In the May 3, 2002 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.

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.

Strong R&D Spending Supports U.S. Economic Growth, NSF Report Shows
Dramatic increases in research and development (R&D) investments during the past decade, largely from industry, have contributed to U.S. standing as a global economic power, according to Science and Engineering Indicators 2002, a biennial report of the National Science Board. The U.S. had $244.1 billion in R&D investments in 1999, an increase of nearly $33 billion from 1997, the report shows. In addition, the U.S. accounts for 44 percent of the total worldwide investment in R&D — an amount equal to the combined total of Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.

R&D investments by U.S. industry, S&E Indicators reports, have contributed to a steady stream of innovations and spurred economic growth, increasing per-capita income. The report adds that changes in the conduct of research and development also have led to transformations in other areas, including a growth in science-based patents and an increased level of high-tech exports.

Meanwhile, the balance of R&D investments continues to shift, according to S&E Indicators. As industry R&D grew to nearly 75 percent of the national total by 2000, federal expenditures remained essentially flat over the past decade. Since 1980, the share of basic research to total national R&D has risen from 14 to 18 percent. Federal research expenditures in life sciences also rose from 41 to 47 percent of the federal total between 1990 and 2000, but the combined share of physical sciences and engineering in federal research total dropped from 37 to 29 percent in the same period.

On the state level, California remains the leader in the level of R&D investments, S&E Indicators reports. The state's $48 billion mark in 1999 reflects a 15.1 percent increase over its $41.7 billion level in 1997. Michigan, with $18.8 billion in 1999, shows a 34.3 percent increase over 1997 and remains second overall. Similarly, New York is still third, showing $14.1 billion as the level of its R&D investments in 1999.

Rounding out the top 10 states are Texas ($12.4 billion), Massachusetts ($12.2 billion), Pennsylvania ($10.7 billion), New Jersey ($10.5 billion), Illinois ($9.7 billion), Washington ($8.3 billion) and Maryland ($8 billion). Among the top 20, nine states hold the same ranking in 1999 as they held in 1997. Arizona (14) and Georgia (20) entered the top 20 in 1999, replacing Indiana and the District of Columbia.

S&E Indicators also highlights trends among the nation's workforce and education system. Additional findings include:

Science and Engineering Indicators 2002 is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind02/start.htm A press 
release on the two-volume report and other backgrounders are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/02/pr0228.htm

Return to the top of this page

Defense Restores SBIR Funds...

Defense Concedes: Will Honor 2.5% Set Aside
Mid-April letters from the Department of Defense to Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO), respectively chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, marked the end of a four-month standoff and a $75 million win for small tech firms across the country. At issue was whether an eleventh-hour insertion in the 2002 Defense Appropriations, which effectively halved the SBIR obligation of the Missile Defense Agency (see the 1/11/02 SSTI Weekly Digest for the original story), also reduced the entire Defense Department's requirement to award 2.5 percent of its extramural R&D to small companies through the SBIR program.

Dov S. Zakheim, Under Secretary for Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer, wrote in the agency's response to a Jan. 29 letter from the two Senators, "We have spent a good deal of time reviewing both the proviso in the 'Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Defense-wide' appropriation in Public Law 107-117 and the provisions of the SBIR program (15 U.S.C. 638(f)). As a result, I can assure you that the Department intends to comply with the provisions of the SBIR statute."

What is not disclosed in the letter and will require further investigation by the Small Business Administration or Congress, however, is how the Department will meet the $75 million obligation. The most likely scenario is assessing the full amount from the Missile Defense Agency, as would have been required before the rescission. Other options include distributing some or all of the burden across other Defense components.

 ...and other SBIR News

NSF Matching SBIR Phase II Grantees to VC
The National Science Foundation has launched NSF SBIR Matchmaker, an effort to connect interested NSF SBIR Phase II grant recipients to strategic investment partners for early stage capital. The goal is to increase the likelihood of commercialization of successful technologies resulting from NSF SBIR research.

Prospective investment organizations and strategic partners must have a focus in one or more of the four technology focus areas: electronics, biotech, information technology, or advanced materials and manufacturing. SBIR Phase II grantees must meet several criteria for inclusion in the program.

More information is available at: http://www.eng.nsf.gov/sbir/matchmaker.htm

States' Meeting Scheduled for June Nat'l Conference
The Office of Technology within the Small Business Administration is organizing a State/Federal Partnership Workshop for current grantees and prospective applicants to the two SBA programs that support state and local SBIR outreach and commercialization assistance: the Federal and State Technology Partnership and the Rural Outreach Program. The invitation-only meeting will be held in Washington D.C. from 1-5 p.m. on June 13, in conjunction with the National SBIR Conference. The draft agenda includes a number of items:

In extending the invitations, Maurice Swinton, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Technology, pointed out 
"the meeting provides the only opportunity to speak with the federal partners before the close of the upcoming FY02 FAST and FY03 SBIR Rural Outreach competitions."

Organizations eligible to participate in the FAST and ROP solicitations and interested in attending should contact Mr. Swinton at (202) 205-6450 or maurice.swinton@sba.gov.

Return to the top of this page

Comprehensive Internet Studies Issued in Maryland, Maine
Two recent studies on Internet usage in Maryland and Maine offer detailed maps of broadband infrastructure. The studies offer some insights on how businesses and, in the case of Maryland, private citizens are accessing the Internet. Specific findings are not presented below; however, each of the studies are available in their entirety via the links that follow the respective summaries.

eReadiness Maryland
 The first-ever, comprehensive statewide study on Internet usage, access and infrastructure among Maryland's businesses and households became available April 18. eReadiness Maryland: Assessing our Digital Opportunities includes the survey results of 1,422 households and 1,126 businesses, real-time dial-up connection speeds from 24 locations and previously unavailable maps of fiber infrastructure, DSL service and cable modems.

The study provides statistical indicators for both businesses and households. Analysis on Internet connectivity and a national comparison is emphasized for the former. For households, eReadiness Maryland relates computer use to families' income and educational attainment levels. The regional variation of computer and Internet usage in Maryland is given for both businesses and households.

To fund eReadiness Maryland, TEDCO contributed $100,000 and leveraged $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, $110,000 from industry sponsors and $45,000 from the State of Maryland. Another $50,000 reportedly will be provided to commission an in-depth study on the need for high-speed bandwidth in Western Maryland. For this project, TEDCO has committed $25,000 and has obtained a matching grant of $25,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

eReadiness Maryland is a two-phase study designed by the Technology Policy Group of the Ohio Supercomputer Center and managed by the Maryland Technology Development Corp. With Phase I of the study completed, Phase II will be a series of regional briefings to review the findings and discuss policy recommendations. The complete text of eReadiness Maryland is available at: http://www.marylandtedco.org/home.html

E-commerce Among Maine Businesses
The new report on integration of Internet technologies in Maine businesses, E-commerce Among Maine Businesses: Keeping up or falling behind?, recently was released by Market Decisions of South Portland, Maine. The report shows 2001 data based on The Maine Development Foundation's annual Maine Business Survey.

Several indicators used by E-commerce Among Maine Businesses entail Internet connectedness among Maine businesses, including the number of companies having a connection, how they are connected (i.e. cable, dial-up, DSL, ISDN, T1 or wireless means) and their use of the Internet. More than 90 percent of the state's companies with at least 50 employees have a website, the report observes.

Additional indicators show the number of Maine businesses using other technologies, such as e-mail, fax, video conferencing and 800 numbers, and the report details the frequency of companies having to provide basic education to entry-level employees for computer skills, math, reading and writing.

Separate data from a D&B Small Business survey is included for comparison. E-commerce Among Maine Businesses is available at: http://www.marketdecisions.com/index2.htm

Return to the top of this page

Doctorates in Physics and Engineering Plummet during Late 1990s
The National Science Foundation reports the number of doctorate awards from U.S. universities in physics, after hitting a record high in 1994, fell 22 percent by the year 2000. Doctorates in engineering declined 15 percent by the year 2000 from the 1996 peak.

The declines were a result of a decrease of awards made to non-U.S. citizens, according to the April InfoBrief "Declines in U.S. Doctorate Awards in Physics and Engineering." Specifically, 59 percent of the decline in physics awards and 74 percent of engineering doctorates are accounted for by non-U.S. citizens, especially from several East Asian countries. Drops in students from China represented half of the total decline for doctorates in physics. The percentage of doctorates in physics awarded to U.S. citizens remained relatively flat during the period, accounting for 50.97 percent in 1994 and 51.62 percent in 2000. Actual values for doctorates to U.S. citizens were 789 in 1994 and 622 in 2000.

Two-thirds of the decline in engineering doctorates is explained through decreases in students from China, South Korea and Taiwan. U.S. citizens earned a high of 2,739 engineering doctorates in 1997; the total fell to 2,206 by 2000.

The issue brief, based on NSF's Survey of Earned Doctorates for 2000, is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/infbrief/nsf02316/start.htm

Return to the top of this page

California's Best TBED Programs Identified
With a large land mass and a population surpassing the 21 least populated states and the District of Columbia combined, California has scores of public programs and nonprofit organizations dedicated to encouraging technology-based economic development on the state, regional, local and sub-local levels. Best practices in the field, then, could have applications in a number of other states and communities.

Last week, Governor Gray Davis announced the 12 winners of the 2002 Governor's Technology & Innovation Awards, which honor non-profit organizations, public-private partnerships, educational institutions, individuals, and philanthropic programs that help foster California's tech-based economy in exemplary and innovative ways. The program is administered by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation of the California's Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency.

Award winners — which include a business incubator, a high school principal, a workforce training program, community tech-access programs, a public-private science education collaborative, a trade organization, and a science learning center — will be featured in a "Governor's Technology & Innovation Compendium of Best Practices." Recipients include:

Return to the top of this page

State and Local Tech-based ED RoundUp

Alaska
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is better equipped to study technologies and barriers to developing energy resources in Alaska, thanks to a cooperative agreement with the University of Alaska. A story in Inside Energy reported that NETL recently established its fourth office in the U.S. in Fairbanks, helping to fulfill a Department of Energy (DOE) venture begun in FY 2000. In 2001, DOE awarded a $24-million grant to the university to operate the new Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory. A total of $30 million is expected to be awarded by September toward the effort.

California
To complete a school assignment aimed at closing the digital divide, engineering and business students at the University of Southern California have teamed with a church to create a cyber cafe, the Daily Trojan recently reported. The cafe, which will be free to the community, is intended to bridge the technological gap among minorities via computer training.

Colorado
The Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association has injected $11 million into a private venture fund to support the commercialization of university research in the state. The University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office, to help the process along, is doubling its budget to $2.3 million and increasing the office's staff from 11 to 16, according to an Associated Press report. The university also is increasing the researcher's share of royalties from one-fourth to one-third of the proceeds.

New Mexico
The Multi-Agency Network (Magnet), an initiative to link state agencies through a broadband fiber-optic network, is expected to boost economic development in communities throughout New Mexico, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The Magnet initiative will offer high-speed data services to state agencies in 35 New Mexico towns. A multimillion-dollar contract to finance construction of the network would increase competition among the state's telecommunication companies, including AT&T, Qwest and Worldcom. Qwest owns 85 percent of the state's phone lines.

In a related story in the Journal, a $1 million grant to build a fiber-optic network near Sandia National Laboraties also is inching closer to fruition. The grant was awarded in 2000 by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to develop the network on the 200-plus acres east of South Eubank, the location of the Sandia Science and Technology Park. In need of a master plan for the park and roads under which to install the network, the project had been delayed. Both of those needs have been fulfilled, however, and the project only awaits the selection of a contractor to build the network. One of six teams of contractors who submitted proposals is expected to be chosen by May 23.

Wisconsin
Plans for two advanced technology centers are in the works for Kenosha and Racine Counties in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported. To open in January 2003 and the fall of 2003, respectively, the Center for Advanced Telecommunications (CATI) and the Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology (CATT) will be assisted by a $1 million state planning grant. CATI, which will be built in Racine County, will serve as an incubator, a tech transfer hub and an education program to stimulate entrepreneurship. CATT will be located on the Gateway Technical College campus in Kenosha County; the center will foster training and jobs in biological and chemical technology and telecommunications.

Return to the top of this page

Technology Assessment Service for Congress Explored
With technology's pervasiveness and important role in most aspects of the policy agenda before Congress, the need for accurate, nonpartisan information on technology may never have been greater. Two approaches to meeting the need were the topic of Technology Assessment: Identifying the Needs of Congress, a recent forum co-hosted by ASME International and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The forum provided an opportunity for an exchange of information on technology assessment legislation currently proposed in the House and Senate. Forum speakers included Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ); Jonathan Epstein, Congressional Fellow, Senator Jeff Bingaman's (D-NM) office; and, Amy Fraenkel, Counsel, U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Attendees included representatives from various scientific, engineering and technology organizations.

There are currently two bills pending in Congress that would help address the need for improved technology assessment for Congress. Rep. Holt has introduced H.R. 2148 to reauthorize the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC) has introduced legislation to establish a "Science and Technology Assessment Service."

ASME's Council on Public Affairs recently issued a position statement supporting the development of improved mechanisms to provide timely, accurate and unbiased information to the Congress on issues involving science, engineering and technology. The position statement, Establishment of a Technology Assessment Arm of Congress (#02-18), is available to review at http://www.asme.org/gric/ps/ps02.html  For more information, please contact Reese Meisinger, Director, Public Affairs at meisingerr@asme.org.

Return to the top of this page

Useful Stats: Industrial R&D Per Capita: 1997-1999
Industrial R&D intensity, or measuring industrial research and development expenditures as a proportion of Gross State Product, is just one method to standardize the data for comparison across states (see the April 12, 2002 edition of the SSTI Weekly Digest). Reviewing a state's expenditures on the basis of its population is another technique.

SSTI has prepared a table presenting industrial R&D per capita values and rankings for 1997-1999 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The table reveals different results in rankings than industrial R&D intensity for many states. The top five states for industrial per capita in 1999 were Michigan, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Washington.

Data for the table was obtained from the Census Bureau estimates and the National Science Foundation's Survey of Industrial Research and Development: 1999, which is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf02312/htmstart.htm

Return to the top of this page

People

The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Heath Copp as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Copp, 24, is a resident of Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Gary Neil Drummond has been elected chairmain of the board for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.

Joseph Hammang is leaving his position as director of science and technology at the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council to join the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc.

John S. Maxson has been named as the new president of The Illinois Coalition. Mr. Maxson fills the position vacated by Shaye Mandle earlier this spring.

The Illinois Innovation Initiative has named Jerry Mitchell to serve as commercialization manager. Mr. Mitchell is also president of the Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum.

Sacramento's economic development director, Andy Plescia, is moving on to become a private development consultant.

Marguerite Wilbur has been named president and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley.

David Winder, currently executive director of the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development, has been appointed to a newly created post as Governor Mike Leavitt's special assistant for post-Olympic projects. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Mr. Winder will serve both positions until a replacement is named for the DCED position.

Organizational Updates

Return to the top of this page

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

  © 2003 State Science and Technology Institute. All rights reserved.