SSTI Digest

While some regional assessments attempt to benchmark economic indicators of smaller regions to those of notable accomplishment such as Silicon Valley or Research Triangle Park, a new study from the Center for Regional Strategies at Virginia Tech compares regions with similar economic and demographic characteristics, a potentially more useful model for other metro areas.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering: Fall 2002, a collection of 54 statistical tables presenting the distribution of graduate students in science and engineering (S&E) across population segments, fields of science or engineering, and by college and state. Overall long-term trends for S&E graduate students from 1975 to 2002 and short-term trends from 1995 to 2002 by detailed fields are presented as well.

The National Science Foundation has released its report on Federal Science and Engineering (S&E) Support to Universities, Colleges and Nonprofit Institutions for Fiscal Year 2002, revealing the government distributed nearly $24.4 billion to the nation's research institutions during the year. The figure is 8.5 percent higher higher than the FY 2001 total of $22.5 billion.

Federal S&E obligations include six categories of spending: research and development; R&D plant; facilities for instruction in S&E; fellowships, traineeships and training grants; general support for S&E; and, other S&E activities. The distribution of spending for each category varies greatly by state.

On Friday, President Bush announced his intention to nominate Michael D. Griffin, of Virginia, to be administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Dr. Griffin currently serves as Space Department Head at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer of In-Q-Tel, Inc.

Ah, the difference positive revenue figures make for some states' tech-based economic development (TBED) portfolios! In mid-December, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner introduced an amended 2004-2006 biennial budget that is the most favorable yet during the Warner term for programs to promote economic growth through strategic investments in science and technology.

“Having restored Virginia’s financial stability, we now face the challenge of maintaining it over the long term,” Gov. Warner said in his address to a joint meeting of the Senate Finance, House Finance, and House Appropriations Committees.

The opportunity to fine tune the state's TBED investments comes as 2004 revenue projections were estimated to be nearly $1 billion higher than originally forecast in 2003. In addition to cutting several taxes and shoring up the state's rainy day fund, Gov. Warner proposes the state supplement funding for dozens of initiatives and programs.

E. Dana Dickens announced he will step down from the Suffolk City Council (Va.) to become president of the Hampton Roads Partnership, a group promoting economic development in the region.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has updated its online center of state science and engineering (S&E) profiles to include data from 2001-2003. The site provides convenient access to a PDF or downloadable Microsoft Excel Worksheet of 31 indicators for each state. A spreadsheet with summary statistics for the entire U.S. also is available.

The profiles present dollar amounts and rankings for federal R&D obligations for 2002 by agency and performer for each state. Information included in each profile is compiled from several federal agencies, including NSF, the Small Business Administration, and the departments of Commerce, Education and Labor.

State S&E Profiles 2001-2003 is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf05301/start.htm

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.