SSTI Digest

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a statistical report on Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2001. The data show trends in science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients. The new NSF report includes an 18-page Table 6, which presents the distribution of doctorates awarded in 2001 by institution, by state and by major field. SSTI has prepared an abbreviated table providing a state-by-state ranking for doctorates awarded by major field. The SSTI table also includes the values and state rankings for the total S&E doctorates awarded per 100,000 residents within each state, using the 2001 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/110802t.htm NSF's Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2001 is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf03300

Peter Jobse has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced 24 awards under the new Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program — an anticipated investment of $240 million over five years in projects to improve the achievement of K-12 students in science and mathematics. The Department of Education is an NSF partner in this effort, co-funding two projects involving state education agencies. Seven comprehensive MSP awards total about $147 million over five years and will affect about 1.8 million students in 11 states. Seventeen targeted partnership grants, which are intended to improve achievement in specific disciplines or grade ranges, total about $90 million over five years and will affect about 200 school districts and some 600,000 pre-K through grade 12 students in 11 states. Also, 12 smaller awards for capacity building projects will focus on research, evaluation and technical assistance for the MSP Learning Network. Through this vehicle, researchers and practitioners in MSP and other related projects will unite in a national effort to further develop understanding of how students best learn mathematics…

NASA has announced the Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, will team with the National Institute of Aerospace Associates (NIAA), Reston, VA, to create the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) to perform aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Locating the NIA at the Langley Research Center will facilitate the institute's involvement in agency sponsored research programs and foster collaboration with NASA, including access to its research facilities. This government-academic partnership is comprised of a cost reimbursable, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract and a cooperative agreement. The maximum value of the contract for a five-year base period is $49 million. The value of the basic five-year cooperative agreement is $69 million. If the three five-year options are exercised under the cooperative agreement, the combined potential total value would be $379 million. NIAA is made up of seven non-profit organizations or universities including: American…

The future of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) became clearer on Wednesday with Governor Mark Warner's release of Commonwealth of Virginia Strategic Plan for Technology for 2002-2006. CIT has a lead position for half of the eight initiatives outlined in the 129-page document. Highlights of "One Virginia," CIT's portion of the plan, call for: Increasing federal research and development funding to industry and Virginia’s colleges and universities. The plan recommends 75 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals be submitted in March 2003 to increase Virginia's level of SBIR funding by 1 percent of the national total. Milestones also are set for more Advanced Technology Program funding in 2004. Increasing commercialization of intellectual property (IP) from Virginia’s labs, entrepreneurs, and institutions of higher education. The plan suggests publishing a guidebook of best practices and making university and laboratory IP easily accessible to interested companies by augmenting the marketing process through training and electronic channels.…

Anne Armstrong, who in July resigned as president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, is returning to Federal Computer Week as its publisher. Armstrong was with the weekly publication prior to joining CIT.

Jerald Coughter, industry director for biotechnology and medical applications for Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), has been named executive director of Governor Mark R. Warner’s Advisory Board for the Virginia Biotechnology Initiative.

Maxine Lunn is leaving her position as Vice President for Technology Programs at Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology to work in international development.

With several of the right elements already in place but scattered across a wide area, the two planning districts comprising the 13-county region surrounding Roanoke, Virginia, combined efforts to develop a strategic economic development strategy that focuses heavily on science and technology-based initiatives. The Alliance Group and its Planning Leadership Group, a team of public, private and academic stakeholder organizations, have outlined six strategic themes that entail regional economic development activities for the larger region: visibility, connectivity, quality-of-life amenities, knowledge work force, innovation and entrepreneurship, and economic transformation. The next steps, the group asserts, are to communicate the goals of the Strategy throughout the region and manage the necessary resources for enacting the goals. Regional Economic Strategy offers some insight on the region's transition between the Knowledge Economy and the New Economy as it stresses the importance of a knowledge work force, those workers whose knowledge is critical to a company's intellectual assets…

The importance of strong academic R&D capabilities in building state and regional tech-based economies cannot be overstated. Subsequently most states, either independently or in partnership with federal EPSCoR programs, are making investments toward strengthening their academic research enterprises. Some also have invested in programs to attract, leverage or match federal R&D investments. One of the latest InfoBriefs from the National Science Foundation outlines trends over 30 years in federal and non-federal support for academic R&D. While federal spending for academic R&D grew by an inflation adjusted 180 percent between 1972 and 2000, the findings reveal federal support played a diminishing role compared to non-federal sources, which grew by nearly 350 percent during the period. Federal R&D expenditures represented only 58.2 percent of total academic R&D support in 2000. Institutionally financed R&D continued its 30 year climb to represent a record 19.7 percent of the total in 2000. State and local support declined during the period from a high of 10.2…

Anne Armstrong, president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology since 1999, has resigned from the position effective the end of this month. Virginia Secretary of Technology George C. Newstrom will serve as Interim President during a search for a new president.

Robert Templin, Jr., has been named the new president of Northern Virginia Community College, effective August 17. Templin, currently a senior fellow at the Morino Institute, was a previous president of Virginia' Center for Innovative Technology.