SSTI Digest

Arizona State University invites applications for the position of director, High Performance Computing Initiative (HPCI). Some of the responsibilities include leadership and management of the HPCI, developing the HPCI mission and strategy, growth of the HPCI computing systems and infrastructure, building a strong technical staff to support researchers, and training in HPC for graduate and undergraduate students. A PhD or equivalent experience in the areas of engineering, computer science, informatics, physics, chemistry, biology, computational science, applied mathematics or other relevant discipline is required.

Karina Edmonds will join the Department of Energy as its new technology transfer coordinator starting in April. This is the first time that the Department has appointed a full-time person to fill this role. Cathy McGonigle has been named executive vice president of the Flinn Foundation. Previously, she held management positions for the city of Chandler, Arizona Department of Revenue and Arizona Department of Administration. John Slanina, policy analyst, SSTI has accepted a position as the senior analyst of Revere Data, located in the Youngstown Business Incubator. We wish John well in his new position.

Entering its tenth year covering governors’ State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses, SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states: Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer, State of the State Address, Jan. 11, 2010 “… I am taking the following specific actions to make Arizona even more competitive in creating jobs. First, I am announcing the formation of a Governor's Jobs Cabinet. This team of key state agency directors will cut through the red tape and the green tape to speed job creation. “Second, I will be allocating a significant portion of remaining federal stimulus funds directly to bring new jobs to Arizona. Specifically, I am devoting $10 million in one-time federal stimulus funds for job training. … “… Third, under the leadership of Jerry Colangelo and Commerce Director Don Cardon ... I have created the Governor's Commerce Advisory Council. Working with other Arizona business leaders, they will transform the Department of Commerce into…

People   Lee Cheatham announced he is leaving his position as executive director of the Washington Technology Center and has accepted the position of operations director at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. Chris Coleman, WTC's current CFO and director of business operations, has been selected to serve as interim executive director for the organization. The Hawaii Science & Technology Council announced that Keiki-Pua Dancil is the new president and chief executive officer of HSTC and its sister organization, the Hawaii Science & Technology Institute. Dancil replaces outgoing HSTC/HSTI founder and president Lisa Gibson. Paul Frater is leaving his position as the director of Emerging Technologies, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Stephan Helgesen is leaving his position as the director of the Office of Science and Technology with the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has named Bret Mills as the state's new director of economic development. Keith Stokes, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed…

Arizona's state, regional and university leaders already have made efforts to stimulate elements of a high-tech economy; however, missing are key fundamentals necessary for the state to compete on a national level, finds a report on Arizona's tech economy. Benchmarking Arizona against states such as Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Oregon, the report finds that Arizona has the resources to pursue more aggressive tech-based economic development, yet the state needs a deeper pool of skilled and educated workers, sufficient access to capital to fund research, and state-level leadership that is informed and committed to implementing long-range development strategies. One of the key recommendations calls on the state and its institutions of higher education to focus on significantly increasing the number of locally educated and trained engineers and scientists. For a list of full recommendations, view the report at:  http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/publications.taf?function=detail&ID=38801224&cat=resrep.

Shortly after President Obama announced that the federal government would seek out new partnerships with private companies to improve science and technology education in the U.S., the Arizona Technology Council unveiled three new offerings for Arizona students. The group will collaborate with tech companies and nonprofits to hold a statewide science fair, to develop a four-year engineering curriculum for high school students and to create an online directory of STEM opportunities.  Read more at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091207006079/en

Robert Fritzinger has been named the director of the new SUNY Fredonia Business Technology Incubator. Ioanna Morfessis, a consultant from Phoenix, was unanimously appointed as the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation by the board of directors. Morfessis is expected to start work in January, and will serve as acting director until the Senate confirms her appointment. Alan Rebar, senior associate vice president for research and executive director of Discovery Park, and Richard Cosier, dean and Leeds Professor at the Krannert School of Management, have been named to lead Purdue University’s Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.

Rebecca Bagley, who left her position as deputy secretary for the Technology Investment Office within the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, was appointed president-elect of NorTech. Bagley will succeed Dorothy Baunach, the founding staff director of NorTech, as president and chief executive officer. Baunach will become president emeritus, serving as an adviser until December 2010. John Sider has been appointed to succeed Bagley. Prior to his appointment, Sider served as the director of venture investment for DCED. Steve Crawford is leaving Brookings to take a new job as vice president for policy and research at CFED -- the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, DC. Ken Marcus has been appointed park director for the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park. Marcus succeeds Marshall Worden who retired. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced he has appointed state Rep. Don Marostica, a member of the legislature's Joint Budget Committee and a Loveland business owner, as the new director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Gov. Bill Ritter together with Christine…

President Obama nominated Francis Collins, a physician and scientist who helped guide the Human Genome Project to completion, as the next director of the National Institutes of Health. Stephen Fleming has been named vice provost of Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute. Since 2005, Fleming has served as chief commercialization officer and led the Enterprise Innovation Institute's Commercialization Services Division. Fleming succeeds Wayne Hodges, who retired recently after a 40-year career at Georgia Tech. Larry Irving will step down as co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance in September. Irving will join Hewlett Packard, the world's leading technology company, as vice president of Global Government Affairs. The Oregon Legislature approved legislation renaming and refocusing the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. When Governor Kulongoski signs the bill, the department will be renamed the Oregon Business Development Department and will do business under the name Business Oregon. Sandra Watson has been promoted to assistant deputy director, Innovation & Global Business Development within the Arizona Department…

J. Mike Books is leaving his post with the Indiana Health Industry Forum to become the first economic development director for the city of Columbia, Missouri. He also will serve as president of the Regional Economic Development Inc. Brooks will assume his new responsibilities on July 15. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the appointment of Judith Canales as Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative programs in USDA's Rural Development agency. Donald Cardon, who has been serving as director of the Arizona Department of Housing since March, was named director of the Arizona Department of Commerce. John Chaffee has assumed the post of president and CEO of North Carolina's Eastern Region Development Commission. His predecessor, Al Delia, left when he was appointed as Gov. Bev Perdue's policy director. Howard Gobstein is now the Executive Officer and Vice President of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Toronto's MaRS Innovation has appointed Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein as President and CEO, effective June 8. Jeff Mason, currently senior vice president and chief business development officer for the…

W. Steven Burke is the new president of Biofuels Center of North Carolina. Bill Gimson has been named executive director of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Gimson recently retired as the chief operating officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Jeremy Hill has been named the director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University. Hill replaces Janet Harrah, who left the post for Northern Kentucky University. Jack Jewett, a former president of the Arizona Board of Regents and five-term member of the Arizona House of Representatives, was chosen as the president and chief executive officer of the Flinn Foundation. He succeeds retiring president and CEO John Murphy, who has led the foundation since 1981. Jewett will assume the position in June. Judith Krauthamer has been appointed executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association. The Angel Capital Association (ACA) and Angel Capital Education Foundation (ACEF) has named William Payne, ACA founder and active participant in four angel groups, as the recipient of the 2009 Hans…

The role of a technology incubator or accelerator for supporting nascent firms generally is regarded with the utmost importance by the tech-based economic development community. Tech incubators provide essential resources for startup companies to develop and commercialize new technologies, leading to the creation of high-quality jobs. With estimates suggesting there could be as many as 5,000 incubators of all shapes and sizes worldwide, finding the latest and best practices for tech business incubation could be a challenge. Fortunately, award programs, such as the currently open SSTI's 3rd Annual Excellence in TBED Award, can help call attention to some of the most successful approaches. The longest running award program for incubation is offered by the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), which recently announced its top incubation programs, clients and graduates as part of its 2009 awards competition. San Jose BioCenter was named the 2009 Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year, the organization's most prestigious honor for technology incubators. The BioCenter and the six other award recipients were recognized at a ceremony during NBIA's 23rd annual…