SSTI Digest

Lisa Kuuttila is the first CEO of Michigan State University Technologies, a business organization to train MSU students in the commercialization of science and technology.

Enterprise Florida selected Louis Laubscher to replace Howard Haug as its new senior vice president and COO.

Connecticut Innovations has named John Mengacci interim president while it conducts a broad search to fill the position permanently.

Richard Nelson has been appointed chairman and CEO of the Council of Regional Information Technology Associations.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has named Avi Schick and David Emil, respectively, as chairman and president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

Gov. Chet Culver has appointed Mike Tramontina as director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

John Wasilisin was named deputy executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation.

Steve Zylstra stepped down as CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

With all of the recent activity from its state legislature, Arkansas will soon possess one of the nation's most comprehensive portfolios of state-supported TBED initiatives. A number of TBED-related acts passed by the Arkansas General Assembly this session have all received Gov. Mike Beebe's signature. The result could be a public injection of up to $140 million for Arkansas's TBED community over the next biennium. Most of the new TBED initiatives were outlined in the 2007 Legislative Agenda created by Accelerate Arkansas, an independent statewide coalition organized under the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation. Accelerate Arkansas' goal is to raise the state's average wage to the national average by 2020, a goal to be advanced by investments in research, entrepreneurship, risk capital, and Arkansas' science and engineering workforce.

To promote excellence and accelerate innovation in the nation's aerospace, defence, security and space industries, Canada earlier this month launched the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI) -- a repayable contribution program being administered by Industry Canada's Industrial Technologies Office (ITO). Canadian aerospace, defence, security and space industries are knowledge-intensive and major contributors to Canada's economy. The aerospace sector, alone, had sales of $21.8 billion and exports of $18.5 billion and employed 75,000 highly skilled-and-paid Canadians in 2005. SADI is expected to invest nearly $900 million over the next five years, with funding to reach up to $225 million per year, in support of these industries.

Several U.S. states have introduced plans in attempts to take the early lead in the country's emerging biofuels industry. For example, in 2006, the Washington legislature approved the initial components of the state's Bioenergy Program. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen also has proposed a $73 million investment in biofuels research over the next five years though a new Biofuels Initiative at the University of Tennessee, and the Oklahoma legislature is mulling a $40 million Bioenergy Center to coordinate state research.  

A $295 million three-part bond referendum package passed by the Maine State Legislature last week includes a number of components central to the state’s TBED strategy, including funds to support continued development of the state’s research enterprise, expanded broadband access and increased rural/economic development financing.   The largest TBED item provides $50 million for the Maine Technology Fund to support research, development, and commercialization efforts of Maine-based public and private entities. The funds are limited to the state’s targeted fields of biotechnology, marine technology, composite materials, environmental technology, forestry and agriculture, information technology, and precision manufacturing.   Additionally, the package includes $48.5 million for improvements at the University of Maine and the state community college system and $2 million for revitalizing downtowns and expanding access to digital resources through the New Century Community Program.