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The Washington Technology Center (WTC) is seeking an Executive Director. WTC is the state of Washington's enterprise for joint industry-university technology development partnerships. The Center supports technologies for industry application for Washington companies in the areas of advanced materials and manufacturing, biotechnology/biomedical devices, computer systems and microelectronics.

The Clinton Administration has announced initiatives to finance computer training and retraining programs to meet the dramatically increasing demand for Information Technology (IT) workers. The announcement occurred at the National Information Technology Workforce Convocation, an event to facilitate broad-based solutions to the worker shortage.

Dr. Robert Center has retired. Dr. Center was the executive director of the Washington Technology Center.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) has launched a new Internet website entitled the ATP Alliance Network. The website is designed to aid organizations interested in applying for an ATP Joint Venture award.

Dr. Rita R. Colwell, the current President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a former member of the National Science Board, has been nominated by President Clinton to serve as the next deputy director of the National Science Foundation.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has decided to reclassify its R&D budget, which will result in a reduction of funding available for its Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR). The reclassification was recommended by Inspector General Linda Sundro. NSF Director Neal Lane has concurred with the recommendations.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced the formation of the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI), a major component of the Intelligent Transportation Systems America program. IVI represents DOT's efforts to merge all vehicle-focused research activities into a multi-agency research and development program. DOT is seeking assistance from industry and stakeholders on the planning of this new initiative.

With all appropriations bills signed into law as of November 26 and the exercise of the final line item veto on December 2, the FY 1998 appropriations picture is coming into focus.

A preliminary analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) of the FY98 appropriations shows that total federal funding allocated to R&D increased to $76.3 billion, 4.1 percent more than FY97.

Research and development expenditures in 1997 are expected to reach $205.7 billion, a 6.5 percent increase over 1996's $193.2 billion in spending. Since 1994, R&D spending has been increasing at a rate of more than 5 percent a year, according to a recent National Science Foundation Data Brief.

The State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) recently released State Science and Technology Strategic Planning: Creating Economic Opportunity. This report is the first comprehensive study of state science and technology strategic planning processes.

Raymond Kammer was sworn in as eleventh director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on November 12. Kammer had been NIST's deputy director since 1993. Robert Hebner had been acting director of the agency since the position was vacated by Arati Prabhakar in March.

Former Ohio Governor Richard F. Celeste was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to India last week. Celeste has been a leader in the field of technology-based economic development for the last 15 years. While governor, Celeste established Ohio's Thomas Edison Program.