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In the October 16, 1998 Issue:
ATP SELECTS 79 R&D PROJECTS FOR FUNDING
A total of 79 research and development projects have been granted awards for the 1998 round of funding for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). The projects will receive approximately $236 million from the ATP, which is expected to be matched by $224 million from private industry. The majority of the awards (54), went to small businesses, including several new companies, either for single-company projects or as the lead company in an industry joint venture. Eleven universities and more than 150 companies are involved in the projects as formal participants, with many more participating as subcontractors or consultants.
The following lists the number of companies that received ATP awards, by state:
State # of Awards
AZ 1
CA 31
CT 2
CO 2
GA 4
IL 3
MA 4
MD 3
MI 5
MN 3
NJ 3
NJ 1
NY 6
NC 1
OH 1
OR 2
PA 2
UT 2
VA 1
WA 1
WI 1The awards were the result of nine ATP competitions conducted in 1998, including a general competition (with a total of 23 awards) open to proposals from any area of technology and eighth competitions in focused technology areas. The latter included competitions in photonics manufacturing (10 awards), premium power technologies (13), digital video for information networks (5), catalysis and biocatalysis technologies (4), microelectronics manufacturing technologies (9), selective membranes for chemical and biochemical separations (5), tools for DNA analysis (7), and technologies to support advanced adaptive learning systems (3).
The goal of ATP is to provide cost-shared funding to industry for high-risk R&D projects with the potential to spark important, broad-based economic benefits for the United States. Detailed lists of the 1998 ATP projects and their participants are available from the ATP web site under 1998 Funded Projects at http://www.atp.nist.gov.
PENNSYLVANIA PROPOSES WORKFORCE TRAINING INITIATIVES
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge recently announced two proposals to help train technology workers. The measures are aimed at meeting the demand for a technologically-literate workforce and curbing the out-migration of trained workers.
The first initiative is a "SciTech Scholars" program that would provide scholarships of up to $3,000 per year for a maximum of three years to full-time Pennsylvania students earning a bachelor’s degree in select science and technology fields of study. Scholarships would be available for the second to fourth years of a student’s academic program. To qualify for a SciTech scholarship, students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average, complete an internship with a technology intensive Pennsylvania company, and work in Pennsylvania one year for each year of scholarship assistance. If the requirements are not met, the scholarship would convert to a loan.
The second initiative, tagged a "GI Bill for the New Economy," would provide up to $1,000 a year in scholarships for full-time Pennsylvania students and current workers pursuing associate’s degrees in select science and technology fields of study at community colleges or two-year private technical institutes. Workers going to school part-time would be eligible for a scholarship of up to 20 percent of their tuition and fees. Participants must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and complete their associate’s degree, or the scholarship converts to a loan.The two initiatives are projected to provide assistance to approximately 23,000 Pennsylvania students and workers annually at a cost of $49.6 million per year when fully implemented.
TIIAP ANNOUNCES $18.5 MILLION IN GRANTS TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Forty-six non-profit organizations and state and local governments in 35 states and the District of Columbia will receive $18.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Telecommunications
and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP). The TIIAP grants will fund innovative uses of advanced networking technologies to bring the benefits of the Information Age to under-served areas of the country. TIIAP provides matching grants to non-profit organizations such as schools, libraries, hospitals, public safety entities, and state and local governments.
Grants are used to fund projects that improve the quality of, and the public's access to, education, health care, public safety, and other community-based services. This year's 46 grant recipients were chosen from more than 750 applicants. The $18.5 million in TIIAP funds will be matched by $23.9 million in funding from non-federal sources.
The number of TIIAP awards by state is as follows:
State # of Awards
AK 2
AR 1
AZ 1
CA 3
CO 1
DC 1
FL 2
HI 2
IL 1
IN 1
KS 2
KY 1
LA 1
ME 1
MA 1
MI 1
MN 1
MO 2
MT 1
NE 1
NJ 1
MN 1
NY 2
ND 1
OH 1
OR 1
PA 1
SC 2
SD 1
TN 1
TX 1
UT 1
VA 1
VT 2
WA 1
WV 1Listed below are some of the selected projects:
*The Western Identification Network will assist law enforcement officials in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, California, Washington and Alaska in tracking down suspects by sharing digitized photos;
*A project in Kansas will connect school nurse offices to physician offices to ensure that school children have access to basic health care;
*A project in Vermont will use network technology to connect artists as mentors to provide arts education to rural schools; and
*The State of Indiana will engage young people in the democratic process through network technology.
TIIAP was initiated in 1994. Since then, it has awarded $118 million in matching funds. Descriptions of each of this year’s 46 grants, along with contact information, are posted on NTIA's website at http://www.ntia.doc.gov
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