SSTI Digest

Corporate laboratories were hotspots for U.S. innovation for most of the twentieth century. Large firms, such as DuPont or Bell Labs, acted as epicenters for research and development activities, driving investment in frontier technologies underserved by university researchers at the time. By the 1980s, however, many of these powerhouses of industrial research began to cut back on their research programs, paving the way for universities and startups to emerge as new centers of innovation. A recent research summary from the National Bureau of Economic Research, “The changing structure of American innovation,” describes this rise and fall of industrial innovation in the United States and a growing division of innovative labor between university-based research institutions and development-focused corporations. While it would be a monumental task to identify every factor contributing to this remapping of the U.S. innovation landscape, one explanation is corporations’ decreasing profitability of R&D activities. The authors of the NBER article point to the rising costs of knowledge spillovers and shifting priorities in government procurement policies as key…

Just before the 2023 Memorial Day weekend, the Texas Senate passed and sent the Texas CHIPS Act bill to the governor’s desk. The legislation creates the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium in a bid to protect the state’s competitive standing for future federal funding and authorizes the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund. The recently passed Texas budget appropriates $1.3 million for the Consortium, but it does not appear that there is a dedicated appropriation in the budget bill for the Fund. There are 19 institutions of higher education in the consortium that was formalized in the legislation, including SSTI members Texas State University and the University of Texas Austin. These higher education institutions, industry, and nonprofit stakeholders will develop a comprehensive strategic plan to ensure ongoing semiconductor innovation. The Texas CHIPS Act also authorized the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund as the state pursues semiconductor manufacturing and design projects. Funding for the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund to would come from the state's General Revenue to be used to provide: matching funding to state entities, including…

The recently awarded NSF Engine Type 1 development awards are intended to bring technology-based economic development to vast swaths of the US landscape, including those that Silicon Valley and Boston have long overshadowed. This week we kick off an examination of some of the proposals led by SSTI members that were selected by NSF for funding. Five of the nine projects led by SSTI members are in EPSCoR states (Kansas State University, University of Nevada-Reno, University of South Carolina, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and University of Hawai’i). Their projects span the U.S. and include such diverse areas as the Kansas State University-led project to develop biotechnology-based products for the biosecurity, biodefense, and biomanufacturing sectors, and the University of South Carolina-led project to develop cybersecurity solutions for maritime transportation. Leveraging unique foundational assets Each project leverages the foundational assets of the region. “The NSF Engines program is focused on use-inspired research, with nonprofits, industry, and workforce development all looking at our regional assets and strengths,” said Dr. Mridul…

Have you ever wondered whether there is a federal program that supports tech-based economic development (TBED) strategies and initiatives--even if it doesn’t explicitly state that science, technology, innovation, or entrepreneurship are priority uses of funds? Actually, a wide variety of federal programs can support these programs. To help organizations identify sources of funding that could be useful, SSTI interviewed representatives from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to understand better how they can use specific funding opportunities to support TBED activities.

Each year, more than 703,000 federally aided students enroll in one of the 1,800 career training programs, according to a Department of Education fact sheet. Unfortunately, the typical graduate of these programs leaves with unaffordable debt or earns less than a high school graduate in their state. Sometimes, these programs shut down with little warning, leaving students in the lurch. A recent study from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center showed that, of closures that took place over 16 years, 70 percent of the students received insufficient warning that the closures were coming. The federal government absorbs the cost of many of these students’ loans, which they pass on to taxpayers. Proposed regulations from the Department of Education aimed at resolving these and other gainful employment (GE) issues were recently published in the Federal Register. The rules are open for comment until June 20, 2023. Make comments here. Gainful employment and greater transparency The proposed rules are intended to establish a robust GE framework and improve the transparency of GE program…

Earlier today, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the 2023 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the Build to Scale program. State and local governments, nonprofits, higher education institutions, National Labs, and others can compete for $50 million to support new and expanded initiatives supporting regional commercialization, entrepreneurship, and capital formation efforts.

Almost 40% of American adults report they struggle to make ends meet each month, an increase from 34.4% in 2022 and 26.7% in 2021. At 46.2%, Louisiana had the highest percentage reporting financial struggles followed by Mississippi (45.7%) and Arkansas (45.6%). Additionally, 11.3% of adults in households in the U.S. experienced some or very frequent times when they did not have enough to eat from April 26 through May 17, 2023. That percentage fell below the national average in 24 states, with Louisiana weighing in with more people (15.6%) going hungry than anywhere else. Meanwhile, people in Montana (5.9%) reported the lowest level of struggling with hunger during the same period. These numbers come from the Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in collaboration with multiple federal agencies. This survey produces data on the social and economic effects of coronavirus and other emergent issues on American households. The Census Bureau designed the survey to get results quickly and efficiently, disseminating data in near real-time. The survey collects data on fourteen household characteristics, including spending and inflation concerns. Some…

Residents in disadvantaged communities could soon see progress toward equitable availability of clean mobility options due to two recent initiatives from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO). A new funding opportunity from VTO brings $99.5 million in addition to the current selection of 45 projects totaling $87 million. DOE designed both to help to “onshore and re-shoring domestic manufacturing of key technologies and infrastructure that are critical to reaching the nation’s clean transportation future.” The selected projects for the $87 million will support the $2.5 billion recently announced by the Federal Highway Administration to build and deploy EV charging nationwide, including in rural communities and low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The projects are in 18 states and Washington, D.C. SSTI member West Virginia University Research Corporation’s work to diversify the expertise of today’s EV auto technicians is one of the selected projects. The funding opportunity totaling $99.5 million, will “support projects to reduce soft costs to improve EV charging infrastructure in underserved communities, provide…

More than 50% of the patents granted in 2020 were related to AI, according to a USPTO report. Considering this large volume of AI-related patents, the office recently sought feedback regarding AI inventorship. Key points made by AUTM, BIO, Google, IBM, and Microsoft are summarized here. AUTM made the following statements in response to USPTO’s comments: AI inventions must be protected in a way that encourages both innovation and disclosure. Current law can adequately address AI innovations, and it is unnecessary and perhaps counterproductive to change the law based on speculation about the future of AI. Rather than recommending changes to the patent laws, AUTM supports guidance that reinforces the patentability of AI-enabled inventions and inventions on novel AI architectures. AUTM also supports improved protection of the necessary datasets to further AI innovation. The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) noted that the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (together: “AI”) tools is becoming increasingly common among their member companies. The organization’s comments included: BIO members view AI as a “tool” that facilitates…

A new data analysis of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) by SSTI indicates again the significant impact the pandemic had on the manufacturing sector. While job openings in manufacturing ranged on a monthly basis from 0.8 to 3.9% of total manufacturing employment in the 20 years prior to the pandemic, it jumped to as much as 7.4% in April 2022. Job openings in manufacturing increased dramatically after the pandemic, presumably as a result of the American economy attempting to adjust for disrupted supply chains and a move to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S. Only education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services had job opening rates consistently higher.  For the economy as a whole, a review of the JOLTS data finds the number of job openings is still significantly higher than pre-covid levels, but is on a decreasing trend.   During periods of recession, when the economy contracts, employers typically decrease job openings, slow hiring and increase separations. After a recession, job openings have consistently risen, albeit at varying rates, due to several factors such as employers needing to…

As the U.S. seeks to maintain its competitive edge in the global economy, it is important to acknowledge the contributions of immigrant innovators toward U.S. growth and competitiveness. Despite making up only 16% of the population, immigrant inventors are responsible for approximately 36% of the U.S. innovative output since 1990, and have founded some of the most successful companies in the nation. This article draws on a variety of recent reports and studies to provide insights into the many ways immigrant innovators are essential to our robust innovation ecosystem, including their role in U.S.-based startups, contributions to patents, and more. According to a 2021 U.S. Census Bureau release, foreign-born immigration into the U.S. has slowed considerably since 2016 to its lowest levels in decades, dropping from 1.471 million to just over 500,000 in 2021. The Census Bureau attributes much of the downward trend in recent years to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in immigration policies. The following studies are just a small sample of works that highlight the importance of immigrant innovators to the U.S. With immigration numbers having shrunk considerably over…

When Dan Berglund, SSTI’s president and CEO, testified in a hearing before the House on an early draft of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, he noted that funding from the federal government that addresses the whole innovation system rather than individual elements of the system would be critical to building a regional innovation economy and different than any other federal program. With last Friday’s release of the first notice of funding opportunity for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program that approach is becoming a reality. The program is intended to make investments that will help transform regional clusters in specific and critical technologies into globally competitive economies. This Phase 1 announcement includes two competitions—one to designate regions as a Tech Hub and one to fund strategy development grants. Regions can participate in one or both competitions. At this time, $15 million in funding is available, with another $485 million to be made available this fall for the Phase 2 competition. The  Tech Hubs program was authorized in last year’s CHIPS and Science Act,  and Congress provided $500…