Tech Talkin’ Govs, Part II
This is the second installment of SSTI’s look at the Inaugural, Budget and State of the State Addresses delivered in the past week. With a heavy emphasis on alternative energy, TBED priorities continue to receive significant time in the speeches delivered by the nation’s governors at the start of the 2007 legislative season. Selected excerpts of new initiatives are provided below:
Arkansas
Texas Gov. Requests $300M for New TBED Effort
Gov. Rick Perry is asking the Texas Legislature to appropriate $300 million for a new program designed to foster emerging technologies, enhance university-industry collaboration, and promote technology commercialization. If approved, the multi-faceted effort would be the most aggressive tech-based economic development initiative in the state's history.
People
The Fayetteville Economic Development Council named Steven Rust as its new executive director, beginning Aug. 15.
Useful Stats: 2003 DoD Phase I SBIR Proposals and Awards
The Department of Defense (DoD) distributed $152.9 million in awards under its fiscal year 2003 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program competitions. A total of 1,882 awards were selected from a pool of more than 15,000 proposals across all states and the District of Columbia.
State Budgets: '04 Blacker; '05 Red for Nearly Half
With only two months to go in the 2004 fiscal year for most states, 32 are projecting small surpluses in the end - a sharp contrast to the situation they faced a year ago - according to a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
SBA Names FY 2004 FAST, ROP Winners
Earlier this week, 22 states and Puerto Rico were named recipients of more than $2.2 million in combined fiscal year 2004 Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) and Rural Outreach Program (ROP) awards. All but one of the 21 FAST awards distributed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) were worth $95,000 -- they totaled nearly $1.98 million. Five ROP awards of $49,470 also were made by SBA.
People
The Metropolitan Development Association, of Syracuse and Central New York, also recently named a new chairman, John Zawadzki, of its Regional Development Alliance.
NWBC Offers Insight for Minority Women Entrepreneurs
Measured over a three-year period, minority women-owned businesses had similar survival rates and employment growth compared to all women-owned firms, according to a recent series of federal reports. However, when measured against other minority women-owned firms, African American women-owned businesses showed greater job loss and lower survival rates.
Useful Stats: Industry's Share of Academic R&D 2000-2002, by State
For many states, increasing industrial research and development (R&D) within the state's academic research institutions is a priority. Some state tech-based economic development agencies offer financial assistance, such as matching grants to foster greater university-industry research collaboration. Some offer tax credits to companies for research expenditures within the state higher education community.
Tech-based ED Roundup
Arkansas Biotech Research Threatened With 20% Cut
Useful Stats: NIH Awards (grants and contracts) by State
SSTI has compiled a table of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards in total dollars and state rankings from fiscal years 2000-2004. The states are ranked by percent change over the five-year period. The greatest gains were posted in North Dakota (202.51 percent), Alaska (200.98 percent), Idaho (157.48 percent), Montana (144.72 percent), Virginia (120.85 percent), and Hawaii (107.06 percent).
Texas STEM Program Finds Improved S&E Attitudes, Perceptions
Many minority population groups are historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. This is particularly true of the country's Latino population, one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S workforce. As a result, several state and regional tech-based economic development programs are looking for ways to broaden participation in STEM fields. A recent evaluation of a Texas program finds encouraging results, perhaps suggesting a model for others to replicate.
Texas Unveils First Phase of Cluster Initiative
Gov. Rick Perry announced last month a long-term, strategic job creation plan that will focus state efforts on six industry clusters that economists say will be the engine of future job creation and economic growth in the U.S. Although the state already has an advantage in terms of a growing workforce, the key is retaining workers that are skilled and trained in emerging technology fields, the governor said.
Funding Cleared for $3B Stem Cell Research in California
Texas Voters Likely to Decide on Similar Level for Cancer Research
After years of legal challenges to the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, the path for funding the $3 billion initiative has been cleared by the California Supreme Court. Texas may soon join the race to fund medical research with its own $3 billion bond issue supporting cancer research.
Arkansas Wins $9M NSF Grant for Biomass Power & Nanotechnology Research
Last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority (ASTA) would receive $9 million through the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to enhance the state's research capabilities. The new funds will be used to support a broad range of activities, from attracting world-class scholars to fostering entrepreneurship, in select technology areas.
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
People & TBED Organizations
The Houston Technology Center has launched its new Emerging Technology Council.
People
Joel Bauman, Senior Policy Analyst with the Southern Technology Council, is leaving to attend the University of Texas - Austin. Joel has been a great resource for SSTI over the past few years and we wish him success in business school
Job Corner: Rice Seeks Baker Institute Fellow
Rice University invites applications for a Baker Institute Fellow (postdoctoral researcher) to lead a new and potentially long-term project sponsored by the Baker Institute of Public Policy, the Computer and Information Technology Institute, and the Fondren Library.
State S&T Round Up
Arizona
The Ways & Means Committee of the Arizona House of Representatives has passed a bill to eliminate $250 million in sales tax exemptions for a number of products and services, including telecommunications equipment and solar devices. If the bill passes, proceeds would be used to raise teachers' salaries.
ASTF SEEKS GROUP PROJECTS ADMINISTRATOR
The Alaska Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) seeks a Group Projects Administrator to work with industry on R&D projects to benefit the Alaska economy and to track project results. The position requires training and experience in project management with sufficient technical and/or business background to work productively with scientists or engineers to identify economically feasible projects.
Texas Unveils Science & Technology Strategic Plan
Texas' Science and Technology Council recently released a science and technology strategic plan. The Council's vision is to make Texas the nation's leader in science and technology in the 21st century. The plan's premise is that technology is the economic force driving much of the state's current wealth and job creation. The report develops a series of recommendations with the intent of developing the research capacity and human resources Texas will need to ensure economic prosperity in the next century.
New program expands low-income students' credentialing options
Low-income students in the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) will be among the first allowed to use federal student aid to enroll in programs offered by nontraditional educational providers. The providers — including coding bootcamps, online courses, and employer organizations — are partnering with accredited colleges or universities through an experimental program called Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships (EQUIP). The U.S.
Low-income students in the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) will be among the first allowed to use federal student aid to enroll in programs offered by nontraditional educational providers. The providers — including coding bootcamps, online courses, and employer organizations — are partnering with accredited colleges or universities through an experimental program called Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships (EQUIP). The U.S. Department of Education has announced that Brookhaven College is the first program to receive final approval.
Salary and debt from college majors revealed in new Texas tool
May 1 marks the deadline to choose a school for students considering their college options. A new tool developed by the University of Texas system and the U.S. Census Bureau can give a real sense of what students graduating from that system can expect to earn as well as the average debt graduates carry. The tool, seekUT, reveals the average earnings from each of the majors at the different schools and branch campuses one, five and 10 years after graduation.
$194.7 million grant boosts U of A research, creates new institute
The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation is making a $194.7 million grant to advance research and economic development at the University of Arkansas and will allow a new research institute to become reality. The grant is expected to grow the university’s cross-disciplinary research capability, expand the scope of discoveries made by U of A researchers and increase the speed in transferring such discoveries to the marketplace.