SSTI Digest

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley was recently joined by Congressional, university, and local and business representatives last week in announcing a 180-acre expansion of Piedmont Triad Research Park in downtown Winston-Salem. The biotech park will include a new research campus for Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Richard H. Dean, M.D., president and CEO of Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS), described the multimillion-dollar initiative as "a major commitment to transform our economy from one driven by manufacturing to one led by technology."

The park currently covers a five-block area and includes four multi-story buildings, more than 20 tenants, approximately 600 employees, and a total payroll approaching $25 million. The acreage of the proposed expansion is more than 10 times the size of the current park and would be in close proximity to both Winston-Salem State University and Salem College.

Golden LEAF, the statewide foundation established in 1999 to use one-half of the state's tobacco settlement for the long-term economic advancement of North Carolina, has announced an $85.4 million economic stimulus package it believes will significantly improve North Carolina's economy and make the state a leader in the biosciences industry. Foundation officials anticipate the public investment stimulating at least $350 million in new private and federal funding biotech activity in the state.

The centerpiece of the package is a commitment to invest $42 million in bioscience/biotechnology companies developing or manufacturing their products in North Carolina. If those investments are successful, the Golden LEAF Board anticipates making additional investments of $108 million over the next six years, bringing its total investments in the bioscience sector to $150 million.

Other elements of the package include:

Two of North Carolina's state-created non-profit science and technology centers announced new leaders last week. David Rizzo is the new president and chief executive officer of MCNC. and Leslie Alexandre will serve in the same position for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

The president of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp, Alan DeLisle, is leaving to become director of the Office of Economic and Employment Development in Durham, N.C.

Georgia Tech topped the nation in its efforts to help state and local agencies with economic development, according to a study released by the Southern Growth Policies Board's Southern Technology Council (STC).

Conducted by Louis Tornatzky and Paul Waugaman, senior fellows at STC, Innovation U.: New University Roles in a Knowledge Economy offers comprehensive case descriptions of how national research universities operate in the following areas:

On April 1, Jerry McGuire becomes the first director of technology transfer for the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. McGuire currently is the director of technology transfer and licensing for the University of Buffalo.

Regional Technology Strategies, Inc. (RTS), a national nonprofit workforce and economic development group based in Carrboro, N.C., has published Cultivating Successful Rural Economies: Benchmark Practices at Community Colleges.

Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fund for Rural America, RTS identified by a competitive process 43 dynamic and effective programs at rural community colleges in the U.S. and abroad that are helping rural businesses adapt to current economic trends.

RTS' publication profiles several benchmark practices that encompass effective responses to the regional economic conditions, from a fiber arts program at Northern Mexico Community College to a hospitality-industry training program in Northern Ireland.

The Army Research Office (ARO) recently created an initiative – a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) to be known as the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies – to develop nanometer-scale science and technology solutions for soldiers.  Through competition for the center, ARO will award a single non-fee-bearing contract at an estimated base cost of $50 million. The contract, to be presented during the third quarter FY 2002 with an initial performance period of five years, will include provisions for task orders for additional effort estimated to reach $20 million over the five-year term. The contract also will have a ceiling of $125 million to allow for capitalizing on opportunities which may result. 

Jane Patterson leaves the North Carolina Governor's Office this week to become the Director of the Rural Internet Access Authority, a new state authority.

Margie Boccieri has announced she is leaving the North Carolina Governor's Office to join Southeast Interactive Technology Funds, a Research Triangle Park venture capital firm, as its Vice President of Business Development and Strategy.

This summer, North Carolina joined a growing handful of states and regions that have completed innovation assessments or report cards to aid in the development and implementation of state’s science and technology policies. Tracking Innovation: North Carolina Innovation Index 2000 was released in conjunction with a high-tech cluster analysis and a new S&T strategic plan for the state entitled Mapping the Vision.

The plan and index are the culmination of Vision 2030: Science & Technology Driving North Carolina into the New Economy. The Vision 2030 Project was a 15-month effort involving more than 800 people and encompassing several studies, assessments, conferences, task forces, surveys and focus groups. The goal of the project was to both educate and challenge North Carolinians “to begin building the science and technology-based platforms needed to support North Carolina’s economy in the 21st century.”

article prepared by Kay Etzler, SBIR Specialist for the North Carolina Small Business Technology Development Center