SSTI Digest

The Air Force and the National Institutes of Health have published lists of 69 and 3 inventions, respectively, that are available for license. A list of the patents, invention titles, and, in the case of NIH, summary descriptions can be found on the SSTI Website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/060900t.htm

We try hard to be objective in the SSTI Weekly Digest and to present information without editorializing. This is one of the rare instances that we will not even attempt to be objective. We have several items involving SSTI to report:

Using a new, proprietary methodology, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) has conducted a cluster assessment, determining KTEC should focus its commercialization efforts on those specific technology areas where opportunity is high and where the elements are in place to delivery those benefits to the state’s economy. The results, published in Kansas Strategic Technology Cluster Assessment and a Plan for the 21st Century, form a unique blend of cluster analysis, indicator assessment, and strategic planning.

Three bills have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-Michigan) to help reform science, math, engineering, and technology education in grades K-12. These bills, known as the National Science Education Acts of 2000, are designed to re-focus interest and training for those in grades K-12 in all fields of science and technology.

The National Science Education Act (NSEA), the largest of the three bills, focuses on the improvement and expansion of National Science Foundation (NSF) activities. The bill would provide grants for schools to:

According to a new report by a public-private collaborative project called Ecom-Ohio, Ohio lags many others in the “Net” Economy. The group draws attention to the state’s digital divide among certain population groups and laments slow Internet adoption in small and medium-sized businesses and a lack of public incentives and investment to help correct the situation.

Last week, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties released a report documenting the 1999 Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) for the nation’s 319 largest metro areas. The 44-page report indicates that 95 percent of high tech job creation between 1992 and 1999 took place in metro areas.

The report ranks metro areas relative to each other, and, states and national economies around the world. For example, 48 of the world’s largest 100 economies are US metro areas. The GMP of the ten largest metro areas exceeds the combined output of 31 states. Twenty pages of tables provide statistics and rankings for each metro area.

The report can be downloaded from http://www.usmayors.org/citiesdrivetheeconomy/