SSTI Digest

The risks of identity theft, e-mail viruses, denial-of-service attacks, system glitches and other online hazards can make the average person's reliance on computer systems more of a leap of faith than a bond of trust. To promote research into more dependable, accountable and secure computer and network systems, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a solicitation for the Cyber Trust program, which expects to fund up to $30 million in awards.

The Cyber Trust program will support up to three research center-level efforts as well as single-investigator and team awards, subject to NSF's merit-review process and the availability of funds. NSF expects that Cyber Trust research centers will involve collaborations among academic, industry and other partners.

Pennsylvania's Tobacco Settlement Investment Board (TSIB) recently approved a commitment of up to $20 million to Birchmere Ventures III LP to invest in life sciences companies based in Pennsylvania. Birchmere Ventures III, a new fund jointly formed by Pittsburgh-based Birchmere Ventures and San Francisco-based Bay City Capital, will raise up to $150 million.

The commitment to Birchmere Ventures/Bay City Capital will leverage the Tobacco Settlement money three-to-one by raising $30 million from other sources to match an initial $10 million made available by the TSIB. The TSIB stipulated that the total $40 million must close by March 31, 2004.

Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced on Monday a new investment initiative to help close the capital gap for the state's early-stage technology businesses. CIT, a state-chartered nonprofit corporation, will launch the Growth Acceleration Program (GAP) on Dec. 15, 2003, to address the funding void created by a recent shortfall of angel capital.

CIT's GAP will invest up to $100,000 in early-stage technology companies that successfully complete a seven-step investment process. All GAP investments will take the form of convertible notes with outstanding principal and interest converting to a CIT equity position in the firm at the time of a qualifying financing event. CIT may attach warrants to GAP investments as a function of loan term, interest rate and payment schedule.

To expand on the state's Centers of Innovation strategy, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced in November the creation of the Middle Georgia Aerospace Innovation Center (MAIC). The center is comprised of numerous partners, including the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism's Office of Science and Technology, the University System of Georgia, private institutions and companies, and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (ALC).

Researchers from Georgia Tech, Mercer University and Macon State College will work directly with the ALC and industry partners to develop new technologies to transform lifecycle support for aircraft. All technologies developed in MAIC will be evaluated and potentially implemented by its partner organizations. These technologies eventually will be commercialized and licensed by the state Board of Regents to corporate partners including Boeing and Lockheed-Martin.

With $90 million already secured in state and private support, a 400-acre automotive research campus to be developed by Clemson University promises to make South Carolina a hub of the nation's automotive and motorsports industry.

The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research will house a new graduate engineering education center, distinctive research and testing facilities, and private industry research and development operations that will help support the region's growing automotive industry cluster. The first non-academic tenant on campus, BMW Manufacturing of South Carolina, plans to occupy an Information Technology Research Center to be built adjacent to Clemson's graduate school. The 84,000-square-foot center will support research focusing on improving automotive software systems and software/hardware compatibility for BMW products.

Federal laboratories' ability to contribute to local economic development efforts may depend most on the quality of technical and business assistance they can offer, suggests a new report issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy (OTP). The report, Partners on a Mission: Federal Laboratory Practices Contributing to Economic Development, documents nine programs that go beyond immediate laboratory missions to provide communities with greater access to lab technologies and facilities.

The report was developed with information from interviews with labs interested in highlighting their local economic development efforts. The nine cases included in the report were selected as representative of other U.S. laboratories and programs conducting similar activities. Numerous issues affecting the labs' ability to actively support economic development and related activities surfaced among the nine that were visited:

Steve Bryant has been named the project director for the Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership in Indiana.

Patrick Rea recently was selected as administrator for the Small Business Administration's six-state region involving Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The Idaho Economic Development Association has named Jan Rogers as new president.

The Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corp. has named Klaus Thiessen as its new president.

The Association of American Universities has selected Patrick White as the new director of federal relations.