SSTI Digest

Eight industry and economic development leaders have been appointed to serve on the newly created Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Advisory Board. Meeting three times a year, the board will provide advice on MEP programs, plans and policies. The board will summarize its findings and recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce in an annual report. The board members are: Jay Brandinger; Trenton, N.J.; executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology; Roxi Downing; Des Moines, Iowa; chief executive officer, Qualis Inc.; Irwin Feller; University Park, Pa.; professor of economics at Pennsylvania State University; Maurice Lee; Boley, Okla.; president of Smokaroma Inc.; Ed Noha; Chicago, Ill.; chairman of the board of CNA Financial Corp.; James Quillin; Alamo, Calif.; senior advisor, Economic Development, California Conference of Machinists; Lawrence Rhoades; Irwin, Pa.; president of Extrude Hone Corp.; and William Webber; Greensboro, N.C.; interim director, PT CAM. A ninth member of the board is expected to be named…

The Delaware Economic Development Office recently announced the selection of two new Advanced Technology Centers (ATC). The Centers will focus on semiconductors and advanced optics. The Centers are public/private partnerships designed to bolster Delaware's technology base and to create and retain quality high-tech jobs. The State of Delaware is investing $4 million over three years in these two Centers through grants from the 21st Century Fund. The Center for Nanomachined Surfaces (CNS) will focus on developing and commercializing leading-edge nanomachining applications important to the semiconductor industry. The primary technical goal of the Center is to achieve the world's highest-precision polished, or nanomachined, photomask surfaces, ultimately affecting every integrated circuit made. For more information on CNS, visit their website at http://nanosurf.ece.udel.edu. The Applied Optics Center of Delaware, Inc. will focus on developing new applications for laser technology. Initially, the Center will concentrate on laser spectroscopy technology and laser diode-based…

The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology is requesting comments on proposed revisions to the agency's Advanced Technology Program regulations. The proposed changes are the result of a study of the ATP initiated by Commerce Secretary William Daley in March. Conducted by the department's Technology Administration and completed in July, the study solicited comments from the public and experts on research and technology concerning strategies to strengthen the program and increase its effectiveness. Key provisions in the proposed modifications to the ATP include: ATP may consider using the dollar value of the 500th company in Fortune Magazine's Fortune 500 listing in defining the term "large business" in ATP solicitations. This change is in response to concerns that the current process gives large firms an unfair advantage over medium-sized firms with limited resources. The cost sharing requirements for large companies applying as single proposers would increase to a minimum of 60 percent. Currently, all companies are treated alike…

The Role of Technology in the Connecticut Economy, a new report produced by the Connecticut Technology Council (CTC), provides a comprehensive analysis of the role of technology in the state's economy. Overall, the report reveals both a strong technology contribution to the Connecticut economy, as well as the state's dependence on technology for achieving its economic potential. The primary goal of the report is to draw attention to the technology resources in the state and to redefine how the state collectively views itself. The report's second goal is to start quantifying the state's technology resources in order to provide a basis for future planning and evaluation of technology performance over time. With this baseline data, private industry planners and public policy makers will be able to position Connecticut for growth in the future. The study discovered that Connecticut's technology industries are growing. Findings of the report include the following: In Connecticut, the technology sector accounts for one-sixth of total jobs but more than one-quarter of total payroll…

The U.S. Department of Commerce is accepting nominations for the 1998 National Medal of Technology. The Medal of Technology recognizes technological innovators who have made lasting contributions to enhancing America's competitiveness and standard of living. The Medal of Technology is awarded annually to individuals, teams, or companies for accomplishments in the innovation, development, commercialization, and management of technology, as evidenced by the establishment of new or significantly improved products, processes, or services. Nominations must be submitted by October 17. Eligibility requirements include: U.S. citizenship in the case of individuals and teams. Companies may be for-profit or not-for-profit, but more than 50 percent of the shares or assets must be owned by U.S. citizens. Nominees who are selected as finalists will be subject to an FBI security check. The 1998 Nomination Application Packet, including an individual/team application form and a company/division application form as well as criteria, is available on the Internet at www.…

President Clinton intends to nominate Ray Kammer to become the next director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Duncan Moore as the Associate Director for Technology in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Both appointments must be confirmed by the Senate. Kammer has served as the deputy director of NIST from 1980 to 1991 and from 1993 to the present. From 1991 to 1993 he was the Department of Commerce's Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere. Most recently Kammer has been serving on an acting basis as chief financial officer, assistant secretary for administration and chief information officer for the Department of Commerce. The post of NIST director has been vacant since Arati Prabhakar resigned in the spring to take a private sector position. Moore is the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Rochester. A physicist by training with a specialization in optics, he also has experience in technology policy including serving as a congressional science and engineering fellow to Sen. Jay…

The Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) were the focus of a hearing before the Technology Subcommittee of the House Science Committee last week. The subcommittee is considering re-authorization of the STTR program. Discussion focused on three issues: (1) the effectiveness of SBIR and STTR in meeting program goals; (2) the geographic distribution of SBIR/STTR awards; and (3) the need to balance commercialization objectives with funding research to meet agency needs. Under STTR, authorized by the Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992, federal agencies which have an extramural research and development budget in excess of $1 billion must designate for technology transfer a certain percentage of those budgets for small business. The program operates in a manner similar to SBIR but STTR projects must involve cooperative research by a small business and a non-profit research institution, i.e. a university, college, non-profit research center or government-owned and contractor-operated laboratory …

The State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) recently released an issue brief that examines the current efforts of states to write and implement science and technology strategic plans. The report is entitled An Overview of State Science & Technology Strategic Planning. The issue brief (1) presents an overview of states' science and technology strategic plans and the process by which they were developed; (2) examines the extent to which the plans explicitly address the needs of distressed areas; and, (3) describes science and technology strategic planning activities in Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Vermont. SSTI found that 13 states adopted statewide science and technology strategic plans between 1991 and 1995. During this same time, 29 states adopted overall economic development strategies, some of which addressed the science and technology base in the state or the needs of particular technology-based industries. Funding for the report was provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration. A final report outlining best…

The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) has released a study entitled "Managing the Successful Transfer of Technology from Federal Facilities: A Survey of Selected Laboratories & Facilities in the Mid-Continent Region of the Federal Laboratory Consortium." The study was commissioned by the FLC and was undertaken by Chapman Research Group, Inc. The study reports that some of the best practices for transferring technology include: incorporating technology transfer into strategic planning for the lab/installation; developing systematic valuation of technology transfer activities; aggressive management of intellectual property; and, innovative use of the CRADA mechanism. The largest problem still impeding technology transfer is the general lack of top management support at the departmental or agency level. However, the study reports that there is the recognition of the need to change the culture at the laboratory/facility. Management is increasingly aware that "attention must be paid to both current and potential clientele. More effort must be devoted to outreach, making known the capabilities…

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) is creating the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center. The Center will help technology-based firms assess their commercialization needs, guide them through the commercialization process, and link them to a network of technology sources and commercialization assistance services. The Center will provide access to specialized business development services, early-stage risk financing, and help in transferring technology. "OCAST's goal for the project is to increase per capita income in Oklahoma by achieving a critical mass of technology-oriented companies and entrepreneurs within the state, thereby attracting other similar firms," said Sheri Stickley, OCAST's director of Technology Development Programs. Stickley said the Center will accomplish this by: Accelerating the commercialization process Creating an environment that supports technology-based businesses Creating partnerships between firms and Oklahoma's universities Providing access to early-stage capital Providing expert…

Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) has adopted a new strategic plan through the year 2000. The new plan considers the appropriate balance between short-term and long-term goals and places CIT in a position to serve Virginia as it builds its 21st century knowledge-based economy. The most significant change in the plan is the development of CIT's role in shaping Virginia's plans for technology. CIT will be a leader in the Commonwealth's efforts to develop and implement a technology strategy. Toward that goal, CIT has already assisted in the development of A Blueprint for Technology-Based Economic Growth in Virginia. The Blueprint analyzes four key issues related to technology development. It also outlines specific actions Virginia must take to strengthen its economic competitiveness. The Blueprint defines four areas as critical to Virginia's technology competitiveness: development of a highly-skilled workforce; implementation of a knowledge-based infrastructure; the nurturing of an entrepreneurial environment; and the deployment of manufacturing and information…

The Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy (OTP) recently released a policy paper that suggests the global environment affecting U.S. technology policy is changing rapidly, and policymakers are operating without current data or up-to-date conceptual frameworks. The new report, The Global Context for U.S. Technology Policy, points out that "today's global competitive and technology landscape is profoundly different from the situation during much of the post-World War II period, when most of our current technology policies were developed." The shifting balance between the U.S. and the rest of the world with respect to research and development activities in the last 40 years has been especially dramatic. In 1950, the U.S. performed 70 percent of the world's R&D activity. By 1994, the rest of the world was performing twice as much R&D as the U.S. Despite a more dynamic and competitive global economy, the report cites several key industries in which U.S. performance is strong. Information technology and biotechnology are two areas where sustained public investment…