In the January 26, 2001 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2003. 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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Nation’s Mayors Layout Agenda for Bush Administration
Addressing the Digital Divide, workforce development, and technology deployment in education are among the highest priorities of the nation’s mayors, according to Priorities for the New American City, the 2001 action agenda of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Released last week at the Mayors’ 69th Annual Winter Meeting by Boise Mayor H. Brent Coles, the plan outlines dozens of recommendations for the Bush Administration across ten issue areas ranging from drug control to the environment to transportation enhancements.  Many of the suggestions requiring federal funding encourage the use of block grants to maximize flexibility in program design and implementation across cities.

Key recommendations for tech-based economic development include:

During 2000, the U.S. Conference of Mayors worked with both the Bush and Gore campaigns to secure their commitments to addressing the most pressing needs of America's cities. Candidate George W. Bush spoke at the Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting last June in Seattle, unveiling his Urban Agenda for the 21st Century. The Conference feels both the agenda and his comments reflected many of the Mayors' priorities, but that much more needs to be done to encourage the growth and development of the nation's cities.

The full Priorities for the New American City can be downloaded from the Conference website at: http://www.usmayors.org/69thwintermeeting/priorities2.htm

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Arizona Partnership for New Economy Releases Strategic Plan
With as much emphasis on accessing and applying technology as on creating it, the final report of the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy (APNE) outlines several recommendations to improve Arizona’s position and performance in a tech-based economy.

“While it is important to have industries that produce technology and continually improve it, the real impact of [the new economy] will be felt by the application of technology across a wide range of industries and activities,” says the 36-member task force appointed by Governor Jane Dee Hull.

Released earlier this week, An Economy That Works for Everyone is developed around four elements: K-12 and higher education; telecommunications infrastructure; government leadership in support of technology, R&D and access to capital; and, enhancing government services through the application of technology. The elements are labeled respectively Learning, Linking, Leading, and Living in the 37-page report.

Specific APNE recommendations for the state include:

Governor Hull said she will incorporate many of the recommendations in her administration's agenda over the next two years but intends to initiate several immediately, such as holding regional New Economy summits this spring to help communities compete and introducing legislation to encourage venture capital for businesses.

The full report, background reports by five APNE committees, and additional information about the New Economy is available on the Internet at http://www.azcommerce.com/APNE.htm

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Tech Talkin' Govs IV: State of the State and Budget Addresses
Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment of excerpts from recent speeches and budget proposals demonstrating the priority governors are placing on tech-based economic development and math & science education.

Maine
Governor Angus King, FY 02-03 Budget Request, January 5, 2001
http://www.state.me.us/governor/news/index.html

New Jersey
Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Budget Address, January 22, 2001
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/p10123c.html

Ohio
Governor Bob Taft, State of the State Address, January 24, 2001
http://www.state.oh.us/gov/stateofstate2.html

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Nominees Sought for ED Excellence Award
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) seeks nominations for the second annual Award for Excellence in Economic Development. EDA established this award to recognize outstanding economic development activities of national importance.

The competition is open to all types of nonprofit organizations, nonfederal government bodies, and universities and colleges. Award selections are made by a highly qualified and independent panel of economic development practitioners, academics, and government representatives.

Nominations will be taken until February 16, 2001 in three categories: Excellence in Urban or Suburban Economic Development; Excellence in Rural Economic Development; and, Excellence in Economic Development in Native Communities.

The nomination packet can be downloaded and printed in PDF format from EDA's Web site:       http://www.doc.gov/eda/html/1a13_excellenceaward.htm

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Competitions Open for 13 Research Funding Opportunities at NIST
NIST has opened the fiscal year 2001 competitions for funding under 13 different research grant programs: Precision Measurement Grants; the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (known as SURF) in six NIST laboratories (Building and Fire Research, Chemical Science and Technology, Information Technology, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Physics); the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory Grants Program; the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory Grants Program; the Fire Research Grants Program; the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory Grants Program; the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory Grants Program; and the Physics Laboratory Grants Program.

Applications are due by Feb. 15, 2001, for the Precision Measurement Grants and all of the SURF programs, and by Sept. 30, 2001, for the laboratory grants programs.

For details on the 13 grant programs and complete application requirements, go to the online Federal Register at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html and enter "01/11/2001" and "National Institute of Standards and Technology" as search keywords to reach the Jan. 11 notice. Specific information on the Precision Measurements Grants is at http://physics.nist.gov/ResOpp/grants/grants.html. For more about SURF, go to www.surf.nist.gov/surf2.htm. Descriptions of the other six grants may be found on the web sites of the individual NIST laboratories.

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Other Federal Funding Opportunities

U.S. Department of Energy
The Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics (HENP) of the Office of Science (SC) hereby announces its interest in receiving grant applications for Program Notice 01-11, the Department's Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing Program (SciDAC). The goal of this program is to enable the use of terascale computers to dramatically extend our exploration of the fundamental processes of nature as well as to advance our ability to predict the behavior of a broad range of complex natural and engineered systems. This goal is to be achieved through the creation of scientific simulation codes that achieve high performance on a single node, scale to hundreds of nodes and thousands of processors, and have the potential to adapt over time and to be ported to future generations of high performance computers. Up to $2.5 million of funding will be available for grant awards in FY 2001. Additional funding for each proposed project. Pre-applications must be received by February 7, 2001. Formal applications must be received no later than March 15, 2001. The full text is available at http://www.science.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html

Sources are being sought by the National Energy Technology Laboratory program, responsible for the disposal of hazardous and radioactive materials, to determine the availability and applicability of technologies that may offer improvements in operational efficiency and reductions in final product volume and lifecycle costs. Vendors and developers of vitrification technologies that may be applicable to the immobilization of waste are requested to provide descriptive and technical information. The program involves the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State where approximately 54 million gallons of plutonium waste have been accumulating since 1944. No contracts will be awarded from this announcement; this is a request for information only. The deadline for submission of the capability statement is February 16, 2001.  More specific information may be obtained at NETL's website at: http://www.netl.doe.gov/business/solicit

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has issued PRDA No. DE-RA26-01NT41093 for “Demonstration of Innovative and Improved Technologies for Size Reduction and Remote Handling.” The NETL is soliciting offers to demonstrate technologies for size reduction and remote handling in a cold demonstration on a mock-up facility at the Hanford Site, with subsequent hot demonstration/deployment. It is anticipated that Phase 1 demonstration will be completed within an estimated six weeks after award and the final report will be completed within 10 weeks from date of award. DOE anticipates multiple cost-sharing awards. The estimated cost range for Phase 1 awards under this solicitation is between $50,000 to $250,000.  Proposals must be received by February 22, 2001. The solicitation may be found at http://www.NETL.doe.gov/business/solicit

Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a request for statement of qualifications for organizations interested in assisting the Chesapeake Bay Program in its effort to provide the modeling, GIS, data analysis and information management support for the Bay Program partnership. Applicants must be local, state, interstate agencies, academic institution, or other nonprofit organization. This is a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the benefit of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership and not for direct benefit of EPA. Statements of qualifications must be postmarked no later than February 20, 2001. The RFQ is available at http://www.epa.gov/r3chespk/

Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration (SBA) invites applications for fiscal year 2001 under a grant competition for BusinessLINC Grants and Cooperative Agreements. The program allows the SBA to enter into cooperative agreements with qualified coalitions of public and private entities to promote the growth of small businesses by matching large concerns with small concerns and creating business-to-business partnering and mentoring relationships. Coalitions may consist of public entities, private entities, or a combination of public and private entities. To qualify, the coalition must provide an amount, either in-kind or in cash, equal to the grant amount. SBA intends to award up to $7 million and expects to issue up to 50 awards. Award amounts may vary, however, award amounts will be at least $25,000 and no single awardee may receive more than $250,000 in a single fiscal year. The closing date for applications is March 20, 2001. The solicitation may be obtained at http://businesslinc.sba.gov/

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MEP Career Opportunity
The New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program is recruiting a technology transfer and commercialization project manager with a proven track record in related disciplines from the private and/or public sector. This MEP position is located at the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque and charged with helping local manufacturers access unique federal laboratory technologies to assist industry in the development and commercialization of new products, advanced materials, and innovative manufacturing processes.  Project manager is responsible for industry outreach, customer needs assessment, technical “sales” linking clients with laboratory resources as well as private commercialization consultants and project managing related customer activities.  Please forward resume, cover letter, salary expectations and your success stories to:  Human Resource Director, New Mexico MEP, 4501 Indian School Road, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, F: 505-262-9691, E-mail address: hrdirector@newmexicomep.org, Web address: http://www.newmexicomep.org

The full description can be found on the SSTI website at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm

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