In the November 19, 1999 Issue:

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.

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Future of Innovation Identified
Curious who will shape technological innovation in 21st century? Technology Review magazine has developed for the first time a list of the top 100 innovators under the age of 35.

The list, nicknamed the TR100, was compiled by a panel of 24 judges including 3 Nobel laureates, 2 university presidents, and representatives of scientific and research organizations, businesses, venture capitalists, and the media.

Apart from who the TR100 are and their expertise, the project led the panel judges and Technology Review writers to recognize two emerging themes: the increasing scale of technology collaborations and the growing ease with which innovators move between academia and the private sector. Both trends tie in closely with many of the activities or aspirations of state science and technology programs. In many cases for the TR 100, the traditional role of university-industry partnerships have evolved into more fluid and much more dynamic relationships than those of recent history. Creating environments within academic institutions, nonprofit research organizations, and federal laboratories that foster the relationships nurturing the TR100 is proving to be a worthwhile endeavor for all parties.

Short pieces describing each theme as well as profiles of each of the TR100 can be found on the Technology Review website: http://www.techreview.com/tr100/index.html  

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Wide Variety of Federal R&D Funding Offered
The beginning of the federal fiscal year is typically marked by the release of several requests for proposals and notifications of funding availability to support science and technology or research and development. Fiscal year 2000 is no exception. The following highlights several opportunities published in the Federal Register during the past two weeks.

Agriculture
For fiscal year 2000, the US Department of Agriculture will make $20 million in grants and $200 million in loans available through the Distance Learning & Telemedicine Loan and Grant Program (DLT) to support projects serving rural America. The deadline for applications is March 13, 2000. Maximum grant sizes are $350,000; loans may be made for up to $10 million. For more information: http://www.usda.gov/rus/dlt/dlml.htm  

The Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program will provide grants of up to $200,000 and zero-interest loans of up to $450,000 to rural utility service electric and telephone utilities to support rural economic development projects such as incubators and feasibility studies. The agency has $15 million available for loans and $4 million for grants in FY 2000. For more information on this and other rural opportunities: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/busp/bprogs.htm  

Commerce
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Services Center has issued a Broad Agency Announcement offering financial assistance for coastal change and analysis; coastal technology services; landscape characterization and restoration; integration and development; and special projects. Eligibility is limited to state agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Deadlines and award sizes vary by topic area. See the NOAA website under “Research Opportunities” for more details: http://www.noaa.gov/ 

Education
The Department of Education has issued a notice inviting applications for the Field-Initiated Studies Educational Research Grant Program. Approximately $10 million will be distributed through the program to support projects on nationally significant education topics using methods developed by the investigators. The program is highly competitive, funding on average one of every 25 proposals received. Eligibility is open to higher educational institutions, state and local educational agencies, public and private organizations, and individuals. The deadline is February 16, 2000. More information can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/FIS/  

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research is seeking applications to create a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on rehabilitation of minorities with disabilities. A pre-application meeting will be held December 13 in Washington, DC to discuss funding priorities and to provide technical assistance to prospective applicants. The annual maximum amount of the award is $500,000. The deadline for applications is February 4, 2000. More information on this and other education opportunities can be obtained at: http://www.ed.gov/funding.html  

Energy 
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science annually solicits grant applications to support research and development in the following program areas: Basic Energy Sciences, High Energy Sciences, Nuclear Physics, Computational and Technology Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, and Biological and Environmental Research. The agency anticipates awarding approximately $400 million through grants and cooperative agreements in FY 2000. DOE EPSCoR funding will also be distributed through this solicitation. More information may be found at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html  

A competitive program solicitation for the “Development of Technologies and Capabilities for Fossil Energy R&D” has been released. The program will support cost-shared research and development in energy-related projects that encourage the efficient and sound production and use of fossil fuels.  Approximately $13-27 million is available for the program. For more information, see: http://www.fetc.doe.gov/business/solicit/  

The Metal Casting Industries of the Future solicitation has been released by the DOE Idaho Operations Office. The program anticipates awarding up to $2 million for the first year for 5-10 selected research projects.

A minimum cost share of 50 percent is required. The deadline for applications is February 25, 2000. Visit the Industries of the Future website for more information: http://www.oit.doe.gov/industries.shtml  

Environment
The Environmental Protection Agency expects to award approximately $1 million in FY 2000 to support a nationwide network of pollution prevention information providers. Eligible applicants are state agencies and state-supported institutions such as universities. Awards are limited to $150,000 per project and must be matched 1:1 with non-federal funds. The deadline for applications is April 10, 2000. For more information see: http://www.epa.gov/p2 

NASA
The NASA Research in Microgravity Sciences Program solicits proposals for basic experimental and theoretical research using microgravity to advance scientific knowledge and technology in combustion science.

Eligibility is open to universities and other non-profit research institutions, private sector organizations, and other government agencies. The solicitation is available at http://peer1.idi.usra.edu   (from 11/3/99 Commerce Business Daily).

The S&T Resources page on the SSTI website (http://www.ssti.org/resources.htm)   includes links to these and many other federal R&D programs and grant opportunities. The site also provides convenient links the Federal Register and Commerce Business Daily, among other references.

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USDA Launches Biotech Website
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled a new Internet webpage which provides public access to the Department's vast amount of material on agricultural biotechnology issues.

Several USDA agencies have a role in biotechnology. The Agricultural Research Service, the Economic Research Service, and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service conduct or fund agricultural biotechnology research. The Foreign Agricultural Service addresses trade issues related to biotechnology. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Food Safety Inspection Service, and the Agricultural Marketing Service have regulatory functions involving biotechnology. 

Links to many of the other government agencies involved in biotechnology are provided. The web address is: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/ .

The USDA site provides information on the agricultural side of biotechnology, complementing the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), which provides access to information on medical and health related biotechnology. The NCBI’s website address is http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

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1999 VC at $21 Billion and Climbing
Venture capital investments for the third quarter of 1999 (3Q 1999) passed $9 billion, pushing the year’s total already above $21 billion, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers Money Tree™ Survey. For comparison, investments reported for all of 1998 were under $14 billion.

The $9.04 billion results for 3Q 1999 surpass the previous record of $7.64 billion set in the second quarter of 1999. Third quarter investments in 1999 were 138 percent higher than those reported in the third quarter of 1998.

The number of companies receiving funds grew to 993 — compared to 707 companies one year earlier.  Average deal size per company also grew to $9.1 million from $5.4 million.

Technology companies continue to dominate the portfolios of the survey’s 504 responding venture capital firms. Investments in Internet-based companies jumped almost five-fold from third quarter 1998 to $5.2 billion in 3Q 1999 — or 57 percent of the quarter’s total. The number of Internet-based companies rose from 162 in the third quarter of 1998 to 473 during 3Q 1999.

Results by state are presented in the accompanying table (investment dollars in millions) at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/111999t.htm Practically every region of the country set new records, according to the survey. Significant geographic disparities remain, however. Investments in Silicon Valley represented 36.8 percent of the total reported in 3Q 1999, up slightly from the 34.8 percent tallied for the region during the previous quarter.

More detailed information for the current quarter’s survey results can be found on the Web at: http://204.198.129.80/index.asp  

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ModForum Seeks CEO
The Manufacturing Modernization Forum (ModForum), located near Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a trade association for groups who help smaller manufacturers improve their productivity and performance. The not-for-profit organization seeks applications from qualified candidates to fill the position of President/CEO. Resumes will be accepted until November 24.

More information may be found at the S&T Job Corner on the SSTI website (http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm ) or by contacting: Cindy Stotesbery, ModForum President Search, Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 2601 Crossroads #145, Madison, WI 53718, Phone: 608-240-1740.

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Additional Fellowship Opportunities
Since running the article on federal and congressional fellow programs in last week’s Digest, SSTI has learned of two more opportunities and resources for helping to influence or improve development of public policy in science and technology issues:

American Chemical Society offers a Congressional Fellow Program and a Science Policy Fellowship Program for experienced chemical scientists. More information may be obtained through the ACS website: http://www.acs.org/government or by contacting Dr. Annette Rosenblum at a_rosenblum@acs.org

In addition to offering their own fellowships, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) maintains a website: http://fellowships.aaas.org/  with reference material, resources and links for several different types of fellowships and internship opportunities.

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