SSTI Digest

Jeff Blodgett, Vice President of Research, at the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. is retiring.

The University of Virginia has named W. Mark Crowell, vice president for business development at The Scripps Research Institute, to the newly created position of executive director and associate vice president for innovation partnerships and commercialization.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will receive the BIO Governor of the Year Award this week at the 2010 BIO International Convention.

Guido Silvestri will serve as chief of the Division of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University's Yerkes National Primate Research Center as a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology approved the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 on Wednesday. The bill adjusts the original spending projections based on the amount authorized in 2007, while maintaining the goal of doubling funding over the next ten years. Programs affected by the reauthorization include the Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee program, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) and the Regional Innovation Clusters program, among others. Read the committee release ...

Maine's 2010 legislative session wrapped up last week, ending on a relatively high note for tech-based economic development (TBED). Actions supporting TBED include a measure signed by Gov. John Baldacci to encourage venture capital investment in innovative companies and the legislature's approval of a bond package that includes $11 million for ocean wind energy demonstration sites through the University of Maine System.

LD 1, An Act to Stimulate Capital Investment for Innovative Businesses in Maine, allows the Maine Public Employees Retirement System to invest up to $20 million in innovative companies through venture funds. The goal of the program is to attract more venture capital and spur more innovative startups in the state. A larger Fund of Funds measure was pocket vetoed by the governor in 2008 because of its potential liability for the state, according to Gov. Baldacci (see the May 14, 2008 issue of the Digest).

Maryland legislators recently passed the FY11 budget, allocating $10.4 million for stem cell research and $8 million for tax credits for biotechnology companies. Many of the appropriations follow closely in line with Gov. Martin O'Malley's recommendations, which aim to support the Maryland BIO 2020 initiative, a statewide plan investing in biotechnology over 10 years.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) will receive $15.85 million in FY11, $115,000 more than the FY10 appropriation. Although $12.4 million is allocated for the Stem Cell Research Fund, $2 million is earmarked for the Maryland Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit Reserve Fund within the Department of Business and Economic Development.

Created to spur investment in Maryland biotech companies, the Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit Reserve Fund also will receive $6 million from the general fund for a total $8 million in FY11, a $2 million increase from last year.

TEDCO also will receive $3.45 million to administer its technology development, transfer and commercialization programs, a slight increase from the FY10 adjusted appropriation of $3.4 million.

Two measures, one dealing with improving access to higher education in Alaska, and another focusing on economic growth through renewable energy in Nebraska, recently were approved as part of the 2010 legislative sessions. Lawmakers in Alaska passed a measure establishing a merit-based scholarship program championed by Gov. Sean Parnell, but left funding for the program uncertain. Meanwhile, Nebraska legislators passed a bill to promote economic growth through renewable energy export.

Alaska Lawmakers passed a measure creating a merit-based scholarship program for higher education that includes many of the same elements proposed last year by Gov. Sean Parnell, with the exception of a funding mechanism. SB 221 establishes the Alaska Merit Scholarship Program providing grants for students who complete a more rigorous high school curriculum, including four years of math and science. Legislators scrapped a plan proposed by the governor that would have allocated $400 million to initiate the program by tapping into the interest earned on budget reserve funds.

Venture capital (VC) funds that invest in rural and low-income regions can be as successful as those in tech-oriented metropolitan regions if they are large enough to attract high-quality deals and provide follow-on funding, according to a recent report published through the Ford Foundation's Wealth Creation in Rural Communities project.

Author Patricia Scruggs examines the practices of rural and urban angel and venture funds and the impact their investments have on rural communities. In particular, the report focuses on the application of triple bottom line (TBL) practices in the equity capital community. These practices incorporate social and environmental benefits, alongside financial and economic returns, in making investment decisions and evaluating the success of the venture capital firms. While TBL practices still are seldom used in an explicit and consistent manner within venture firms, they are growing in popularity and create a useful standard by which communities can assess the contribution of these firms to the local economy. TBL criteria are used throughout the report to identify VCs that have been successful in generating community wealth.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Economic Council have extended the comment deadline for their request for information (RFI) on the commercialization of university research and proof-of-concept centers (see the March 31, 2010 issue). The new deadline is May 26. Read the announcement and original RFI ...

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has announced that the Obama Administration will invest $200 million over the next five years to expand and accelerate the development, commercialization, and use of solar and water power technologies across the U.S.. The funding includes up to $125 million for s photovoltaic manufacturing intiative, $40 million for photovoltaic supply chain development, $4.5 million for a new national administrator for the solar instructor training network and $39 million for marine and hydrokinetic technologies. Read the announcement ...

Gov. Jim Douglas last week signed a jobs bill that distributes $8.7 million in federal stimulus funds to help seed high-tech entrepreneurial ventures, increase broadband access across rural areas of the state, train workers for careers in emerging sectors, and provide low-interest rate subsidies on loans approved under the Vermont Jobs Fund.

The bill appropriates $750,000 to the Vermont Seed Capital Fund established last year to accelerate job growth by helping emerging companies overcome a gap in financing. This appropriation is in addition to $1 million from the state's Clean Energy Development Fund for a total $1.75 million in FY11. Funding is targeted toward sectors with high-growth potential such as life sciences, agriculture, energy, software and manufacturing. Over two years, the fund has been capitalized with nearly $5 million in state and federal monies.

President Barack Obama recently outlined his administration's vision for the future of U.S. space exploration, including $6 billion in additional funding for NASA over the next five years. The new strategy would create 2,500 new jobs at Kennedy Space Center by 2012, initiate heavy-lift rocket development by 2015 and restructure the Orion crew exploration vehicle program to extend U.S. use of the International Space Station. Obama's plan also includes $40 million to help retrain workers affected by the end of the space shuttle program. Read the president's remarks ...

A competition for high-risk, high-reward research funding recently was announced under the Technology Innovation Program (TIP). The goal is to improve critical manufacturing processes that reduce costs, save time, increase quality or reduce waste to dramatically improve the competitiveness of process-based industries, including the biomanufacturing sector, which produces vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals. To fund the program in its first year, $25 million may be available for up to 25 projects. The deadline to apply is July 15. Proposals are sought in three areas, which are described in greater detail at: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/20100413_TIP_comp_announce.html

In response to dwindling state funding and concerns related to leadership, focus and productivity in the state's current economic development model, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announced the creation of a new quasi-public state agency to focus on targeted industries such as solar, science, technology, aerospace, and defense to help the state grow jobs and remain globally competitive. The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) would replace the Arizona Department of Commerce, but does not assume all of its current functions. In addition to an annual appropriation from the general fund or another dedicated state funding source, private sector funds would be used to support the marketing efforts of the ACA. These funds would come from a 1.5 percent fee charged to companies accessing certain state incentive programs. Read the press release or the full report from the Governor's Commerce Advisory Council: http://www.azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_GovernorsCommerceAdvisoryCouncilReport.pdf