining where Philadelphia stands in relation to key competitors in the Innovation Economy.
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Dennis Yablonsky, who has been serving as CEO for both the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse for most of the past year, has decided to focus exclusively on the biotech initiative. His replacement as president and CEO at the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse is David Ruppersberger.
Biotech Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania Released
To shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the region's biotechnology cluster, Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development (CED) has published A Biotechnology Action Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The CED report says the Pittsburgh biotechnology cluster largely depends on the amount of available venture capital and the development of new technologies and that total funding levels must be increased to continue biotech development.
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James Hayward, CEO of a biotech materials supply company, has been named the first chairman of the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative. Joseph Scaduto is serving part-time as the new executive director for the group.
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Don Smith has been appointed Vice President for Economic Development at the new Mellon Pitt Carnegie Corporation. MPC, a joint venture of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, is intended to coordinate the economic development and tech commercialization activities of both schools.
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Telecommunications entrepreneur R. Chadwick Paul Jr. has been hired as chief executive officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Recent Reports & Studies: Bayer Survey Shows Strong Public Support for S&T
Americans say they take pride in our nation's leadership role in science and technology and believe the U.S. needs to continue investing in scientific research and development (R&D) in order to remain at the forefront of discovery and innovation, according to a Gallup survey conducted on behalf of the Bayer Corporation in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
NYSTAR Completes First Strategic Plan
With significant emphasis on academic research and commercialization, the New York Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR) has provided Governor George Pataki its first strategic plan. The $130 million NYSTAR, which absorbed the functions of the NY State Science and Technology Foundation, was formed in 1999 as a result of the state’s Jobs 2000 legislation (see the 12/3/99 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest).
NSF Awards $45 Million to Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
The next U.S. supercomputing system operating at speeds well beyond a trillion calculations per second will reside at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) through an expected $45-million award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Last week, the National Science Board (NSB), NSF's governing body, authorized the three-year award following a national competition.
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Steven Zylstra, chair of the Technology Transfer Committee of the Arizona Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development, has accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center.
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Richard Bendis, an SSTI Board member, is leaving his position as president and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia to become president and CEO of True Product ID, Inc..
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The Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center selected Alan Brown as its executive director.
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Anne Conroy was named president of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit agency in New York.
Organizational Updates
The Lehigh Valley Technology Network was launched mid-April in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Organizing efforts were led by the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. One of the Network's potential roles, according to The Morning Call, may be to serve as a liaison between high-tech entrepreneurs and a new angel capital group, the Northeast Pennsylvania Angel Network.
University of Pennsylvania Science Center Plans $600M Expansion Project
To further accommodate and cater to fledgling biotechnology, high-tech and start-up companies, the University of Pennsylvania Science Center in Philadelphia recently announced plans to add 1.85 million sq. ft. through the construction of six new buildings with retail and parking components.
NY Governor Announces $304M Redevelopment Plan for Campus
New York Governor George Pataki recently announced a multimillion plan to transform the aging 300-acre W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus in Albany, N.Y., into a world-class research and development technology park.
Pennsylvania Governor Announces $100 Million to Seed Biotech Initiatives
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker officially launched Pennsylvania's Life Sciences Greenhouse, an historic initiative to be spread among three regions of the state — Southeast, Southwest and Central Pennsylvania.
Small Firms in New York Face Big Challenges, Survey Reveals
Small businesses bearing a critical role to the regional economies of upstate New York must overcome several barriers to growth if they are to enjoy future success, suggests a report by the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.