- House Passes Commerce Appropriation Bill
- Federal Centers' Compensation Study
- S&E Indicators Available
- Position Available at NASA (USC)
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House Passes Commerce Appropriation Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives on a vote of 246-179 on Wednesday approved an appropriations bill that includes funding for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Programs affected by the bill include the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and Advanced Technology Program (ATP), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Information Infrastructure Grants (IIG).
FY96
SpendingPresident's Request
FY97House
Approved
FY97ATP $221.0 million $345 million $110.5 million MEP $80.0 million $105 million $ 89.9 million IIG $21.5 million $ 59 million $ 21.4 million The funding for MEP provides the full amount requested for continuation of existing centers, including the rollover costs of 15 centers originally funded under the Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP). The bill does not include language removing the current six year statutory limit for federal funding to centers. Failure to repeal the language will eliminate federal funding to the MidAmerica Manufacturing Technology Center (serving Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, and Wyoming) and the Midwest Manufacturing Technology Center (serving Michigan).
Funding for ATP could not be used, including prior year carryover, for new competitions. According to the House report,"The recommendation provides sufficient funding to pay the continuation costs of awards previously made to small businesses..." According to NIST, the provision would take funding from 25-30 individual medium/large company partners and 15 joint ventures consisting of only medium/large companies.
The appropriations bill is expected to be considered by the Senate committee on Thursday, August 1.
Federal Centers' Compensation Study
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has collected and provided information on fiscal year 1993 costs for professional staff, managers and executives at the Department of Defense's (DOD) Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC). FFRDCs were established during World War II to meet the special research needs that the federal and private sector could not provide. Over the years the number of FFRDCs have varied, but in fiscal year 1993 there were 39, with 10 sponsored by DOD.The GAO found that the average base salary for FFRDC executives, managers and professional staff was $73,000.
The average employer cost of benefits for all FFRDC personnel ranged from 19 percent to 45 percent of salaries, and executives' benefits had the greatest variance, ranging from 19 percent to 54 percent of salaries. The GAO calculated that the average total compensation in fiscal year 1993 for all FFRDC employees was $90,000.
Copies of the report (GAO/NSIAD-96-183) are available from GAO at 202/512-6000 or through the GAO home page at http:// www.gao.gov
S&E Indicators Available
Science and Engineering Indicators - 1996 is available from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board. The report is both a reference document and a policy document that provides an extensive array of data. The 1996 report has expanded to include output as well as input indicators as well as some indicators of the impact and outcome of science and engineering in the U.S.Some of the new topics in the 1996 report include:
- A chapter that seeks to explain and provide examples of how S&E research has affected the economy and society.
- New and expanded indicators note intensified international interaction and globalization of S&T activity.
The report is available from NSF or on the World Wide Web under the NSF home page address http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm
Position Available at NASA (USC)
Director, NASA Far West Regional Technology Transfer Center (FWRTTC), School of Engineering, University of Southern California
The mission of FWRTTC is to play a leading role in the commercialization of NASA technology, with the primary focus on technology developed in the three NASA field centers in its region; Ames Research Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Dryden Flight Research Center. The FWRTTC region includes the eight western states (CA, OR, WA, AK, AZ, HI, NV and ID) and the FWRTTC supports an affiliate organization in each of these states to assist in the commercialization work.The commercialization mission is broadly defined, and includes making industry aware of NASA technology, promoting new NASA technology, assisting companies seeking to acquire and commercialize NASA technologies, forming industry alliances and state-industry relationships to further the commercialization of NASA technology, and assisting in the formation of new enterprises to further the commercial development and application of NASA technology.
The FWRTTC Director has responsibility for all phases of the FWRTTC program, including direct responsibility for program planning, policy and budgets. Specific duties of direct responsibility include:
- Principal investigator for the NASA FWRTTC contract, which is managed by Ames Research Center,
- Maintains close liaison with NASA, Federal Laboratories, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, and other Federal, State and local agencies with whom existing contractual working agreements are maintained; and leveraging the NASA technology transfer and commercialization mission through these liaisons, and
- Identifies and pursues innovative arrangements with all appropriate agencies and business organizations to further the overall mission and objectives of the FWRTTC and develops other strategic business relationships to leverage NASA funding and achieve budgetary critical mass.
The Director oversees the day-to-day operations of the FWRTTC, including:
- The general supervision and personnel administration of the FWRTTC staff.
- The overall strategic planning, implementation and management of technology commercialization, business assistance, marketing, promotion and outreach functions of the FWRTTC.
The Director reports to the Associate Dean for Research of the School of Engineering.
Education
An advanced degree in Business or Engineering is preferred. Desirable qualifications include: business experience and experience in dealing with government organizations; demonstrated leadership skills, strong work ethic and a sound value system; demonstrated experience in program design and development; broad experience in technology transfer and commercialization from the federal to the private sector; and, entrepreneurial spirit.Please send resume, including the names of three references, to: FWRTTC Search Committee, University of Southern California, School of Engineering, Olin Hall 200
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1450. Compensation package commensurate with experience. This position will remain open until filled.
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