• Federal Stimulus Funds Help Fuel North Carolina Green Economy Projects
• SSTI Releases 2009 Conference Agenda, PDF Brochure
• Maryland Plan Calls for $72M Investment in STEM Workforce, R&D Infrastructure
• Is the Notion of a High Engineering Student Dropout Rate a Myth?

Federal Stimulus Funds Help Fuel North Carolina Green Economy Projects
Federal stimulus funds approved earlier this year by Congress are doing more than filling budget gaps in states across the nation. During a year in which it otherwise may be virtually impossible to direct much funding to starting initiatives aimed at growing the economy, many states are using federal stimulus funds to implement new programs.

In North Carolina, Gov. Bev Perdue recently announced that several green energy programs focusing on job creation and promoting greater use of renewable energy resources will be funded through a portion of the state’s share of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.

In June, Gov. Perdue announced the U.S. Energy Department’s approval of $75.9 million in federal stimulus funds with authorization to spend $30.4 million immediately. The state will receive the remaining funds as it shows successful implementation of the plan, according to the governor’s office. Two key components of the approved plan include:

• $18 million to create an Energy Investment Revolving Loan Fund that will provide no- and low-interest loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects to businesses, nonprofits, local governments, public schools, and other agencies; and,
• $7.85 million for workforce development initiatives through the state’s community college and university system to support training for jobs in emerging fields.

The governor recently also signed a measure to move the State Energy Office from the Department of Administration to the Department of Commerce. The idea is to more closely link State Energy Office activities with economic development. The bill also makes changes to the Energy Policy Council by refocusing its efforts on creating green jobs and protecting the environment while improving representation from environmental groups and alternative energy producers, according to the governor’s office.

Lawmakers approved and Gov. Perdue signed the FY 2009-11 budget earlier this month, which authorizes $5 million in ARRA funds to support the Green Business Fund, providing grants to small businesses, nonprofit organizations and state agencies to encourage the growth of a green economy. Another $4 million in ARRA funds and $1 million in nonrecurring state funds will support the Biofuels Center of North Carolina to continue implementation of the North Carolina Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership.

While federal stimulus funds are helping state fiscal situations in the short-term, North Carolina is not exempt from the effects of the recession. The enacted budget reflects decreased funding for several agencies as state revenues continue to decline. Within the Department of Commerce, reductions include:

• $14.8 million in FY10 and $14.5 million in FY11 for the NC Biotechnology Center, down $1.5 million over the biennium;
• $1 million for the Defense and Security Technology Accelerator, a business incubator focusing on economic development opportunities in industries related to homeland security and national defense, down from $1.5 million approved in FY09; and,
• $700,000 in FY10 for the One NC Small Business Fund to provide matching grants to businesses that qualify for federal SBIR/STTR funds, down from $3.5 million approved last fiscal year.

Funding for the e-NC Authority – a statewide broadband initiative – was reduced by $19,800 in FY10 and $29,700 in FY11 from the agency’s recurring annual appropriation of $495,000.

The enacted budget includes about $2 billion in cuts, more than $1 billion in federal stimulus funds, and nearly $1 billion in higher taxes and fees. Days after the budget was signed into law, state lawmakers voted to increase the $19 billion spending plan for this year by nearly $7 million, leaving less than $4 million unspent at the end of the fiscal year, reports the Associated Press.

The Appropriations Act of 2009 is available at: http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S202v8.pdf.

SSTI Releases 2009 Conference Agenda, PDF Brochure
SSTI is pleased to provide Digest subscribers with the first peek at the 28-page, full-color brochure for SSTI’s 13th Annual Conference, Seize the Moment: Tech-based economic development for the next economy while it’s still on the presses. The brochure will begin arriving in mailboxes soon, but is available now as a PDF by clicking either of the links below.

• http://www.ssti.org/Conf09/SSTI_Seize_The_Moment2009_full_brochure.pdf
• http://www.ssticonference.org/SSTI_Seize_The_Moment2009_full_brochure.pdf

In addition, speaker bios, conference updates, and more details are available at: http://www.ssticonference.org/.

The conference just keeps getting better. You won't want to miss:

• The future-looking special sessions where you not only attend - you also are involved using the instant polling and participating in the discussion with leaders in each area to explore how TBED can address the challenges and opportunities facing the nation's innovation system.
• An engaging and timely agenda of 16 breakout sessions set by our members -- your peers!
• Best Practices Galore! With the third annual Excellence in TBED Awards ceremony and presentations.
• A diverse offering of networking opportunities with more than 300 of your peers from across the country - two great receptions, dine-around dinner groups, and even morning yoga!
• Three pre-conference workshops to delve deeper into improving key TBED practices.
• Our team registration program allows SSTI members to send multiple staff at great discounts. If your organization is not already a member, join today to take advantage of this tremendous offer.

Register today and take advantage of the early-registration discount! The secure form is available online at: http://www.ssti.org/Conf09/register.html or call us at 614.901.1690.

Maryland Plan Calls for $72M Investment in STEM Workforce, R&D Infrastructure
To establish Maryland as a global leader in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce and STEM-based R&D infrastructure, a task force convened last year by Gov. Martin O’Malley urges the state to adopt a set of initiatives to reach higher performance standards in teaching and learning in addition to greater productivity in transforming the state’s high volume of R&D activity into economic growth and job creation.

Although Maryland houses several federal research laboratories and major research universities, the state does not fare well in its ability to move research discoveries to the marketplace, according to the task force report. As a result, the state significantly underperforms in creation of new companies, jobs and economic growth emerging from its R&D base. This issue, combined with a shortage of highly-qualified workers in STEM fields, could put the state at a competitive disadvantage in the future, the task force warned. The report notes that while the state currently ranks second in the nation in professional and technical workers as a percentage of the workforce, its aging workers and shortfall in qualified K-12 STEM teachers will impact its ability to maintain this ranking.

To address these challenges, the governor’s STEM Task Force was divided into three working groups, including STEM education, STEM workforce development, and translational R&D. The following proposals are among the recommendations presented to the governor earlier this month:

• Triple the number of teachers in STEM fields and increase the five-year retention rate from an estimated 50 percent to 75 percent. Recommendations include better recruitment and expanding and fully funding Maryland’s Professional Development Schools;
• Increase the number of STEM college graduates by 40 percent. Recommendations include expanding statewide associate degree programs to include high demand fields such as Engineering and Biological Sciences;
• Boost Maryland’s global competitiveness by supporting research and entrepreneurship through establishment of Centers of Excellence focusing on translational research and expanding the successful Maryland Industrial Partnerships program;
• Provide STEM internships, co-op, or lab experiences to all interested high school and college students; and,
• Create a Maryland STEM Innovation Network with both a physical and virtual statewide presence to make STEM resources available to all.

In its final report, the task force outlined funding proposals for each of the seven recommendations beginning in FY11 and extending through FY15. The total investment is $72 million, including $25 million in state funds. The balance would come from federal funds ($37.8 million) and private funds ($9.3 million).

Recognizing that the state currently cannot afford to fund its portion, the task force recommends the state immediately initiate an effort to secure federal grants in the first year of the strategic plan. Additionally, the implementation strategy prioritizes the less expensive actions and draws attention to steps that can be taken at no or low cost to the state.

The full report of the task force, which is co-chaired by William Kirwan, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, is available at: http://www.governor.maryland.gov/documents/090806stemReport.pdf.

Recent Research
Is the Notion of a High Engineering Student Dropout Rate a Myth?
Common wisdom says engineering is hard and a high proportion of engineering students, particularly female engineering students, changes majors during the course of their time in college. A recent study suggests just the opposite actually is true.

An analysis of 310,000 university students found undergraduates who begin their studies as engineers are more likely to remain within their major over time compared to students who begin their studies within other majors. Additionally, engineering students were comparable to students in other majors in terms of women remaining within their major, minorities remaining within major, and grade distribution.

The research appears in an article by Matthew Ohland, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, and his colleagues titled Persistence, Engagement, and Migration in Engineering Programs in the Journal of Engineering Education. The article received the 2009 William Elgin Wickenden Award for best paper by the American Society for Engineering Education.

There are challenges, however, to increasing the number of engineering degrees awarded, the researchers found: engineering is the field with the smallest percentage of student migration from other majors, when compared to migration rates into other majors. Also, a lower percentage of females begin their undergraduate studies in engineering than in other fields.

To improve the number of students graduating with engineering degrees, the research suggests universities need to develop policies that encourage and facilitate student migration into engineering programs.

Inside the Data
The study found 57 percent of students who began their college experience in engineering were still enrolled in engineering in their eighth, and possibly final, semester. This is higher than the retention rate at the eighth semester within business (55%), the social sciences (51%), arts and humanities (50%), other science, technology and math fields (41%), and computer science (38%).

The picture changes, however, if one looks back on the degree path students followed to get to their eighth semester. Ninety-three percent of the engineering students in their eighth semester began their studies as engineers (meaning only 7 percent migrated from other majors), for other science/technical fields and computer science, between 59-50 percent of those in the eighth semester started in the same major (meaning they attracted 40 percent of their seniors to the field.) In the social sciences and the arts and humanities, a full 60 percent of their students in the eighth semester of their studies began their studies in another or undeclared major.

The authors found students leaving engineering are most likely to relocate to business, followed by other technical and scientific fields, followed by majors in the social sciences. More than 21 percent of the students who began in engineering either permanently or temporarily dropped out of school or moved to another institution.

The authors’ dataset, covering a 13-year period, captured one-twelfth of the U.S. graduate population. While this review looked at retention and migration patterns for engineers and other majors, the journal article also covers alternative datasets to analyze programs and methods to engage engineering students.

Persistence, Engagement, and Migration in Engineering Programs is available at:

http://www.asee.org/publications/jee/upload/2008_Wickenden_Award_Paper.pdf