SSTI Digest

The latest Department of Defense-led manufacturing innovation institutes will support cutting-edge research and product development in lightweight and modern metals and digital manufacturing and design. A consortium of 73 companies, nonprofits and universities will help launch the Chicago-based institute. The Detroit-area based consortium involves 60 partners. Earlier this year, North Carolina was selected as the location for the first institute with a focus on next generation power electronics. The president also announced a $70 million Department of Energy-sponsored competition for advanced composites manufacturing – the first of four new competitions to be launched this year. Read the announcement…

Los Angeles County (CA), New York County (NY) and Cook County (IL) topped the list of places where people older than 25 with graduate or professional degrees moved to between 2007 and 2011, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s County-to-County Migration Flows Tables. Middlesex County (MA) and Fairfax County (VA) also ranked among the top destinations for highly educated transplants. The Census report provides data on domestic migration at the county level, including data on income and educational attainment. The report reveals that large flows of educated workers move both into and between these top counties. Read the Census report…

The fourth installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Illinois, Massachusetts and Utah.

Of the 118 university-based startups launched in Illinois between 2006-13, about 73 percent remain in the state, according to the latest issue of the Illinois Innovation Index. The 2013 fourth quarter report of the Index focuses on the recent strides made by the state in building a stronger technology transfer pipeline. During the five-year period of 2008-12, Illinois universities received 47 percent more patents than they did during the 2003-07 period, almost triple the national growth rate. The authors note that a majority of the companies licensing these technologies are remaining in university region. Download the index (pdf format)…

A public-private investment of $1.5 billion to create a nanotech hub in upstate New York and a $250,000 educational investment in Illinois illustrate recent state efforts to elevate nanotechnology in workforce development. New York is putting $200 million toward the Nano Utica facility for purchasing new equipment. The initiative is being led by six global technology companies, and the facility will serve as a cleanroom and research hub for computer chip packaging and lithography development and commercialization. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently announced a $250,000 state investment for equipment to prepare high school students for careers in nanotechnology. The school receiving the funds also plans to incorporate nanotechnology programming within its STEM summer camp curriculum.

The co-locating of researchers, donated equipment, and capital are recent examples of key elements provided by private-sector partners to help accelerate technology commercialization. In the past month, leaders from universities and nonprofit organizations across the country have announced new efforts to expand research capacity and bring more products to market by launching innovative centers in collaboration with corporate partners.

University-industry alliances often are credited with helping build regional innovation ecosystems with successes cited in new company formation, high-tech job creation and a better trained workforce, among others. Often times, companies look to leverage their R&D activities with complementary initiatives taking place at local universities. So is the case in Burlington, MA, where a new innovation center aimed at accelerating the commercialization of basic research is the product of a partnership between Northeastern University and Rogers Corporation.

Yuka Nagashima, executive director of the High Technology Development Corp. and center director for the Innovate Hawaii program, has resigned from both posts and will leave the state agency in August. Nagashima will be leaving for Denmark to support her husband's research career. Len Higashi, current senior economic development manager, was selected to become the acting executive director.

Raja Krishnamoorthi has been appointed vice chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council by Gov Pat Quinn.

Jason Hall has been named the St. Louis Regional Chamber's vice president for business development and corporate counsel, effective June 28. Hall's most recent position was as deputy director for the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Mark Lytle has been named the University System of Georgia's new vice chancellor for economic development.

Frederick Cartwright has been appointed the executive director of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.

Jeffrey Margolis recently joined the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition as managing director.

F. King Alexander has been appointed as president of the Louisiana State University System and Chancellor of LSU A&M.

A new Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness started operation April 1 within the Washington state Department of Commerce. The new office has merged the business services division and energy office into one entity.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called for all 50 states to be outfitted with at least one gigabit-speed community by 2015 in an op ed piece run by Forbes earlier this month. Approximately 42 communities in 14 different states already fit the bill and more are joining the effort in what Genachowski termed the “Gigabit City Challenge.”

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Utah. Our first four installments were in the Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 issues of the Digest.

Connecticut
Gov. Dan Malloy, Biennial Budget Address, Feb. 6, 2013
“... Even as we find savings, even as we continue to support our towns and cities — we have to work to grow jobs.

“To start with, I am proposing the Bioscience Innovation Act. This new program will establish a 200 million dollar fund to strengthen Connecticut's bioscience sector over the next ten years. ...

A culmination of twelve months of data measuring the Illinois innovation economy finds improved economic growth in four sectors: dynamism, capital, talent, and business climate. Positive indicators include record growth in university startups and a significant increase in invention disclosures and patents awarded to Illinois universities. Additionally, venture capital funding reached a ten-year high of $1.4 billion in 2012. The state also recognizes room for improvement, including increasing the number of STEM degrees awarded to Illinois graduates and better aligning workforce skills with labor market demands. The report and accompanying video will be unveiled today at: http://www.illinoisinnovation.com/innovationindex/.

The Illinois Science & Energy Innovation Foundation, a $72.5 million investment fund approved by the state's General Assembly last year, debuted this week. While 70 percent of the fund will be used to educate consumers about smart grid technology, another $22.5 million, provided by utility companies, will support grants, loans and contracts to groups working on smart grid technologies, according to the Chicago Tribune. Read more about the fund...