SSTI Digest

The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) will host a six-state regional conference promoting three federal business technology investment programs: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. All ten federal agencies participating in SBIR will make presentations and have representatives available for one-on-one sessions with conference attendees. ATP will be the focus of a plenary session led by Marc Stanley, ATP Associate Director for Policy & Operations. The two-day event will be held December 14-15 in Research Triangle Park, NC, and was developed and promoted in cooperation with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. The event also is supported by the Department of the Navy and the NC Biotechnology Center. More information on the conference and the SBTDC can be found at http://www.sbtdc.org  or by contacting Kay…

The Air Force Dual Use Science & Technology Program (DUS&T) will be holding a pre-solicitation conference to provide businesses an opportunity to participate in the process of generating topics for the Air Force DUS&T solicitation to be released in January. The DUS&T Program is designed to help the Department of Defense partner with industry to jointly fund the development of technologies that have both military utility and sufficient commercial potential to support a viable industrial base. This is accomplished through streamlined contracting procedures, and cost sharing between the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the individual Services, and industry. At the upcoming conference, the Air Force will provide an overview to DUS&T and the FY 2001 solicitation cycle. Four technical sessions will be held to present and discuss the roadmaps for four technology thrusts: information systems and human factors; advanced materials and manufacturing processes; power, including space-based systems; and sensors. The workshop will be held at the Hope Hotel &…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded almost $13 million in grants for distance learning and telemedicine projects in rural areas of 34 states and Puerto Rico. The announcement was made on the 50th anniversary of the program. Since the program’s inception, $11 billion in loans and grants have been made, resulting in more than 1 million miles of phone lines and thousands of miles of optic cable being laid. The distance learning grants will provide students in rural schools the opportunity to take college preparatory classes taught by an instructor located miles away.  The telemedicine grants will provide life-enhancing and life-saving health technology, allowing patients in rural clinics to be examined by medical specialists in distant locations, providing speedier diagnosis. The accompanying table provides the number of grants awarded in each category as well as the total dollar amount by state.  For additional information on these specific awards, contact La Jaycee Brown at 202/720-9741. More general information on USDA’s Rural Distance and Telemedicine…

The Economic Development Administration has funded the creation of EconData.Net (http://www.econdata.net/), a website providing a searchable database with approximately 400 links to web-related socioeconomic data resources. EconData.Net provides a single site for referencing many materials used for developing science and technology indices or for comparing a state or region’s economic posture with other jurisdictions. More than 300 information links are sorted across ten subject categories, including: demographics employment occupation income trade & output prices economic assets quality of life industry sectors firm listings These same resource links are also organized by provider. An additional 75 sites containing on-line data sets and statistical references are collected under a third grouping on EconData.Net.

The Florida legislature recently approved legislation creating the Florida Space Research Institute (FSRI), an independent, industry-led organization designed to coordinate the space-related research capabilities of several public and private universities. FSRI will strive to expand the universities’ involvement in space research and education, and to insure that state academic resources are available to support the space-related needs of industry, NASA, and the military. The seven-member board, which includes representatives of Enterprise Florida, the Spaceport Florida Authority, the Florida Space Business Roundtable, the Florida Aviaiton Aerospace Alliance, Bionetics, Command & Control Technologies, and Boeing, held its first board meetings in early October. In the near term, FSRI will help to administer $200,000 in Spaceport Authority funds to match NASA grants to Florida universities and colleges. The institute will also support a partnership between NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Florida universities to develop a biotechnology and microgravity payload facility at Kennedy. For…

The U.S. Department of Education has selected 40 awards for the Community Technology Centers program, a new federal initiative to promote the development of model programs that demonstrate the educational effectiveness of technology in urban and rural areas and economically distressed communities. Community Technology Centers provide access to information technology and related learning services to children and adults. The Department received 750 applications from communities and organizations across all 50 states and two territories in response to the program’s first solicitation last Spring. The 1999 awards are distributed across 23 states and the District of Columbia. In making its award decisions, the Department gave preference to applications that met one or both of two competitive priorities: projects that expanded or established Community Technology Centers in a federally-designated Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community, and projects that demonstrated substantial community support. Twenty-six of the recipients are located in urban zones and 14 are in rural areas.…

Pennsylvania’s $187 million investment in the Ben Franklin Partnership boosted the state’s economy by $2.9 billion between 1989 and 1996, according to a new economic impact study. A Record of Achievement: The Economic Impact of the Ben Franklin Partnership concludes that between 1989 and 1996 the Ben Franklin Partnership achieved the following: Boosted the Pennsylvania economy by $2.9 billion; Yielded a return on the state investment of 14 to 1; Generated $168 million in additional state tax revenue; Generated on average at the client level the employment of five more people per company in each year following funding than would have occurred in the absence of the investment; Generated 21,800 additional job-years in client firms. The jobs are in industries that pay annual salaries roughly 45% higher than the average salary in Pennsylvania; and, Generated a total of 46,300 additional job-years through client impacts that spread throughout the economy, giving rise to higher employment throughout the state…

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has selected 22 organizations to receive funding to support outreach and proposal assistance for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The organizations will split $1 million for an average award of just over $45,000.  The exact amount for each award was not provided. Each recipient must match the federal award 50 cents on the dollar. Awardees include: Alaska Small Business Development Center University of Delaware Washington (DC) Emerging Technologies Center Idaho Small Business Development Center Indiana University Iowa State University Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. Louisiana Dept. of Economic Development Eastern Maine Development Corp. University of Mississippi The Center for Emerging Technologies (MO) Montana Department of Commerce Univ. of North Dakota, Center for Innovation Board of Regents, Univ. of Nebraska at Lincoln Nevada Small Business Development Center University of Puerto Rico Rhode Island…

A five-university partnership led by Vanderbilt University (TN) will develop bioengineering educational technologies and curricula at a new Engineering Research Center funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Through a five-year, nearly $10-million cooperative agreement, the center will support and enhance the education of a new generation of bioengineers needed to strengthen the industry. The partnership includes Northwestern University (IL), University of Texas at Austin, and the joint Division of Health Sciences and Technology of Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bioengineers, learning scientists, and computer scientists expect to develop modular, computer-based courseware, curricula, and educational technology tailored to the needs of bioengineering education, and to disseminate these products to engineering educators. Industry partners and national laboratories will participate in the research and education, and in developing ways to transfer knowledge and technological advances to industry. Two NSF directorates -- the Directorate…

NASA has selected 290 research proposals across 34 states for negotiation of Phase I contract awards for its 1999 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The total value of the awards is expected to be more than $20 million.   NASA received more than 2,260 proposals from small, high-technology businesses located throughout the United States in response to the 1999 Phase I solicitation. The 220 selected firms will be awarded fixed-price contracts worth up to $70,000 to perform a six-month Phase I feasibility study. Companies which successfully complete the Phase I activities are eligible to compete for Phase II selection the following year. NASA Phase II awards allow for a two-year, fixed-price contract of up to $600,000.  The accompanying table (http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/102299t.htm) presents the distribution of proposals, awards, and firms by state. A listing of companies selected for the program can be found at http://sbir.nasa.gov   Return to the top of this page

Ten individuals and five institutions have received the 1999 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. The mentoring awards honor those whose personal and organizational activities have increased participation of underrepresented groups in mathematics, engineering and science from kindergarten through graduate level. Each recipient is given a $10,000 grant and a commemorative presidential certificate. The monetary award is to be directed back into the recognized mentoring activity. This year's awardees were selected from among 36 nominated for the individual awards and another 19 from institutions. 1999 INDIVIDUAL WINNERS Ajay K. Bose, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ George Castro, San Jose State University Meera Chandrasekhar, University of Missouri-Columbia Harold Deutschman, New Jersey Institute of Technology-Newark Samuel F. Hart, Sr., Mercer University, Macon, Georgia Ram S. Lamba, University of Puerto Rico-Cayey Raymond B. Landis, California State University-Los Angeles Zafra M.…

After only ten years of investments, Connecticut Innovations, Inc. achieved a net income of $21.4 million in 1999, according to Connecticut Innovations’ latest annual report. The corporation reversed a deficit of over $20 million in retained earnings accumulated through 1995 to a positive $24.7 million by June 30, 1999. The corporation's record provides one of the strongest examples of successful state-funded, technology-based seed and venture capital investment to date. Surpassing another significant milestone, total fund equity for Connecticut Innovations grew to slightly more than $103 million. The return on fund equity was 20.8 percent in 1999, also a new best for the corporation. Connecticut Innovations reported an internal rate of return on its equity and near-equity portfolio of 40 percent since inception. Connecticut Innovations is the State of Connecticut’s leading investor in high technology, making risk capital investments in entrepreneurial companies across the state. The corporation has several different financial and technical programs and investment funds to assist qualified…