SSTI Digest

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.

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.

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?  

Federal budget uncertainties, higher health care and retirement benefit costs, a reduced retirement rate and added costs from a structural change from nonprofit lab management have all been mentioned as reasons for the enactment of a workforce reduction plan at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The goal is to decrease the number of lab employees by 500 to 700 workers, and the National Nuclear Security Administration has formally approved the plan, as outlined by Los Alamos’ Director Michael Anastasio. The first phase includes voluntary buyouts to reduce the payroll. After that, additional employees may need to be laid off if the budget shortfall is not met. Currently around 10,900 are employed by the laboratory.   Scanning news stories from across the country, Los Alamos is not alone in its predicament. The Associated Press reported in November that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California also plans to cut 500-900 jobs from their current number of about 8,000 employees. Other reports state Sandia National Laboratories also plans to cut 40-80 workers from their 8,500 employees.

Federal funding for R&D in academic science and engineering fields totaled more than $30 billion in fiscal year 2006, yet it was not enough to outpace inflation, according to data collected by the National Science Foundation (NSF). After adjusting for inflation, the 2.9 percent increase in federally funded academic R&D expenditures in FY 2006 from FY 2005 was actually a 0.1 percent decline. For the third year in a row, the top 11 states receiving federal support for R&D conducted by their academic institutions remained unchanged, the NSF data show. They include California, New York, Maryland, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan and Florida, respectively.

So far this year, SSTI's Funding Supplement has made its subscribers aware of more than 1,400 different opportunities to secure funding. If you aren't a subscriber, your client companies, academic researchers, and state and local TBED efforts are at a significant disadvantage! Finding alternate sources of cash to support the research and commercialization goals of your client companies and academic researchers is a valuable service provided by the most successful state and regional TBED programs – those programs subscribing to the Funding Supplement. Competition for federal research funding is growing, particularly as program budgets have been relatively flat or declining in recent federal budget cycles. But your tech companies and faculty researchers are at the greatest disadvantage if they aren't even aware of all the opportunities available to them. Don't remain in the dark for 2008. Sign up your organization as one of SSTI's members today to begin your subscription to the SSTI Funding Supplement.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC), a collaborative technology development organization whose mission is accelerating technology to market, is seeking to hire a senior scientist and a senior project engineer for its Cleveland office. Both positions will lead or support collaborative projects in alternative and advanced energy materials and materials processing development. A Ph.D. in engineering sciences is required for the senior scientist position; a bachelor's degree in engineering or the sciences is required for the senior project engineer position.

Delaware Economic Development Office announced Ken Anderson as its new director of entrepreneurial and small business development.

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission has named Mike Bobroff as its chief operating officer. Bobroff is also the commission's executive vice president.

Chris Copenhaver, an employee of the Department of Economic Development in Roanoke, Va., was named the city's first entrepreneurial specialist.

Ron Gifford is the new president and CEO of the Indy Partnership. Gifford replaces Gordon Hendry, who left to take an executive position with CB Richard Ellis.