In the July 19, 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.

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Sematech, SUNY-Albany Announce $320-403M Research Center
Plans for a joint five-year $320-$403 million program to accelerate the development of next generation lithography were announced Thursday by International SEMATECH (ISMT) and The University at Albany-SUNY (UAlbany).

ISMT and UAlbany have signed a letter of intent to begin negotiations on the formation of a strategic alliance, to be known as International SEMATECH North (ISMTN), to conduct research and development in the area of advanced lithography infrastructure for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. As currently envisioned, the alliance will initiate a program in EUV infrastructure, to be managed by International SEMATECH and housed in UAlbany's state-of-the-art 300mm wafer cleanroom complex, part of the university's Albany NanoTech center.

At yesterday's press announcement, ISMT president and CEO Bob Helms noted that the technical challenges faced by the semiconductor industry are too great for any single organization, nation or region to solve alone and that the consortium has engaged in a series of collaborative partnerships around the world to share the risks and rewards of technology research and development. Helms was joined in the announcement by New York Governor George E. Pataki and Alain Kaloyeros, executive director of Albany NanoTech.

According to Helms, this alliance allows ISMT to significantly leverage its resources and increase the scope of its programs in an area that is critical to the industry.

UAlbany has a record of growth and industry support over the past decade. Since 1992, its R&D funding has grown fifty-fold, and UAlbany has engaged in various national, industry, and state-funded R&D initiatives. With the construction of two new 300mm cleanroom facilities, one to be completed by the end of 2002 and the other by the end of 2003, UAlbany is one of the centerpieces of Governor George E. Pataki's initiative to encourage the growth of  high-tech companies and jobs in New York.

The range of $320-$403 million in the project's value is based on conflicting reports, including a Sematech press release that sets the project at $320 million and two New York Times stories. The Times reported the state of New York has committed $210 million over five years while Sematech will provide $193 million, for a total of $403 million. The state's contribution must be approved by the State Legislature.

Contract negotiations for the center will begin immediately, and both parties hope to have a final agreement on the strategic alliance by the end of the third quarter of this year. Under the agreement, ISMT will provide technical program definition, execution, management, and staffing, UAlbany will provide facilities and funding leverage, and both entities will share in the executive management of the program and the procurement of equipment and materials as defined by the ISMT management team.

"The agreement under discussion will place a world-class R&D initiative here at UAlbany," said Kaloyeros. "We're committed to this important industry-university collaboration, and look forward to working with ISMT as a premier strategic partner to generate an excellent return on investment for New York State and International SEMATECH."

More information is available at: http://www.sematech.org/public/news/releases/albany1.htm

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Senate Supports ATP, MEP in FY '03; House Approves E-Manufacturing Bill
This week's Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the FY 2003 appropriations for the Department of Commerce includes $185.4 million is for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and $106.6 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). While ATP has taken the heat in past budget cycles, MEP was in the spotlight this year: MEP was slated to receive only $12.9 million in the President's budget request for FY 2003.

Administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), MEP is a nationwide network of not-for-profit centers in over 400 locations nationwide, whose sole purpose is to provide small and medium-sized manufacturers with the technical assistance needed to succeed in a global economy. The program is jointly funded by state, industrial and federal sources.

More information on the progress of this and other appropriations bill will be available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app03.html

Other Manufacturing News from the Hill
Large and small businesses would be able to reduce cost and design cycle times under the Enterprise Integration Act (H.R. 2733), a bill passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives 397-22.

H.R. 2733 authorizes $47 million over four years for NIST to work with manufacturing industries to develop standards for information exchange. Using these standards, NIST would be able to help small businesses automate their processes to ensure the seamless flow of information up and down the supply chain.

The bill is now before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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USDA to Launch Agricultural Innovation Centers
The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold a meeting July 31 to get public input for the design and implementation of the new Agricultural Innovation Center Demonstration Program.

Created with the recent passage of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, the Agriculture Innovation Center Demonstration Program will provide farmers with sound technical, financial, and business advice as they consider new value-added enterprises. No more than five centers will be established in the first year of the program, and no more than 10 in the second year.

RBS is particularly interested in receiving comments on the following specific issues as they relate to agriculture innovation centers:

The all-day meeting will be held in Room 107-A of USDA's Jamie Whitten Building  in Washington, D.C. Those interested in making oral presentations at the meeting should send a written request to Wendy Dotson, Office of the Deputy Administrator for Cooperative Services, Room 4016, Stop 3250, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20250. Written comments will be accepted through August 6, 2002. Further information on the meeting can also be obtained from the July 11, 2002, edition of the Federal Register.

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Indiana's 21st Century Research & Technology Fund, Tax Credits Survive
A massive state budget deficit, partisan squabbles, and a longstanding need to restructure the state's tax code almost derailed Indiana's largest commitment toward building a technology-based economy. An eleventh-hour compromise in the Indiana General Assembly saved the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund from being eliminated, doubled the state's research and development tax credit to 10 percent, repealed an unpopular apportionment formula in the R&D tax credit, and added a venture capital investment tax credit to the state's portfolio as well.

All is not rosy, however. The 21st Century Fund, which supports large-scale research projects at universities and private industry, did take a deep 40 percent cut and will receive only $15 million each year over the biennium. The program also had $50 million in unspent funding rescinded last fiscal year to help balance the state's $1.3 billion budget deficit.

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NGA Releases State TBED Guides
The National Governors' Association (NGA) released three guides at its annual meeting last week that are designed to help governors  to develop technology-based economic development strategies to improve states' global competitiveness. Prepared by the NGA Task Force on State Leadership in the Global Economy in partnership with the Council on Competitiveness, the papers present introductions to building state science and technology capacity, developing cluster-based economies, and creating a 21st-century workforce.

All three papers are available through http://www.nga.org

A Governor’s Guide to Building State Science and Technology Capacity
by Debra van Opstal, Michelle L. Lennihan, and Chad Evans of the Council on Competitiveness

The authors outline several recommendations in four key areas for technology-based economic development:

A Governor’s Guide to Cluster-Based Economic Development
by Stuart Rosenfeld of Regional Technology Strategies in Carrboro, NC

Perhaps most useful as a primer for those who are not familiar with clusters or as a digest of alternatives for implementing into policy, this guide presents the underlying concepts for economic development clusters, the benefits of having geographic concentrations of similar industries and businesses, and alternate approaches toward clustered-based economic development policy.

Four policy options are presented to states: organize service delivery, target investments, strengthen networking opportunities and develop human resources. Rosenfeld suggests the appropriate option depends on many factors concerning the cluster. The guide ends with a section dealing with the equity of economic development that entails ensuring all regions have an opportunity to benefit from a state's policies.

A Governor’s Guide to Creating a 21st - Century Workforce
by Evelyn Ganzglasss, Martin Simon, Christopher Mazzeo, and Kristin Conklin of the NGA Center for Best Practices

The authors argue that developing new workforce policies to address the shortage of skilled workers in the U.S. is critical to the success of the nation in the 21st century.

Challenges that states face when formulating workforce policies and programs are identified, and recommendations to help overcome skilled workforce shortages are made. Some of these recommendations include ideas that would better prepare trainable graduates who have strong foundational skills, enhancing workers' ability to manage their own career and improve opportunities for continuous learning, among others.

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MTI Says Tech an Anchor for Minnesota's Economy
Minnesota's technology sector remains a diverse, well developed and stable anchor to the state's economy, according to a new report released by Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI), Minnesota's tech-based economic development organization.

Using quantitative and qualitative measurements, Our Competitive Nature: Minnesota's Technology Economy characterizes almost 2,500 companies (with more than five employees) as technology intensive, including 1,300 advanced manufacturers, 850 information technology companies, and 300 life sciences companies. These sectors account for 164,500 jobs, the report states.

Our Competitive Nature also reveals the diversity of Minnesota's tech sector. The state's 10 largest companies include six advanced manufacturing companies, two information technology technologies, and two life sciences companies. One of the weaknesses in the state's tech sector, the report contends, is an economy dominated by billion dollar companies and companies with sales of less than $100 million.

"The lack of a 'middle class' of technology company means there is not much ground for the next generation of Minnesota's high-tech leaders and high-tech companies to emerge," said Jacques Koppel, President of MTI. "The upper echelon companies like ADC Telecommunications, Medtronic and 3M keep us on the tech map, in addition to employing a huge and well compensated workforce."

The MTI report suggests the state consider a more collaborative relationship with its most recognizable technology sectors – medical devices, telecom/wireless communications and storage networking – and capitalize on its new tech industries: nanotechnology, biocatalysis and bioinformatics.

Our Competitive Nature: Minnesota's Technology Economy includes several useful tables that allow comparison of Minnesota and the Twin Cities with other states and metro areas, respectively. Appendix A provides a snapshot of how the rankings vary for several cities across five of the better-known national indices, including those by AEA, Milken and the Progressive Policy Insitute. The report is available at: http://www.minnesotatechnology.org/trends/articles_reports.asp

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Federal Programs Critical to Bridging Digital Divide, Report Says
A new report released by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund and the Benton Foundation concludes that continued federal leadership is essential to increasing technology access, given the significant gaps that remain along economic, racial and geographic lines.

Bringing a Nation Online: The Importance of Federal Leadership examines data released earlier this year by the Department of Commerce in A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet, which showed substantial gains in access to computers and the Internet for all Americans. Despite these gains, the new report observes, a significant divide remains based on income, race and ethnicity, geography and disability. Internet use among Whites and Asian American/Pacific Islanders is around 68 percent, but use rates for African-Americans at 30 percent and Hispanics at 32 percent trail far behind, according to the report.

Two programs – the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) and the Community Technology Centers (CTC) program – are working to narrow technology access gaps. Bringing a Nation Online profiles 44 TOP and CTC projects in 25 states that demonstrate the federal government’s success in assisting Americans gain access to technology, enhance economic opportunity, and build community services.

To date, TOP has awarded 530 grants, in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, totaling $192.5 million and leveraging $268 million in local matching funds. The CTC program has awarded 227 grants based on a $107.5 million allocation from Congress that has leveraged $92.5 million in non-federal matching funds.

Bringing a Nation Online suggests now is not the time to scale back federal investment and that the federal government "take steps to create policies and programs that provide people in underserved communities with the opportunity to gain access to technology." The Government should not retreat from investment in the TOP and CTC program, the report contends, but should preserve and improve other federal programs that aim to increase Internet and telecommunications services, such as E-Rate and the Technology Innovation Challenge Fund. In addition, federal leadership should support programs that strive to do the following:

Support for Bringing a Nation Online came from the Digital Media Forum, a project of the Ford Foundation. The report was written by Leslie Harris & Associates under the direction of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund and the Benton Foundation. Bringing a Nation Online is available at: http://www.civilrights.org/publications/bringinganationonline

TOP and CTC Funding Update
The July 17 edition of National Journal's online TechDaily reports the Senate Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee approved $15.5 million for TOP this week, while the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved $32.5 million for the CTC program. Both had been slated for elimination in the Administration's budget request.

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Wyoming Ponders Seed Capital, Tech Centers
The Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee of the Wyoming state legislature heard testimony last week encouraging the creation of two new initiatives to expand Wyoming's technology-based economic development efforts: a seed capital program and a technology incubator.

Seed Capital Loan Program
Tucker Fagan, CEO for the Wyoming Business Council, proposed modifications to a $1 million fund to allow the Council to make seed capital available to Wyoming's entrepreneurial community. The funds would come from the underutilized Science, Technology and Energy Authority.

The July 12 edition of the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle reported the terms for the loans and/or investments would include a non-refundable $1,000 application fee and a pay-back schedule that accelerates over five years. Maximum payback would depend on the length of time required for repayment and would be no more than twice the original loan amount.

Wyoming Technology Center
Unfazed by last year's failed attempt to secure $5 million from the state legislature for construction and operation of a technology incubator, the University of Wyoming was on the Interim Committee's most recent agenda to outline a new proposal to make the tech center a reality in 2002.

The university, in partnership with the city of Laramie and the Laramie Economic Development Corporation, will be developing legislation for consideration this fall for the state to match $3 million in non-state funds raised by the team with a $5 million appropriation to establish the facility on university property.

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New NSF Institutes to Strengthen Mathematics as Base for National S&T
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is establishing three new research institutes that are designed to help strengthen the mathematical sciences as the backbone for U.S. scientific and engineering research. The three centers are expected to receive $24 million over five years. A fourth $9 million award renews for six years the operation of an existing mathematical center that integrates education with research.

An award to Ohio State University in Columbus will lead to a Mathematical Biosciences Institute for interdisciplinary work on problems such as neuroscience and cell processes. This institute will develop the quantitative culture within the life sciences by bringing together people from both mathematical and biological backgrounds. Postdoctoral scientists will be jointly mentored by a bioscientist and a mathematical scientist, and seminars and courses will be aimed at a joint audience.

The Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C., will forge ties between the statistical sciences, and applied mathematical sciences and other disciplines to meet data- and model-driven scientific challenges. Initial projects will include large-scale computer models for environmental systems. The consortium is led by Duke University in collaboration with North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences.

The Research Conference Center of the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) in Palo Alto, Calif., will host research workshops on fundamental and interdisciplinary mathematical sciences. Collaborations formed there are expected to lead to novel approaches to long-standing scientific challenges and to include underrepresented and junior researchers.

Renewal of an award to the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., will support participation by postdoctoral and mid-career mathematicians. The institute guides junior scientists in their research and conducts yearlong thematic programs led by distinguished senior visiting members. Recent programs have included theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics.

Related News: Number of Math Majors Declining
The latest survey of undergraduate mathematics and statistics programs, released by the American Mathematical Society earlier this month, reveals between 1990-2000 a decline of nearly one-fifth the number of math degrees awarded by four-year colleges. The complete 2000 Statistical Abstract of Undergraduate Programs in Mathematical Sciences in the U.S. is available at: http://www.ams.org/cbms/

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TBED People on the Move

Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton is the new chairman of the National Governors' Association. Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne was named vice chairman. Patton has identified education as his highest priority while serving the one-year term as chairman.

Angie Dvorak is leaving her position as CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance to become vice president of research for the University of Southern Mississippi. The University saw a 25 percent increase in research funds last fiscal year, climbing to a record $62.6 million.

Joe Raguso has left the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency to become vice president for strategic and corporate partnerships for SRI International. Raguso served the agency as Deputy Secretary for the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Keith Servis has left his position as director of programs at the New York Office of Science, Technology, and the Advancement of Research to return to the New York Department of Health.

Thomas Still has been selected at the new president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Still, currently associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, will fill the vacancy created by Larry Kline's departure this past spring.

Patrick Tam started this week as the new executive director of SIRTI, the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute. Tam comes to SIRTI from a Seattle-based international technology transfer company.

Robert Templin, Jr., has been named the new president of Northern Virginia Community College, effective August 17. Templin, currently a senior fellow at the Morino Institute, was a previous president of Virginia' Center for Innovative Technology.

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The little matter of a survey...
Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who so far have completed our annual readers' survey. A record number of responses!

To the several thousand of you who were waiting for a personal request, this is it. Please (pretty please) take a few minutes to tell us what you like and don't like about the SSTI Weekly Digest on the following site: http://www.ssti.org/digestsurvey02.htm [expired]

Thanks!

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