SSTI Digest

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney promoted Renee Fry to serve as director of the Department of Business and Technology, the state agency tasked with retaining and attracting jobs and steering economic policy throughout the Commonwealth.

Sometimes a little money is all that may be required to discover that an innovation in the lab is worth millions in the marketplace. At least that's the goal of a small grant program launched this afternoon by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC). The MTTC Tech Commercialization Awards will provide $5,000 mini-grants for technology assessments and investigations by academic and industrial researchers within the Commonwealth.

Jeff Brancato has been named Associate Vice President for Economic Development of University of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts' innovation indicators may be strong, but the conversion of innovation into new high tech jobs is lagging and the state’s median household income continues to dip, according to the latest Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy.

The 8th annual index, released last month by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), tracks nine industry clusters and 17 economic indicators that benchmark the state’s strengths and weaknesses against six other states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York. Positive signs for innovation in Massachusetts include:

Chief Executive Officer Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology The Oklahoma Science & Technology Research and Development (OSTRaD) Board is accepting applications for the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology and the Oklahoma Institute of Technology. The CEO also serves as the Executive Director of the OSTRaD Board. Candidates are sought who have an education in an appropriate field and substantial managerial experience in developing and managing research and technology development programs. Preference will be given to candidates who have an earned degree, preferably doctorate, in a field of science or engineering. Applications are due by Feb. 28, 2005.

Former Massachusetts House Majority Leader Salvatore DiMasi has replaced Thomas Finneran as Speaker of the House. Finneran recently resigned to run the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appointed Ranch Kimball to serve as his new economic development secretary.

Although Massachusetts' universities may be at the fore of nanotechnology research and development (R&D), they must continue to win on research for the state to stay competitive for federal funds, suggests a recent report by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and the Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI).

Massachusetts is experiencing a surge in nanoscale technologies, according to Nanotechnology In Massachusetts. As of February 2004, close to 100 companies in the state are using or developing the technologies, half of which are within the healthcare and electronics industries. Massachusetts' venture capital community also has invested in companies using or developing nanotech. In 2003, these firms attracted more than $120 million in funding, second only to California's $480 million.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) announces the creation of the Innovation Systems Division and a unique economic development initiative, the John Adams Innovation Institute, a vehicle for the state to make strategic investments in its knowledge economy.

Janice Bourque, president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, plans to step down once a replacement has been found.

A quick scan of most state innovation indices and report cards will reveal Massachusetts is on the short list for comparison of what others states would like to achieve. But a leadership spot in the innovation economy is not being taken for granted in the Commonwealth.

The dot-com crash and recession hit the state hard, leading Massachusetts Speaker Thomas M. Finneran last summer to recommend that Massachusetts invest more than $100 million toward several tech-based economic development (TBED) initiatives (see the July 11, 2003, issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest).

It's one thing to call your entrepreneurship education efforts the best, but it's another when more than 950 of your peers from around the country do. The entrepreneurship program at Harvard Business School (HBS) recently won the top award for MBA programs nationwide from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), an organization devoted to entrepreneurship education and development. USASBE named Harvard Business School as its National Model MBA Program winner at the organization's annual conference in Dallas on Jan. 17-19.