People
John Bradley is the Tennessee Valley Authority's as its first chief of economic development. Bradley had been senior vice president of economic development at the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Central Tennessee Gets New Life Science Campus
Construction is underway for the Cool Springs Life Sciences Center (CSLSC), a $74 million biomedical research facility planned for Franklin, TN, 15 miles south of Nashville. When completed, the 10-acre center will be home to life sciences-focused R&D facilities for biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
People
Jack Sommer is the new executive director of the Rhode Island Technology Council. Sommer previously worked with Student Advantage in Boston.
Tennessee Unveils New Economy Strategy
Earlier this week, Governor Don Sundquist and the Tennessee Technology Development Corp. (TTDC) released the New Economy Strategy, a broad plan to improve the state's economic viability through science and technology. The strategy encompasses many new initiatives to complement TTDC's existing portfolio of tech-based economic development efforts.
Rhode Island EPC Consolidates Slater Centers
Yesterday's Providence Journal-Bulletin reports the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) has reduced by merger the number of Slater Centers. With the goal of increasing the impact of the state's annual $3 million investment, the restructuring from six to four centers is intended to reduce overhead and administrative costs, allowing more of each resulting center's funding to flow into emerging businesses.
Community College Scholarship Program Aids Tennessee Students
Tennessee's Sullivan County took a big step toward reducing the presence of a brain drain when it approved a scholarship program for its high school graduates.
Assessing E-Government Report now Available
This past summer, researchers at Brown University conducted the first nationwide content analysis of state and federal government Web sites. The study, Assessing E-Government: The Internet, Democracy, and Service Delivery by State and Federal Governments, focused on features available on-line, the level of variation across the country and between state and national governmental sites, and how those sites respond to citizen requests for information.
People
Alex Fisher, chief of staff for Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist, is leaving to become the director of technology transfer and economic development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
People
Joseph Hammang is leaving his position as director of science and technology at the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council to join the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc.
$5 Million in Community Technology Projects Announced
On Tuesday, WorldCom and Brown University announced grants for 20 programs in 19 states to link public schools or community organizations with local colleges or universities to develop educational technology projects for youth in underserved areas. The grants were awarded through Making a Civic Investment, a $5-million, five-year program funded by WorldCom and administered by Campus Compact, a national coalition of nearly 700 college and university presidents based at Brown.
TBED People
Gary Stark has resigned his position as executive director of the Indiana Information Technology Association Foundation to relocate to Connecticut. Stark raised $1 million during the past year to start an endowment for the foundation, which plans to award grants from the interest earned to combat the Digital Divide in the state.
People
Marty Grueber has left the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) to join Battelle Memorial Institute and the Environmental Technology Commercialization Center. Beth Ashman Collins has been named director of research at RIEPC.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Technology 2020, a public-private partnership, is seeking a Director of New Business Development. Technology 2020is supported by a number of large corporate "technology partners" in the Knoxville/Oak Ridge Area of east Tennessee. Technology 2020's primary objective is to leverage talent and reputation of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and grow new technology businesses that will create new jobs and help diversify the economy of the region.
People
Dr. Donald Daniel is the new CEO of the University of Tennessee Space Institute.
Rhode Island Plan Calls for Action
The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has concluded a year-long examination of the state's economy with a call for nine recommendations to be implemented.
Rhode Island Announces State's First Centers of Excellence
The State of Rhode Island has selected two Research Centers of Excellence designed to expand research initiatives and encourage investment and job opportunities. The Rhode Island Center for Cellular Medicine and the Ocean Technology Center are the state's first technology centers.
People
Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri promoted Saul Kaplan to serve as the new director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. Kaplan replaces three-year veteran Michael McMahon, who left to launch a new equity firm.
People
Keith Ridley was named manager of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Valley Business Ventures, a new division created to increase jobs and capital investment in high-growth industries and in companies owned by women and minorities in the TVA region.
Atkinson to Leave R.I.; Position Available
Rob Atkinson, the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, has announced his resignation. He has accepted a position with the Progressive Policy Institute, leading a new initiative on science and technology. As a result of his departure, the Council is seeking an executive director.
People & Organizations
John Cronin was named state director of the new Rhode Island Small Business Development Center at Johnson and Wales University in Providence. Cronin is CEO of the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
SENATORS FRIST AND ROCKEFELLER INTRODUCE BILL TO DOUBLE CIVILIAN R&D SPENDING
On June 25, Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a new bill, the Federal Research Investment Act (S. 2217). The purpose of the bill is to provide for the continuation of federal research investment in a fiscally sustainable way.
Tennessee Creates New Organization to Lead S&T Efforts
The State of Tennessee has created a private, not-for-profit corporation--- the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation---to stimulate economic development through Tennessee's science and technology resources.
The corporation's responsibilities include:
People
Bill Eads, the Tennessee governor's science and technology advisor, has announced his retirement.
People
Lee Martin has stepped down as executive director from TennesSeed. Tom Rogers, CEO of Tech 2020, has agreed to serve as interim director of TennesSeed for a six-month period.