In the July 6, 2001 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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Washington Boasts High Employment Growth 
Washington has the second highest employment growth rate in the U.S., according to the 2001 Index of Innovation and Technology for Washington — a report released by the Washington Technology Center. The state's 33 percent increase in employment growth rate over the last five years allowed it to move up four positions, second only to Utah. 

The report reinforces numerous trends found in the 2000 Index. Among them is the growth of capital investment in Washington companies. Washington's overall rate of growth in venture investment during the past two years has grown at more than half the rate of other major regions. However, Washington's rate is much smaller than that of most other areas of the country. The report suggests that this trend could cause the state to fall behind other regions. 

The report also draws numerous other comparisons, weighing Washington's numbers against those of other states and national averages. Below is a sample of other findings in each of six major areas: 

The 2001 Index of Innovation and Technology — Washington State is available through the Washington Technology Center at: http://www.watechcenter.org/techindex 

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Bond Nominated to Run TA 
On Tuesday, President Bush announced the nomination of Phillip Bond to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology. The position oversees the Technology Administration which includes the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), the Office of Technology Policy, and the National Technical Information Service. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program are part of NIST. 

Mr. Bond is currently the Director of Federal Public Policy for Hewlett-Packard Company and was formerly Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Treasurer of the Information Technology Industry Council. From 1993 to 1998, Bond served as Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn. He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs from 1992 to 1993 and Chief of Staff and Rule Committee Associate for Congressman Bob McEwen from 1990 to 1992. From 1987 to 1990, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. Bond is a graduate of Linfield College in Oregon. 

The nomination must be approved by the Senate. 

To see the press release: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/07/20010703-7.html 

More information on the Technology Administration is available at: http://www.ta.doc.gov/

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STTR Hearing Reveals Differences Between Administration, Congress 
The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) received unanimous endorsement by four federal agencies during a recent House committee hearing, although two federal witnesses emphasized the Administration’s opposition to expanding the program. Language to gradually double the size of STTR, which supports small business-university research projects that could lead to commercializable technologies, is included in S. 856, the reauthorization bill working its way through Congress. 

Currently limited to 0.15 percent of the extramural R&D budgets of five federal agencies, STTR’s set-aside would increase to 0.3 percent in 2004, and 0.5 percent in 2007, if Senate Bill 856 passes in its introduced form.

STTR was first created in 1992 as a pilot companion program to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The set-aside for STTR has not changed since its inception. SBIR, on the other hand, grew to 1.25 percent during the initial four years from 1982-1986. 

SBIR now represents 2.5 percent of the ten federal agency budgets for extramural R&D, totaling more than $1 billion annually. STTR, for comparison, provided $64 million of support for 329 joint research projects in 1999. 

Maurice Swinton, Assistant Administrator for the Small Business Administration Office of Technology, testified that “[t]he Administration supports reauthorization for the program for a three-year duration and no increase to the percentage set aside for the program.” S. 856 would extend the program through September 30, 2010. The program presently expires September 30, 2001. 

In his testimony, acting director of the Department of Defense Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Office, Tim Foreman, said “the information that we have does not support the movement from 0.15 percent to 0.3 percent because the data just doesn’t support that there is merit in those dollars at the current funded level.” 

The following day, in an STTR hearing before the Senate Small Business Committee, General Accounting Office (GAO) presented a report that may allay some of the Defense Department’s concerns. The GAO reported the results of its survey of all 166 companies that had received 201 Phase II STTR awards in fiscal years 1995 through 1997, the first three years when such awards were made. Responses were received from 102 companies. 

The GAO findings include: 

The balance of the STTR reauthorization bill, including a provision to increase the size of Phase II awards to $750,000, was received more favorably by the federal agencies. 

The GAO report can be found at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01766r.pdf 

S. 856, the STTR Reauthorization Act, can be found through the Thomas Legislation Locator: http://thomas.loc.gov/ 

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Funding Opportunities 

National Science Foundation 

Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC). Up to 10 awards are available for I/UCRCs and the necessary planning grant proposals to study the feasibility of developing the industry/university interaction necessary to establish and support an I/UCRC. A 12-month award of $10,000 per institution will be made to planning grantees; about $400,000 per year for up to 10 years will be issued to I/UCRC award winners. To be eligible to submit a proposal, a center is required to have been awarded a planning grant. Planning grant proposals should include a general analysis of the industry on which the proposed center plans to focus, how that industry affects the nation's economic health, a brief description of the research focus of the potential center, and a brief description of the capabilities of the university or universities involved to adress the industrial research interests and needs, including faculty and infrastructure. Center proposals should reflect a combination of the proposing institution's research interests, capabilities and potential for working with industry. Eligible are academic institutions with research and graduate programs. Each principal investigator must be a tenure-track or tenured faculty member at the institution. Letters of intent are due on July 31, 2001. The solicitation is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf01116 

Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. Approximately $3.8 million is available via 30-35 awards under MSPRF. The purpose of the program, through awards for research in mathematical sciences, is to allow participants to choose research environments that will benefit their future scientific development. The MSPRF award provides a stipend support for two nine-month academic years and six summer months, for a total of 24 months' support. Awardees are given two options, Research Fellowship and Research Instructionship, with Fellowship awards not exceeding $108,000. Fellows must affiliate with a host institution (e.g. colleges and universities, government and national laboratories and facilities, privately sponsored nonprofit institutes and museums, and some for-profit organizations) during the entire tenure of the fellowship. Applicants must not have held a doctoral degree more than two years as of Jan. 1 of the year of the award. Cost sharing is not required. Full proposals are due on October 19, 2001, and the third Friday of October of each subsequent year until cancelled. To obtain an application, visit: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf01126 

Cure for Lymphoma Foundation 
The Cure for Lymphoma Foundation encourages applicants to pursue careers in lymphoma basic, translational and clinical research via a single grant of $105,000 over a two-year period. Research for the foundation's 2002-04 fellowship program may be laboratory- or clinic-based, but any results or conclusions must be relevant to the treatment of lymphoma. Applicants must be Fellows or junior faculty at or below the level of Assistant Professor at the start of the award period and hold a M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent degree. The Fellow must spend at least 80 percent of his or her time in research without major patient care, teaching or administrative responsibilities except those related directly to a translational or clinical research project. Other eligibility requirements also apply. The deadline for applications is October 1, 2001. More information is available at: http://www.cfl.org/research.cfm 

Narcolepsy Network 
The Narcolepsy Network announces the availability of four small-grants, worth nearly $8,000 each, to conduct medical or scientific research relevant to understanding and alleviation of narcolepsy. Applications may address (1) tissue banks, including the facilitation of acquisition, storage or utilization of tissue; (2) subjects, namely the addition of those with narcolepsy to an ongoing or recently completed study of another condition; (3) food, or progress related to understanding short-term adverse effects in cataplectic-narcoleptic persons, of some aspect of food consumption; or (4) co-morbidites, which involves searching for co-existing structural or physiological alterations in persons with narcolepsy. To be eligible, a principal investigator with M.D., Ph.D., or D.O. credentials must originate or accept responsibility for the project. Funds will be paid only to nonprofit organizations. Proposals for any of the four categories listed above are due on September 15, 2001. For more information, visit: http://www.narcolepsynetwork.org/research_req.html 

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