In the November 15, 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.


Aerospace, Aviation Industry Important at All Levels, Study Shows
Employing more than two million workers in 2001 with an annual average wage of $47,700, the U.S. civil and commercial aerospace and aviation industry has a major economic and employment impact at the national, state and local levels in all 50 states, according to a report by the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The industry also is a substantial force in civil, military, and space manufacturing and operations in nearly half of the nation's states, the report stated.

The Commission, a 12-member panel formed in 2001 by the President and the U.S. Congress, offers a picture of the industry in a national and state-by-state analysis entitled U.S. Aerospace and Aviation Industry: A State-by-State Analysis. Their 112-page statistical study examines the industry by direct employment, wages, establishments and payroll, providing comparative economic data for review.

Air transportation, among other segments of the aerospace and aviation industry, was the leading employer with more than 1.3 million jobs in 2001, the report shows. Air transportation workers earned an average of $40,600 per year, as California, Texas, Illinois, Florida and New York led in aviation employment.

The study also shows that aircraft and parts manufacturing employed 462,200 workers, with an average annual salary of $57,200. The leading centers in this segment in 2001 were Washington, California, Kansas, Texas and Connecticut.

Other data breakouts by sector include Guided Missile Manufacturing, Satellite Communications, Space Research and Technology, and Search and Detection Manufacturing.

"The significance of our analysis lies in the illustration of the importance of the aerospace and aviation industry to the economic health of every state economy," Commission Chairman Robert Walker said in a press statement. "California, Texas and Washington lead by most aerospace and aviation metrics. At the same time, however, the report demonstrates that Alabama, Arizona, Georgia and Kansas are home to strong industry clusters - a fact some may find surprising."

The statistical data in the study also include pertinent aerospace and aviation workforce and economic impact data for leading U.S. metropolitan areas, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Phoenix, Boston, Atlanta, New York, Wichita, and Chicago.

Statistics used in the report are based on the most recently available U.S. government data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are limited by the Standard Industrial Classification system. While the figures provided are the latest official data, they don't reflect the significant downturn of the industry since the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001.

U.S. Aerospace and Aviation Industry is a draft of the final report the Commission intends to release November 18, 2002. More information will be available through http://www.aerospacecommission.gov.

return to the top of this page

Programs with Results
California's Matching Grants Yielding Big Results
Note: With this issue, the SSTI Weekly Digest is launching a new occasional "Programs with Results" series — articles profiling a variety of technology-based economic development programs that have been around many years and are yielding positive results. Our goal is to help answer the question "What Appears to Work?" with models that potentially could be duplicated in other states, regions or communities.

The California Technology Investment Partnership (CalTIP) provides matching grants of up to $250,000 to support California companies that receive competitively awarded federal research and development grants for projects in emerging technologies with the potential to be commercialized in the state. Begun in 1993 in response to federal defense conversion activities, CalTIP has evolved to focus almost exclusively on supporting small technology-based firms with financial awards and technical assistance through the state's six Regional Technology Alliances (RTAs).

With more than nine rounds of CalTIP funding, the state has provided a total of $46 million through 237 awards. To assess the impact of the state's emphasis on emerging and commercializable technologies, the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation in the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency surveyed the 119 CalTIP grants made between 1993-1999 to 93 unique small and medium-sized businesses. These businesses received nearly $22 million from CalTIP and matched it with $109 million in private support (in-kind and cash) and almost $106 million in federal R&D funding.

With a 79 percent response rate, the survey determined:

Because of the close relationship between the RTAs and regional CalTIP winners, the survey also examined which areas of the state were seeing the greatest economic impact of the awards. Grants to San Diego-area companies were found to be more productive in the creation of new jobs and new products than those to companies in other regions of California.

The San Diego Regional Technology Alliance conducted its own survey of CalTIP recipients in the region and determined, from 1993 to 2001, 38 private high tech or life sciences companies leveraged more than $700 million in outside equity investments in public and private funding. During that time period, every dollar of CalTIP seed capital investment in San Diego generated 160 percent return in the form of increased state tax revenue, and CalTIP companies created over 2,200 new jobs. The total value of CalTIP projects in San Diego is estimated at $113 million.

Both the statewide CalTIP assessment and San Diego RTA's CalTIP Impact Report are available at http://www.sdrta.org/ under "economic development research."

return to the top of this page

Measuring Up 2002 Grades States on Higher Education Performance
Many states have made substantial strides in preparing students for college-level education, but widespread gains in the proportion of Americans going to college have not been made, according to Measuring Up 2002, a report released by the independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The report finds that overall college opportunity in America also is at a standstill, remaining unevenly and unfairly distributed.

Following up on the previous, first-of-its-kind Measuring Up 2000, the new report measures the nation and each state's performance in providing education and training beyond high school by updating each state's performance and comparing each state's 2002 results with its results two years ago.

In Measuring Up 2002, each state's higher education performance is evaluated by using "A" through "F" grades in five key areas of higher education performance — preparation, participation, affordability, completion, and benefits. All grades are based on each state's index score in 34 quantitative indicators weighted by their "importance to the performance category - as informed by research and policy experience." The sum of all weights is 100 percent for each category. Although many states perform well in several areas, none receive straight A's. With each area, respectively, the report strives to answer the following:

For the nation as a whole, college opportunity is at a standstill, the report states. In the area of preparation, Measuring Up 2002 makes these observations:

In the area of participation, the report contends:

Eleven states improved their performance on all measures in providing affordable college education to their residents, according to the report. Most of this progress may well have been lost in recent months, however, as states have responded to revenue shortfalls through steep tuition increases and insufficient investments in student financial aid, the report adds.

Only five states (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Utah) improved their performance on all measures concerning the timely completion of certificates and degrees. From Measuring Up 2000 to Measuring Up 2002, the proportion of students completing certificates and degrees rose in Alabama from 18 to 24 per 100 undergraduate students and in Arizona from 14 to 17.

Completion of degrees at four-year colleges and universities is low, even among the top-performing states, the report suggests. In no state do more than 70 percent of full-time students complete a degree within six years of enrolling in college. Similarly, in only half of the states do more than 50 percent of first-year students at community colleges return for their second year.

Despite the improvements made by some states and their higher education systems, the benefits of American higher education continue to be unevenly and unfairly distributed, according to the report.

Measuring Up 2002 was funded through grants from The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Ford Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Measuring Up will be updated again in 2004 and 2006. Comprehensive, individual profiles of each state, as well as brief state summaries, are featured in the 2002 edition. The report is available at http://measuringup.highereducation.org/.

For further review, SSTI has prepared a table showing states' grades and scores in each of the five performance categories. The table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/111502t.htm

return to the top of this page

2001 Tech Transfer Activities of Federal Agencies Examined
The federal laboratories and research facilities associated with nine federal agencies can serve as a treasure chest of technologies for commercialization, according to Intellectual Property: Federal Agency Efforts in Transferring and Reporting New Technology (GAO-03-47). The recent report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) discloses that in fiscal year 2001, nine federal agencies created 3,676 new inventions, issued 1,585 patents and received $74.5 million in licensing revenues.

Agencies included in the report were: the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Air Force, Army, Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Navy, and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

These agencies differ greatly in their approaches concerning what they will patent, the types of licensing agreements they will enter, and how they report their output. Some of the agencies have decentralized their technology transfer programs while others have centralized. While only one in nine agencies submitted their report on time, as required by the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2002, all agencies eventually submitted reports. However, some of the reports were inconsistent, inaccurate or incomplete. Some agency reports differed in the elements used to calculate statistics for the reports. Much of this, according to the GAO review, is attributable to confusion stemming from this being the first year for implementing the act.

Despite the failure of the agencies to provide reports on time, the GAO provides some insight into the activity of the nine agencies. The report includes appendices reporting activity for each agency. Some of this information for FY 2001, including the number of inventions disclosures, patent applications, and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), is highlighted below:

Agency
Invention 
Disclosures
Patent 
Applications
CRADAs
ARS
118
118
219
Air Force
139
118
320
Army
270
343
998
DOE
1,479
1,126
558
NASA
696
302
1
NIH
379
330
420
NOAA
2
3
8
Navy
589
451
317
USGS
4
16
42

Each agency has been very successful in developing new technologies. Examples of this are:

The GAO report provides two recommendations for federal agencies to help with implementing the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2002. First, the Department of Commerce needs to clarify which data elements are to be included in the agencies' reports. Secondly, the Office and Management and Budget should develop guidelines for gathering the information submitted by the agencies.

Some of the agencies have taken steps to improve contractor and grantee compliance; however, they have not addressed some of the underlying problems such as duplication in reporting requirements.

Intellectual Property: Federal Agency Efforts in Transferring and Reporting New Technology (GAO-03-47) can be downloaded at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0347.pdf

return to the top of this page

MIT Launches $15 Million Research Grant Program
In an era of tight public budgets, sources of seed funding for early stage and developmental research projects with potential for commercialization is getting harder to come by. Many state initiatives to support these endeavors are subject to the same budget cuts as other areas, and small firms' interests in the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program are increasing pressure for these already competitive grants.

Using at least $15 million of a $20 million gift from the co-founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has taken matters into its own hands for its faculity and students by launching Ignition and Innovation Program Grants through the new Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. The $15 million is expected to be allocated to dozens of different projects over a five-year period.

The center recently announced nine awards to receive the first $1.25 million from the Ignition and Innovation Program Grants. Ignition grants provide seed funding of up to $50,000. Targeting risky, unprecedented technological advancements that would have broad implications if proven successful, Ignition grants are awarded to help catapult ideas into research and are awarded to benefit projects in the early, more conceptual stages of development.

Innovation grants provide funding up to $250,000 and are designed to benefit projects that have moved beyond the conceptual stage. These grants support research on new technologies that have the potential to yield new businesses or products.

In addition to receiving research funding, grant recipients are introduced to a host of entrepreneurial and business resources inside and outside of MIT, including venture capitalists, local business resources, MIT Technology Licensing Office, MIT Venture Mentoring Service, partnerships with MIT Sloan School of Management Courses, MIT Entrepreneurship Center, MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition, MIT Industrial Liaison Program, MIT Sloan School of Management, and MIT Enterprise Forum®.

The Deshpande Center, part of the MIT School of Engineering, was established in January 2002. More information is available at: http://web.mit.edu/deshpandecenter/

return to the top of this page

Useful Stats: DOT SBIR Phase I Awards Statistics by State
Each year, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is one of the most competitive for companies seeking federal research funding. The FY 2002 Phase I solicitation proved to be no different as the agency made only 12 award recommendations from the pool of 202 proposals submitted — an award percentage of only 5.94 percent.

Joe Henebury, DOT SBIR Program Manager, provided the 2002 award and proposal statistics by state to the Idaho SBIR Competition News, an e-publication of the SBIR outreach activity conducted by the National Science Foundation-Idaho EPSCoR Project. Dr. Chris Busch, serving as consultant to the University of Idaho EPSCoR Program, prepares the bi-weekly e-newsletter. As a service to our readers, SSTI has re-published as a webpage the statistical table included in the November 8 issue of the Idaho SBIR Competition News. Presenting the number of proposals submitted, awards received and conversion percentage by state, the chart is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/111502t2.htm

Idaho small businesses or other parties interested in being added to the distribution list for the Idaho SBIR Competition News should send an email message with their name, address, phone number and email address to Ms. Gina Taruscio, University of Idaho, Business Technology Incubator, Moscow. Ms. Taruscio's email address is ginat@uidaho.edu.

return to the top of this page

NSF Announces $200K in Mentoring Awards
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced it intends to have almost $200,000 in fiscal year 2003 funds for new awards under the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) Program. Nominations to honor individuals and institutions are invited for the 2003 competition of these annual awards.

The PAESMEM Program, administered on behalf of the White House by NSF, seeks to identify outstanding mentoring efforts or programs designed to enhance the participation of groups underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The awardees serve as exemplars to their colleagues and are leaders in the national effort to more fully develop U.S. human resources in the above fields.

Approximately 20 grant awards of $10,000 each are expected to be split evenly among individuals and institutions. Beyond the grant award, each awardee will be invited to Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony, recognition events, and meetings with leaders in federal sector education and research, and focused workshops addressing effective mentoring of students from the underrepresented groups. The awardees will be honored at a White House ceremony.

Among eligibility requirements, nominees must have served in such a mentoring role for at least five years. An individual nominee must be a U.S. citizen who has an affiliation with an organization eligible to be an NSF grantee. Likewise, an institutional nominee must be eligible to be an NSF grantee. All specified efforts may be at the K-12, undergraduate, or graduate levels.

Full proposals are due by 5 p.m. (proposer's local time) on February 28, 2003. More information, including proposal submission guidelines and all eligibility requirements, is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf03503

return to the top of this page

People

Bill Richardson, Governor-elect of New Mexico, has named Rick Homans as secretary of the state's Economic Development Department.

Fritz Bittenbender will become president of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association in December.

The New Hampshire High Technology Council has announced Paul Houle is the new president and chief executive officer and Mary Collins will serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Gary Mahn, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, has announced he will resign from the position at the end of the year.

Pam McDonough, director of the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs for the past four years, has been appointed to the Illinois Labor Relations Board by outgoing Governor George Ryan. Joseph Hannon will serve as the department's director for the remainder of Ryan's term, which ends in January.

Carla Patterson is the new director of the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Cian Robinson, executive director of Infotech Niagara, has left the position to consult privately.

Carolyn Stark is the new director of the Austin Technology Council, filling the position vacated by Paul Toprac.

Lara L. Vande Walle is the new president of the Washington DC Technology Council (DC Tech).

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.