SSTI Digest

Legislators in Alaska, Iowa and Oklahoma recently approved funding for several TBED-related initiatives within state operating and capital budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. Alaska Legislators Create Renewable Energy Fund The 2008 legislative session wrapped up earlier this month, resulting in statewide support for renewable energy following the passage of the fiscal year 2009 operating (HB 310) and capital budget (SB 221).   Lawmakers agreed to Gov. Sarah Palin’s proposal supporting alternative energy projects in the upcoming fiscal year and beyond with the passage of HB 152, which creates a renewable energy grant fund and recommendation program to be administered by the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) and establishes a seven-member advisory committee.   The legislation requires AEA, in consultation with the advisory committee, to identify criteria to evaluate the benefit and feasibility of energy-related projects and develop a methodology for distributing funds. The capital budget agreement includes a "$50 million capitalization of the fund" for the grant program in FY09, AEA notes. AEA will solicit projects…

Highlights from State of the State addresses delivered in Alaska and Hawaii are included in the third installment of the Tech Talkin’ series.   Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, State of the State Address, Jan. 15, 2008 “I'm appointing an Energy Coordinator, to activate a statewide Energy Plan. We'll use earnings from a $250 million ‘Renewable Energy Fund’ for alternative projects, like hydro, wind, geothermal, and biomass.” Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, State of the State Address, Jan. 22, 2008 “We are proposing to start Creative Academies, modeled after the successful STEM Academies, to nurture and support the many talents of Hawai‘i’s keiki. These academies would focus on animation, digital media, game development and writing and publishing in elementary through high school. “We propose the creation of a Commission on Higher Education made up of the presidents of Hawai‘i’s major universities, members of the community, and business leaders. This Commission will give us the opportunity to embrace new ideas and new ways of using federal and state education dollars…

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The Juneau Economic Development Council (JEDC), a public/private partnership that serves to foster a healthy and sustainable economic climate in the City and Borough of Juneau and in Southeast Alaska, has openings for two positions. JEDC seeks both an experienced program manager and a technology manager for SpringBoard, its Department of Defense (DoD)-sponsored technology transfer program. The program manager builds relationships with DoD labs nationwide and cultivates partnerships with industry, government and academia. The technology manager works with a portfolio of clients and projects to deliver program metrics, including various contracts, agreements and projects that help transfer technology or commercialize DoD technology. The Medical College of Georgia is seeking a director for its Life Sciences Innovation Center. This position generally serves as the primary contact for emerging life science businesses throughout Georgia by providing assistance with financing, planning and operations. The selected…

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. Griffin Analytical Technologies, a producer of premium chemical detection systems, is seeking a research associate to assist the company with R&D efforts related to Griffins products. Griffin serves U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security applications, environmental health and safety monitoring, and research and teaching laboratories. The research associate will be responsible for exploring new applications for Griffins technology and will report directly to the company's staff of senior research scientists. Applicants should have a bachelor's or master's degree in chemistry and two or more years of applicable experience in instrumentation maintenance and operation. The Juneau Economic Development Council (JEDC) is seeking a technology engineer to assist Alaskan businesses trying to meet Department of Defense (DoD) mission-critical needs. The technology engineer will facilitate discussions and negotiations between DoD laboratories, Alaskan companies and other organizations in support of…

SSTI has compiled a table of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards in total dollars and state rankings from fiscal years 2000-2004. The states are ranked by percent change over the five-year period. The greatest gains were posted in North Dakota (202.51 percent), Alaska (200.98 percent), Idaho (157.48 percent), Montana (144.72 percent), Virginia (120.85 percent), and Hawaii (107.06 percent). Although award dollar totals in these states more than doubled over the five-year period, they showed some of the lowest increases from FY 2003. Idaho experienced the lowest dollar increase from FY03, $57,634. The top five largest dollar amounts in FY 2004 were awarded to California, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, respectively. Overall, total NIH awards grew considerably over the last five years with a national increase of 53.18 percent. Whereas most states exhibited an increase of total dollars, 12 states sustained a decrease from FY03 ­- of which, Texas incurred the largest decrease of $67,024,534. SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/…

The available pool of equity capital grew substantially last Thursday as the board of trustees for the $31.7 billion Alaska Permanent Fund approved the placement of 8 percent of the fund's value into alternative assets, such as venture capital funds and hedge funds. The Associated Press reports the current value of all alternative investments held by the Permanent Fund totals $292 million. With the new authorization target, equity capital could comprise more than $2.5 billion at the fund's present value. The change will happen gradually, however, as the board increased the mandate to Crestline, the fund’s current absolute return manager, from $250 million to $500 million. The board also increased the allocation for absolute return strategies from 1 percent to 4 percent. The target asset allocation to private equity also is at 4 percent. Moving more of the public fund into riskier placements is coupled with more secrecy as the board also approved regulations to keep more of the fund's activities confidential. Earlier this year, the state legislature passed House Bill 215, which…

Southern Growth Policies Board, a regional public policy think tank, is accepting nominations for its Innovator Awards. These awards are presented annually to recognize innovative southern initiatives that improve the quality of life in the organization's 13-state region - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia - and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The 2006 Innovator Awards will be chosen in the context of the Southern Innovation Initiative, a year-long series of events that focuses on the importance of innovation to the South’s economy. Each nominated initiative must use technology as an integral component to accomplish goals; be truly unique; be something more than a new product, process or service; and provide a track record or other measures of success. Nominations are due Nov. 23, 2005. Award winners from each state will be recognized at the Southern Innovation Summit on June 4-6, 2006, in New Orleans. For a complete list of award criteria and to nominate a program online, visit http://www.…

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed Bill Noll as commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Noll has been serving as the governor's communications director.

Albert Clough is the new Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, following the resignation of Edgar Blatchford last week.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) data on the top 100 cities for NIH awards in FY 2003 indicates Boston reasserted its leadership over New York for the top spot by increasing its spread by $401 million. Philadelphia and Baltimore remain in third and fourth place for the second year. The fourth year NIH has made the information available, FY 2003 shows the most shift in rankings for many cities. Seattle moved up to fifth place after three consecutive years at sixth. San Diego continued its three-year fall in the rankings, dropping from third place in FY 2001 to eighth place in the latest available data. (Note: One possible explanation could be the addition of La Jolla as a distinct city in the rankings in FY 2002 and FY 2003. Funding to La Jolla institutions doubled between the two years, pushing the city's ranking from 21st in FY 2002 to 7th in 2003). The complete four-year stats are available at: FY 2003: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/award/trends/top100fy03.htm FY 2002: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/award/trends/top100fy02.htm FY 2001: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/award/trends/…

Earlier this week, 22 states and Puerto Rico were named recipients of more than $2.2 million in combined fiscal year 2004 Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) and Rural Outreach Program (ROP) awards. All but one of the 21 FAST awards distributed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) were worth $95,000 -- they totaled nearly $1.98 million. Five ROP awards of $49,470 also were made by SBA.   FAST, included in December 2000 legislation reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, provides matching funds to enable states to augment or expand their tech business assistance and SBIR outreach efforts. FAST winners include: Alaska ­ University of Alaska Arizona - Arizona Department Arkansas - Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Hawaii ­ High Technology Development Corp. Indiana - Advanced Research and Technology Institute Kentucky - Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. Louisiana ­ Louisiana State University Maine ­ Maine Technology Institute Maryland ­ Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) Mississippi ­ Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Southern…

The Metropolitan Development Association, of Syracuse and Central New York, also recently named a new chairman, John Zawadzki, of its Regional Development Alliance.