SSTI Digest

Recent college graduates may be thinking otherwise as their unemployment rate is twice what it was two years ago, but &#quot;nearly 75 percent of future jobs will require a postsecondary degree or certificate,&#quot; according to Increasing College Success: A Road Map for Governors. The 14-page issue brief by the National Governors Association outlines four steps states can take to help improve the nation’s international ranking of 12th in college success rates. Examples are provided for each step: 1) improve student’s readiness for college and careers; 2) support students during college to keep them on a degree-track; 3) remove barriers for transferring between two-year and four-year colleges; and, 4) experiment with performance-based funding.  Read more at: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0912INCREASINGCOLLEGESUCCESS.PDF

The Kansas Bioscience Authority - Heartland Bio Ventures, and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation are jointly recruiting for a federal research funding specialist. This new position will provide professional management counseling and technical business assistance to early-stage Kansas companies in the area of SBIR/STTR and technology commercialization, administer and monitor any related programs for participants, coordinate periodic training seminars and workshops, and provide mentoring and intermediary services for businesses with federal agencies and federal laboratories.

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Carl Bauer is retiring from federal service and leaving the National Energy Technology Laboratory effective Feb. 28, following a four-year tenure as the laboratory’s director.

Joining the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse as executives in residence are Maureen Peszko and Michael Lang. Pierre Queiroz de Oliveira will be joining the program as an executive associate.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has tapped Gwyn Riddick, director of its Piedmont Triad Office, to lead a new statewide agricultural biotechnology initiative as the vice president, Ag/Bio Initiative.

Outlining his budget recommendations for the 2011-12 biennium last week, Gov. Dave Freudenthal asked lawmakers to continue support for research projects funded by the state’s share of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds. Using $116.1 million available for appropriation in the coming year, the governor recommends $45 million for continuation of carbon sequestration research, $17.4 million to continue operating the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, and $14 million for the Clean Coal Technology matching grant program.

Gov. Freudenthal also recommends a reserve account in the auditor’s office of $17.5 million in general fund monies to allow continuing operation of the UW School of Energy Resources if AML funding is lost, budget documents note. Other recommendations in the UW budget include:

• $985,000 for a mass spectrometer to be used for advanced energy research and related studies at the university; and,
• $660,000 to continue work at the Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center.

Though broadband services will be available to almost 95 percent of U.S. households by 2014, many homes will still lack access to low-cost, high-speed options, according to a recent report commissioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Despite the projected increase in availability, the study finds that the rate of adoption and the availability of truly high-speed Internet services will be much lower. While upgrades to cable broadband networks and new wireless technologies will help provide new options, government involvement may be the only way to keep U.S. adoption rates competitive with other global markets.

Indiana University is launching a $10 million venture capital fund to invest in technology companies coming out of the university. Half of the fund will be dedicated to seed- and early-stage companies, while the other $5 million will support later-stage firms. Last month the university dedicated a new $10 million Innovation Center, which will work with the fund to support university-affiliated companies.  Read more at: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/12745.html

Indiana University is launching a $10 million venture capital fund to invest in technology companies coming out of the university. Half of the fund will be dedicated to seed- and early-stage companies, while the other $5 million will support later-stage firms. Last month the university dedicated a new $10 million Innovation Center, which will work with the fund to support university-affiliated companies.  Read more at: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/12745.html

The recent creation of the Energy Alliance of Southwestern Pennsylvania is intended to advance the energy-related economy of the Pittsburgh region by funding companies, coordinating projects, devising policies, and marketing the region's assets. While staff for the Energy Alliance will come primarily from the Allegheny Conference and Innovation Works, other partners of the effort include the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and various energy-related firms in the region. Specific sectors within both the traditional and alternative energy fields have been targeted by the Alliance, including the advancement of natural gas extraction, in part due to Pittsburgh's proximity to the Marcellus Shale – one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. Read the full press release from the Allegheny Conference..

Shortly after President Obama announced that the federal government would seek out new partnerships with private companies to improve science and technology education in the U.S., the Arizona Technology Council unveiled three new offerings for Arizona students. The group will collaborate with tech companies and nonprofits to hold a statewide science fair, to develop a four-year engineering curriculum for high school students and to create an online directory of STEM opportunities.  Read more at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091207006079/en

In FY2007, the states in aggregate expended $1.23 billion in funds for research and development, according to recent data released by the National Science Foundation. This is the second year consecutive annual data from the NSF's State Agency Research and Development Expenditures series has been produced. SSTI has prepared a table that shows for both FY07 and FY06 each state's expenditures for R&D from the state government, the state's GDP, and the spending intensity as measured by R&D expenditures per million dollars of GDP.

While New York led the country with $128.4 million in state R&D expenditures in FY07, it spent $116.41 on R&D funding for every million dollars of its GDP. The only other two states to have more than $100 million in R&D state spending in FY07 were Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Wyoming led the U.S. in state R&D funding intensity, expending $618.77 in R&D for every million dollars of its GDP. The next four states leading in R&D per GDP were Maine, West Virginia, Hawaii, followed by North Dakota. These top five states are all EPSCoR states.

A bill being debated in Congress would provide federal support for the development of research parks, a major contributor to scientific discovery, technology commercialization and new company formation. S. 583, entitled the Building A Stronger America Act and introduced earlier this year, would make available grants and loan guarantees for the development and construction of science parks to promote the clustering of innovation through high technology activities. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hear testimony today in support of the legislation from Brian Darmody, President of the Association of University Research Parks and Charles Wessner of the National Research Council. Over the past few months, several announcements for development of new research parks have been made from around the world. Following is an overview of select announcements.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, DC think tank, is accepting applications for two positions described below:

• Communications Director: This is a permanent, full-time position reporting to the president of ITIF. It is an exciting opportunity for someone who would like to not only deepen their policy expertise, but also influence the public debate on critical innovation policy issues. Read more…
• Innovation Economist: This is a temporary opening (one year) with the possibility of renewal for additional years for an economist with a research interest in neo-Schumpeterian economics, with a particular focus on the economics of global warming and the role of innovation in addressing it. Read more…

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