SSTI Digest

A new report released in conjunction with the Fourth International Competitive Brazil Congress gives a positive assessment of the country's potential as a leader in life sciences and provides useful model for competitiveness assessments in other regions. The report, Mechanisms of Innovation and Competitiveness, was prepared by the Center for the Support of Technology Development at the University of Brasilia and coordinated by the five-year-old Competitive Brazil Movement (Movimento Brasil Competitivo, MBC).

 

Five science and technology parks were selected for analysis in order to collect data on the progress of Brazilian innovation over the course of two years. During the study, the MBC developed an assessment methodology that can be applied to evaluate the potential of an environment to foster innovation and improve regional competitiveness. This model, based on previous studies by the U.S. Council on Competitiveness in North Carolina and Mexico, relies on several categories of high-tech competitiveness indicators including:

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.



Griffin Analytical Technologies, a producer of premium chemical detection systems, is seeking a research associate to assist the company with R&D efforts related to Griffins products. Griffin serves U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security applications, environmental health and safety monitoring, and research and teaching laboratories. The research associate will be responsible for exploring new applications for Griffins technology and will report directly to the company's staff of senior research scientists. Applicants should have a bachelor's or master's degree in chemistry and two or more years of applicable experience in instrumentation maintenance and operation.

John Butler, director of the Institute for Innovation and Creativity, was appointed distinguished scholar and adjunct professor at Babson College.



James DeLong is the new vice president of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association.



William Even was named South Dakota's new economic development director.



The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices has named Chris Hayter as its program director for economic development, a newly created position. Hayter joins NGA from the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing.

John Butler, director of the Institute for Innovation and Creativity, was appointed distinguished scholar and adjunct professor at Babson College.