Gov. Phil Bredesen has released a comprehensive job creation strategy with a particular focus on producing high-quality research jobs by supporting statewide innovation. Announced earlier this month, "Next Steps: Job Creation" is a four-point plan intended to attract and foster new businesses.
Eric Cromwell has been appointed to serve as Director of Technology for the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development.
Jeff Wadsworth has been named the next director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Wadsworth was a former deputy director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Fred Tompkins, professor and interim dean of the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Engineering, has been named interim executive director of the UT Research Foundation.
Bill Madia is leaving his position as director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory to oversee all Department of Energy business for Battelle Memorial Institute.
Chris Matthews is the president of the new Chattanooga Technology Council, which held its official kickoff event earlier this month.
Andrew Kim is the new policy director for Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen.
The Senate unanimously confirmed Anne B. Pope of Tennessee as Federal Co-Chairwoman of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Pope currently serves as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.
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.
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.
Caroline Young has been named executive director of the Tennessee Biotechnology Association and director of the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation's life science initiative.
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.
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.
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.
Gov. Don Sundquist has named Tony Grande to be the new Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). Mr. Grande formerly was ECD Deputy Commissioner as well as its Assistant Commissioner of Tennessee business services and director of manufacturing services.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the National Business Incubation Association are sponsoring a conference Oct. 21–23 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to focus on the importance of business incubation to rural economic development and to share best practices by successful incubators across the nation.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Bill Eads, the Tennessee governor's science and technology advisor, has announced his retirement.