SSTI Digest

In the quest for a region to become more innovative or attain higher levels of degree attainment, expanding the size of existing education institutions or increasing the number of community colleges and universities seems to be a somewhat practical strategy. But how long after these institutions are created or expanded do they produce a measurable impact on a region’s innovation environment?   Some recent research by Robin Cowan and Natalia Zinovyeva attempts to chip away at this question, analyzing the effects of new science, engineering and medical departments at Italian universities created between 1985-2000. In Short Term Effects of New Universities on Regional Innovation, Cowan and Zinovyeva track the number, as well as the quality of patents and publications produced within a region in the years following the establishment of a department. They find the number of patent applications in a region from faculty generally increases (although not significant statistically) two years after a department is created. Two years later, or 3-4 years after a department is established, the number of patent applications from industry significantly increases.…

Patent activity is a commonly used indicator of a state or region’s innovation capacity. SSTI has prepared a table illustrating the number of patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) per 100,000 employees for every state and the District of Columbia for each of the five years from 2002 to 2006. Additionally, the percent change in patents per employee over the five-year period was calculated. For the U.S. as a whole, including Puerto Rico and Guam, the per-employee number of patents rose 0.89 percent, from 75.7 patents per 100,000 workers in 2002 to 76.4 patents per worker in 2006. The location of origin for each patent was determined by identifying the residence of the first-named inventor on the patent. In 2006, Idaho led the nation with 266.8 patents per 100,000 workers employed in the state. This was followed by California (161.5), Vermont (160.3), Oregon (149.2), and Massachusetts (136.7). The District of Columbia had the lowest number (10.3 patents), along with Mississippi, Alaska, West Virginia and Arkansas. The state experiencing the largest increase of patents per employee was Washington, with a…

A complete description of this opportunity and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration, is seeking a program manager for its Partner Development Program. The ideal candidate for this position is a highly motivated individual with a background in business development, marketing or international business who can network with U.S. industry and pursue new U.S. and Russian partner development opportunities. A bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience is required; a master's degree is preferred. Candidates also must have 2-4 years of prior work experience managing projects, with specific expertise in one or more of three fields: business development, marketing or international business.

Jeffrey Boyce was named the assistant vice president of the Research Foundation of the State University of New York. Boyce had been the deputy commissioner for manufacturing services at Empire State Development. Steve Crawford has joined the Brookings Institution; he was with the National Governors Association most recently. The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) selected Marc Oettinger as its new technology commercialization manager. RiverVest Venture Partners, a life science venture capital firm headquartered in St. Louis, announced it will be opening an office at the BioEnterprise facility in Cleveland. The office will be managed by Karen Spilizewski, who is joining RiverVest on a part-time basis as a vice president on Jan. 1. Steven Zylstra is the new president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.

Jeffrey Boyce was named the assistant vice president of the Research Foundation of the State University of New York. Boyce had been the deputy commissioner for manufacturing services at Empire State Development.

Steve Crawford has joined the Brookings Institution; he was with the National Governors Association most recently.

The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) selected Marc Oettinger as its new technology commercialization manager.

RiverVest Venture Partners, a life science venture capital firm headquartered in St. Louis, announced it will be opening an office at the BioEnterprise facility in Cleveland. The office will be managed by Karen Spilizewski, who is joining RiverVest on a part-time basis as a vice president on Jan. 1.

Steven Zylstra is the new president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.

Just as several states have announced projected budget shortfalls, at least three governors have revealed stable fiscal conditions for the coming year with proposed funding to support new and expanded education and research initiatives.   South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds unveiled his fiscal year 2009 budget recommendation to lawmakers last week, which includes funding for construction and operation of a high-speed data network connecting universities and research centers across the state. The High Speed Research, Education and Economic Development Network is a dim-fiber optic solution that will enable all six universities, the underground laboratory at Homestake Mine, University Center, EROS data center, and state government to share massive amounts of research data with scientists worldwide by utilizing the highest network speeds available, according to the governor’s press office. The bulk of the construction costs - $8 million - is provided through a grant from the Great Plains Education Foundation. Gov. Rounds is recommending $3.8 million in FY09 general funds for remaining construction costs and $887,000 in…

By nature, angel investing is a risky endeavor. Angels are often involved with unproven seed- and early-stage companies and are frequently the first outside investors to become involved in a new venture. Despite these risks, a report released by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Angel Capital Education Foundation argues that angel investors working through investor groups often achieve attractive returns. Although only about half of all angel deals result in a profitable return, angels who maintain a portfolio of investments and have the resources to devote to extensive due diligence and company oversight frequently see returns that are competitive with other types of equity investment.   The authors of the report, Robert Wiltbank of Willamette University and Warren Boeker of the University of Washington, conducted a survey of 539 active angel investors to find out more about their background and the results they had seen from their investments. Since there are no legal reporting requirements for angels, the sample was limited to investors who are associated with angel groups.   On average, these investors…

The University of Michigan announced last month that it will spend $30 million in the next five years to hire an additional 100 junior tenure-track faculty members to build multidisciplinary research and degree programs. Additionally, the university will participate in the Michigan Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, a partnership between the state’s public universities and foundations that would provide entrepreneur training to interested members of the faculty and increase the amount of gap-funding to push research discoveries to market.   Hiring additional faculty on the tenure-track is another strategy for building the research capacity of an institution, in addition to the popular policy of seeking and hiring extremely prolific “star” researchers. Will the long-term strategy of hiring increasing numbers of tenure track faculty become more commonplace?   The move to increase the percentage of teaching faculty that are tenured or on a tenure-track at the school is contrary to the trends observed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) in its Contingent Faculty…