SSTI Digest

Jan Griffen has accepted the position of Director of Contracts for the National Institute of Aerospace. Griffen was formerly the director of federal programs for the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology.

Eugene Huang will replace Virginia Secretary of Technology George Newstrom, who is resigning after two years in the position.

The need for programs to encourage science, math and technology education (SMET) among most minority groups becomes evident when one consider the nation’s need for a high skilled workforce, the growing portion of the total population divided among minority groups, and the low percentage most minorities represent of science and engineering professionals. The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program in the National Science Foundation (NSF) is one of three federal programs attempting to address the issue.

Different in its approach from the NASA and NIH efforts, the NSF program strives to increase the number of minority students completing a baccalaureate degree in a SMET-related field and enrolling in related graduate program by financially supporting partnerships among academic institutions, industry, government agencies, laboratories and professional organizations. Twenty-eight LSAMPs have been funded in 24 states since the program was created in 1991.

The vast majority of the nation's four million science and engineering (S&E) occupations are held by individuals with a bachelor's degree education or higher; however, a surprising 22 percent - 1.036 million - are not, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) InfoBrief released last week. The analysis, based on the April 2003 Current Population Survey, reveals 5 percent of S&E workers hold only a high school diploma and 17 percent reported an associate's degree as their highest level of educational attainment.

While not argued in NSF's InfoBrief, the findings support arguments for the important role vocational education and community colleges can play in training a regional tech-based economic development workforce. This is particularly apparent when the data are sorted by occupational group.

One of the more interesting uses of funds from the national tobacco settlement with the states, Virginia officials announced a $12 million economic development and broadband technology infrastructure initiative to serve more than 25 towns, cities and counties of rural Virginia.

The Regional Backbone/Roots of Progress Initiative (RBI) will create 700 miles of new fiber optic cable that will connect five cities, 20 counties, 56 industrial parks and provide high-speed Internet access to nearly 700,000 citizens and more than 19,000 businesses throughout Virginia at a 20 percent reduction in high-speed Internet access costs. Construction is scheduled to begin in October and expected to be completed by January 2006.

The National Science Board recently named Mary Good to be the recipient of the 2004 Vannevar Bush Award for "her life-long contributions to science, engineering and technology, and for leadership throughout her multi-faceted career."

Best practices and a how to guide written by real practitioners of angel financing are just two of the new resources available through the Angel Capital Association (ACA). The following papers for understanding and growing a local seed capital activity within a region are available through the association's website:

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced last month a partnership with the Loudoun County, Va., school district to donate $1 million per year to establish a biotech magnet program for area high school students.

The nonprofit’s support of the Loudoun district was made in connection with a tax break for a new research campus at Janelia Farm, scheduled to open in 2006. The district is hoping some of the nearly 300 scientists expected to work at the new facility will also sponsor student research programs and act as mentors.

An empty wing of the district’s new Dominion High School will house the program that will be open to students through a competitive application process. Students will attend the program every other day, while remaining at their home high school for other classes and extracurricular activities.

The line was drawn in the sand a year ago. Some felt Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), the Commonwealth's lead organization for science and technology, had been set up for failure in a partisan fight for limited public revenues. Like the rest of Virginia's economic development portfolio, CIT took a big hit in the budget cycle as Virginia dealt with a multibillion-dollar deficit in fiscal year 2003. CIT's budget was slashed to $7.8 million, yet its targeted total impact for the year was $266.8 million. Could it be done?

In a word, yes.

Dismissing all doubters, CIT released a report last week of its audited FY 2003 performance that shows economic impact totaling $318.6 million, a return of more than 40 times the Commonwealth's $7.8 million investment.