SSTI Digest

While dozens of states have instituted clean-tech strategies in order to cash in on the high-tech wave of the future, some are looking even further ahead. In several western states, private space travel and companies are drawing the attention of political leaders, researchers and investors eager to pioneer an industry that may still be many years away from creating dividends. California has long been involved in promoting space technology companies through the California Space Authority, which offers workforce training and business support opportunities. In New Mexico, Virgin Galactic plans to begin construction on Spaceport America next year with $67 million in state funds once the project is approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (see the Dec. 19, 2005 issue of the Digest).   Colorado also has entered the arena with the launch of the Eighth Continent Project, hosted at the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources. The project has assembled an array of services, including a trade association, a planned incubator and venture fund, and a collaborative research program for private space enterprises. Project Director Burke Forke…

One of the many challenges for tech-based economic development organizations and private firms is to access and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge produced throughout the nation’s federal laboratory system. With the hope of making their intellectual property more accessible for commercialization, four research facilities within the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently signed a cooperative agreement to pool together their patents.   The Innovation Bundling Initiative aligns the intellectual property of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Under the initiative, patents originating from these facilities will be sorted into groups by subject matter and similarity of technologies, which can then be marketed in this organized manner to the private sector. Additionally, the bundling will enable collaborators to negotiate with a single entity for patent access, as opposed to dealing with the individual facilities that own each particular patent.   The initiative was jointly developed by the…

What factors will enable regions with a historical strong industrial heritage to become attractive to creative individuals? According to Richard Florida in his 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class, creative people are most drawn to places that have an abundance of existing creative talent, a tolerance for diversity, and the ability to produce technology. Florida uses various measures to quantify a region’s talent, tolerance and technology - also known as the 3Ts - and combines them to produce a creativity index that allows comparison between locations.   Using this framework, Zoltan Acs from George Mason University and Monika Megyesi from the University of Baltimore compare the metro Baltimore region to seven other similar regions with a strong industrial heritage. In Creativity and Industrial Cities: A Case Study of Baltimore, the authors rank the Baltimore metropolitan statistical area first among Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis in an overall creativity index. Of all metropolitan areas in the U.S. with populations greater than one million, Baltimore placed 17th with its creative index score, and…

Canada’s Treasury Board recently announced the creation of an independent panel of experts to provide advice on transferring management of federal non-regulatory laboratories into private or other non-government hands. The four individuals comprising the panel, each with extensive experience and leadership in Canada's science and technology community, will consider different management options for the Canadian systems of federal research labs. Many of the largest nonregulatory and non-life science-related federal laboratories in the U.S. are managed by private companies through competitive selection processes. Others are co-located and run by academic institutions. The panel may consider privatization or quasi-privatization of life science-related labs that, in the case of the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Agriculture, remain government-operated. The Canadian panel will focus on four key objectives: Increasing the impact of federal investments in research Fostering research excellence Enhancing learning and transfer of knowledge Leveraging the strengths of government, university…

Over the past few months, several new research park announcements have been made, including a $2.5 billion public-private investment in Kentucky. Gov. Ernie Fletcher last month announced plans for the expansion of the Louisville Health Sciences Campus. The project will encompass the 30-block radius that houses the Louisville health sciences campus. A current U of L parking lot, known as the Haymarket property, will be converted into a 700,000-square-foot state-of-the-art laboratory and office space.   The project is being financed through a proposed tax increment finance (TIF) in which a portion of the tax revenue generated by the 20-year capital investment – about $300 million – is captured for reinvestment in the development. The TIF increment is expected to be enough to complete construction of the research park and many components of the U of L Health Sciences Master Plan, according to the governor’s office. Officials hope to begin initial investment and construction soon after the anticipated approval by the state’s TIF Commission.   New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Arrowhead Center recently struck a deal with a…

Register today to be sure you receive this special rate. On Wednesday, Sept. 26, registration fees will increase by $100. Hosted by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, and the University System of Maryland, the 2007 SSTI Annual Conference will be held at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel Oct. 18-19. In a word, the SSTI Annual conference promises quality. With more than 20 carefully planned sessions, conference participants are ensured access to the latest thinking and best practices in tech-based economic development. Limited attendance further affords one the opportunity to engage in open, creative dialogue, and registration fees are kept reasonable so you can send your entire leadership team. All added up, SSTI's annual conference is the field's most stimulating and rewarding professional development investment of the year. For many, the networking breaks are what the conference is all about. It's where the latest TBED thinking and technology come alive. You won't want to miss being a part of the this year's most dynamic and influential…

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) seeks an additional senior member to join its technology transfer team as a senior commercialization manager or possibly as deputy director. This key individual is needed to identify, evaluate and commercialize technologies created at a major U.S. Department of Energy laboratory and to serve as liaison between some of the laboratory's most significant research divisions and the business community. He or she should have a high level of technical expertise in a physical science, as well as significant experience in sales or business development. The University of Memphis (U of M) and the FedEx Institute of Technology (FIT) are seeking a director of tech transfer and research development to act as the Technology Transfer officer and clearinghouse for the university. This newly created position reports to the FIT executive director. The director will act as liaison between FIT, business and other research institutions to accelerate the transfer and commercialization of U of M technologies…

Incubators and accelerators. Angel, seed and venture capital. Research parks. University and industry research. Technology licensing and commercialization. Entrepreneurship assistance. R&D tax credits. Technology workforce development. Regional technology councils. Manufacturing extension. Science and technology advisers. While all have specific functions, collectively, when supported by public funds, these activities are working toward a single goal of transforming a regional economy to be more competitive in the knowledge-driven global market for innovation and growth. These are not the same components used for conventional economic development approaches that strive to improve or maintain economic vitality of a geographic area. Technology-Based Economic Development (TBED) is driven to improve the standard of living of the residents and businesses of an area while simultaneously increasing their capacity to generate new opportunities for wealth creation into the future through targeted strategies and investments focused on encouraging a combination of knowledge, innovation, and entrepreneurship.…

Once again, SSTI's members have assembled one of our finest slates of sessions yet to anchor the 11th annual conference, Oct. 18-19, in Baltimore. Providing the core of the conference, the 19 sessions are structured to allow ample discussion time among participants, something we're told sets SSTI's conferences apart from the rest. Additionally, SSTI uses a two-stage survey process each summer to develop the conference agenda rather than having the agenda set by invitation or call for papers many months in advance. The result is all topics to be discussed were ranked as being of highest interest or most pressing need by SSTI's sponsors and affiliates — your peers from around the country! Given the breadth and diversity of interests and perspectives present among SSTI's membership, the slate of sessions is assured to offer at least one topic of interest for nearly every component of the TBED community during each of the five time slots offering concurrent breakout sessions. In many cases there will be multiple sessions you'd like to attend, making the team approach the best way to participate. Bringing multiple members of your state or local TBED…

Attendees at SSTI's 11th annual conference will be fortunate to participate in plenary sessions led off by keynote addresses highlighting two of the most critical elements of TBED — successful entrepreneurship and engaged institutions of higher learning.  Our opening plenary session provides the opportunity to hear from Kevin Plank, chairman and chief executive officer of Under Armour Inc. Call it an enterprising hunch, a brilliant brainstorm or a stroke of pure genius, Mr. Plank started Under Armour in 1995, when he was special teams captain for the University of Maryland football team. Tired of repeatedly changing the cotton T-shirt under his jersey as it became wet and heavy during the course of a game, he set out to develop a next-generation shirt that would remain drier and lighter and consistently perform under the most extreme conditions. A few tireless years later, Mr. Plank oversaw the company's November 2005 IPO, the first to double on opening day in five years, and the December 2006 move from the NASDAQ to the New York Stock Exchange. In 2006, he was the distinguished recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year national…

SSTI's annual conference is as much a community homecoming as it a unique professional development opportunity. With our latest addition to the schedule, SSTI is making it even more of both! By attending SSTI's annual conference this year, you have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be present for the inaugural-year announcement of SSTI's Excellence in TBED Award winners. The Award recognizes the longstanding achievements made by the TBED community in promoting research, entrepreneurial development, a skilled workforce, and innovation in existing companies. The celebration will be held following lunch on Oct. 18. Strong evidence of the need for a recognition program for the TBED community was provided by the breadth and sheer number of applications SSTI received for the first-ever awards in six categories: Expanding the research infrastructure Commercializing research Building entrepreneurial capacity Increasing access to capital Enhancing the S&T workforce Improving the competitiveness of existing industries Conference participants are certain to be impressed with how the initiatives gained momentum, achieved…

It isn't every conference you consider attending that offers so much content in such a dynamic and fun location - so much that this one warrants extending your stay in Baltimore to play over the weekend. Our conference site is strategically located at the center of the Baltimore's exciting Inner Harbor. The active waterfront is beautiful, offering dozens of options to satisfy all of your cravings — dining, tourist attractions, arts, nightlife, shopping and convenient walking tours. The Inner Harbor is just one of the reasons Baltimore is a perennial destination city. Don't just take our word for it, though. Check it out here:  http://www.ssticonference.org/Conf07/amenities.htm