Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2002. Information in this issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest was prepared under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected. Any opinions expressed in the Digest do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Subscription to the SSTI Weekly Digest is free. If you are reading a forwarded copy of this issue and would like to receive your own copy each week directly, please subscribe at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm Requests to unsubscribe should be sent to sstiwd@ssti.org

In the February 20, 1998 Issue:

Gibbons to Leave OSTP, Lane to Head OSTP, Colwell to Lead NSF

Dr. Jack Gibbons, the President's science advisor and the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, announced late last week that he will resign effective March 15. Dr. Neal Lane, the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), has been nominated by President Clinton to replace Gibbons. Replacing Lane at NSF will be Dr. Rita Colwell, the president of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. Colwell was nominated earlier this year to become deputy director of NSF. Indications are that Dr. Joseph Bordogna, who has been acting deputy director, will continue in that capacity for the near term.

Lane has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Oklahoma. He has been the director of NSF since 1993. Prior to that, he served in a variety of academic positions at Rice University and the University of Colorado.

Colwell has a Ph.D. in marine microbiology from the University of Washington. She is a past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute was established in 1985 to conduct research and training, and provide a core of expertise and facilities to advance the state's scientific and economic development.

Gibbons has been the President's science advisor since 1993. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Gibbons served for 13 years as director of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

 NASA ANNOUNCES SBIR PHASE I AWARDS

NASA selected 335 research proposals for negotiation of Phase I contracts under its 1997 Small Business Innovation Research Program. The 335 awards were selected from 2,665 proposals, an acceptance rate of 12.6 percent, making this year's solicitation the most competitive of the last five years.

NASA Phase I SBIR Awards, 1993-1997
Year Awards Appplications Acceptance
Rate		 Firms Funds
Awarded
(mil $)
1997 335 2,665 12.6% 270 23.00
1996 349 2,367 14.7% 254 24.00
1995 409 1,947 21.0% 303 21.00
1994 412 2,300 17.9% 301 28.84
1993 380 2,850 13.3% 262 26.60

The combined award total for the Phase I contracts is expected to be about $23 million. The 254 selected firms will be awarded fixed-price contracts up to $70,000 to perform a six month feasibility study. Companies which successfully complete the Phase I projects are eligible to compete for Phase II selection the following year. The Phase II award allows for a two-year project worth up to $600,000.

Awards were made to companies in 34 states. The distribution of awards by states for the 1997 solicitation and for the last five years follows:

NASA SBIR Phase I Awards, By State
  1997 Competition 1993-1997 Cumulative
State Rank Awards Firms Rank Awards Firms
AL 8 11 8 7 80 58
AZ 9 10 7 11 55 32
CA 1 63 50 1 402 302
CO 3 27 22 3 100 79
CT 13 8 6 10 56 3
DE N/A 0 0 31 4 94
FL 16 6 5 16 31 28
GA 23 3 3 27 8 8
HI 28 1 1 36 2 2
ID N/A 0 0 40 1 1
IL 25 2 2 22 20 18
IN 17 5 4 25 10 8
IA 28 1 1 40 1 1
KS 28 1 1 40 1 1
ME N/A 0 0 35 3 3
MD 5 19 15 5 83 70
MA 2 47 33 2 268 175
MI 17 5 4 19 28 22
MN 23 3 3 21 21 20
MS 28 1 1 29 6 4
MO 25 2 2 30 5 5
MT 28 1 1 31 4 4
NV 28 1 1 31 4 4
NH 28 1 1 14 40 18
NJ 15 7 6 12 51 42
NM 9 10 8 16 31 28
NY 9 10 10 6 81 69
NC 25 2 1 26 9 8
ND N/A 0 0 40 1 1
OH 6 16 16 9 67 61
OR 17 5 5 19 28 19
PA 12 9 7 16 31 28
RI N/A 0 0 31 4 4
SC N/A 0 0 36 2 2
SD N/A 0 0 36 2 2
TN 17 5 5 23 15 13
TX 7 13 8 8 68 53
UT 22 4 4 24 12 12
VT 28 1 1 28 7 6
VA 4 22 17 4 99 78
WA 13 8 8 13 46 41
WI 17 5 3 15 33 15
WY N/A 0 0 36 2 2
TOTAL N/A 335 270 N/A 1,822 1,390

NOTE: Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and West Virginia are not listed because no companies in those states received awards from 1993-1997

A listing of companies selected can be found at NASA's home page at http://sbir.nasa.gov.

USDA IMPLEMENTING NEW RURAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY GRANTS

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is implementing a new grant program to fund economic development technical assistance and planning activities. Rural Business-Cooperative Service programs support economic and business development in rural communities.

The Rural Business Opportunity Grants is a new program authorized by the 1996 Farm Bill. The bill authorized grants to establish business support centers, centers for training of rural businesses and for regional planning. Regulations must be developed by RBS, and the agency is soliciting comments on the proposed program, including program design, applicant eligibility, grant selection, and reporting requirements.

RBS anticipates that Rural Business Opportunity Grants will be used to support the following activities:

The agency is accepting comments on the proposed grant program until March 20. A copy of the full Federal Register notice can be viewed on SSTI's home page at www.ssti.org For further information, contact Wayne Stansberry, Loan Specialist, at 202/720-6819.

State Science & Technology Institute
5015 Pine Creek Drive
Westerville, OH 43081
Phone: (614) 901-1690
Fax: (614) 901-1696
Email: ssti@ssti.org

  © 2002 State Science and Technology Institute. All rights reserved.