SSTI Digest

One of the latest big-ticket investments targeting stem cell research came from Ann Arbor last week as the University of Michigan committed $10.5 million of its internal resources to establish an interdisciplinary center for stem cell research. The announcement is one of dozens from around the country since California voters approved Proposition 71 in 2004, borrowing $3 billion over 10 years for stem cell research.

With total spending on medical research now approaching $100 billion annually, up 154 percent from what it was a decade ago according to the Alerion Institute, many states seem to be feeling a need to get ahead or just catch up with their peers as each new funding commitment is announced.

Between 1996 and 2004, an average 0.36 percent of the U.S. population created a new business each month, representing approximately 500,000 new businesses per month, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity.

Using matched data from the monthly Current Population Surveys, a national population survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Kauffman Foundation created a new measure to provide information on recent entrepreneurial trends at the national level. The Index looks at business creation at the individual owner level by gender, education, region, age, immigrant status, and major industries.

Not too surprising. Put the premier professional development opportunity for the tech-based economic development community in a great city and you'll draw hundreds of participants from at least 45 states and several other countries. Offer conference attendees five-star accommodations at prices well below market and we've ended up with the largest room block yet for an SSTI annual conference. It's a formula guaranteeing an incredible experience for everyone joining SSTI in Atlanta on Oct. 19-21.

SSTI is extremely grateful to the management of the InterContinental Hotel Buckhead-Atlanta for agreeing to expand the reserved block by 13-14 percent to allow as many of our participants as possible to savor the comfort of this luxurious property while they attend SSTI's 9th Annual Conference.

Limited Seating Remaining in Three Preconference Sessions

The desire to establish sound metrics to evaluate performance and progress for science and technology investments has grown as S&T programs mature, state and federal funding tightens, and good managers simply want to know what's working and what isn't. As a result, SSTI's all-day intensive pre-conference on sound TBED evaluation models has sold out.

Limited seating remains for the other three preconference workshops, described below. Individuals interested in attending any of the three are strongly encouraged to register on SSTI's website as soon as possible: http://www.ssti.org/conference05.htm

In 2003, academic institutions across the U.S. reported having a total of $23.76 billion in R&D expenditures for research related to the life sciences, according to the National Science Foundation's Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, FY 2003.

The $23.76 billion figure represents 59.3 percent of the total academic R&D expenditures. Among individual states, however, the prominence of life science research among total academic R&D portfolios varies from a high of 89.6 percent in Vermont to only 18.3 percent in Alaska. Only 20 states had life sciences concentrations higher than the national average.

For more information on the positions below, visit SSTI's online Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Georgia SBIR Assistance Program

This new program of the Georgia Tech Advanced Technology Development Center, one of the leading university-based technology incubators in the nation, is seeking a Biosciences Project Manager. The ideal candidate will have a Life Sciences background and experience with the SBIR/STTR programs. This person will provide guidance and hands-on assistance to companies in preparing SBIR/STTR proposals. More information on this position opening is available through the SSTI Job Corner at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. Georgia Tech is an EEO/AA employer.

The TBED community owes a huge debt of gratitude to Thomas Friedman for his 2005 book, The World is Flat. Friedman has helped elevate the issue of innovation, competitiveness, and the U.S. standing therein to the New York Times bestseller list, the Sunday talk shows, and scads of press coverage. Friedman has helped convince pundits and policymakers that the world is flat and the challenges to the U.S. are more serious than ever and are only increasing.

While the pundits talk about the issue, the most pressing issue is what we're going to do about it. To protect our future we need to increase entrepreneurship, expand access to capital, fully integrate our universities into our economic system, improve our workforce through improved education, and better involve underrepresented peoples and regions. Friedman offers a variety of policy prescriptions, but virtually all rely on federal action. But it is incumbent on every city, region, and state to take its own future into its own hands and act.

The early bird registration and hotel room block for Investing in a Brighter Future: Building Tech-based Economies, SSTI's Ninth Annual Conference, ends on Tuesday, September 20.  To register for the conference, which is October 20 and 21, you can visit the conference website at http://www.ssti.org/conference05.htm and select the registration form.

To book a room at the Intercontinental Buckhead-- Atlanta for the greatly reduced rate of $165 call the hotel today at 404.946.9000 and tell them you're part of the SSTI Conference. After Tuesday, we can't guarantee what the room rate will be at the hotel or room availability.

Two years ago, Kannapolis, N.C., was reeling from the announcement that Pillowtex Corp, a major textile manufacturer, was filing for bankruptcy. Pillowtex's failure resulted in more than 4,500 jobs lost in just two North Carolina counties and thousands more in the Southeast U.S.

The mood had to have been better last week with an announcement by billionaire David Murdock, owner of Dole Food Company, and Molly Corbett Broad, president of the University of North Carolina system, of plans to create the North Carolina Research Campus on 250 acres at the former Cannon Mills plant and 100 acres of downtown Kannapolis. Press reports put the total investment in the complex at a billion dollars with more than one million square feet of office and laboratory space.

Maryland has a new program to provide loans to early stage technology-oriented companies that are affiliated with the incubation network, Governor Robert Ehrlich announced earlier this month. The $500,000 Working Capital Loan Fund, administered by the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), will offer low-interest, flexible term loans of between $15,000 and $50,000 to companies in underserved parts of Maryland.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) provided $325,000, which was matched by TEDCO, to capitalize the fund, provide technical assistance and support outreach efforts. The loans are specifically targeted toward incubation-affiliated businesses in Wenstern Maryland, the Lower and Mid Shore and Baltimore City. Loans can be used for working capital.

The growth rates of female sole proprietors in the numbers of businesses, gross receipts, and net income were more than double that of their male counterparts between 1985-2000. However, sole proprietorships were still male-dominated, with male sole proprietors having a larger share of the total number, receipts, and net income, according to a working paper from the Small Business Administration.

The study, U.S. Sole Proprietorships: A Gender Comparison, 1985-2000, uses U.S. sole proprietorship data tabulated by the Statistics of Income Division of the Internal Revenue Service to determine information about U.S. sole proprietorship by gender. Some of the categories measured include business size, owner's marital status, industry categories, net income, growth, and business receipts.

Nominations for the 2006 National Medal of Technology can be made up until September 30.  The President of the U.S. presents the prestigious National Medal of Technology to individuals, teams of individuals, or companies who have improved the American economy and quality of life by their outstanding contributions through technology. The Medal honors accomplishments in the innovation, development, commercialization and management of technology as evidenced by the establishment of new or significantly improved products, processes or services.

The Department of Commerce which administers the award is encouraging nominators to consider the high-impact contributions which colleagues, mentors or associates have made in areas such as: