Alabama Gov. Bob Riley recently announced a plan to launch an advanced robotics research, training and education center to prepare workers for the robotics industry and attract high-tech employers to the state. Calhoun Community College in Decatur will host the $71 million center, in partnership with the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Gov. Riley first proposed the robotics campus in 2006 and believes the center will help increase the state’s profile as a leader in the robotics industry.

Armed with professional advice from mentors in scientific fields and free access to sophisticated design and engineering software, teachers and students from Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia will participate in a national competition to solve a real-world engineering challenge defined by the aviation industry.
 

While election night's main focus was on the presidential race, the importance of ballot measures for states and metros is growing as public services and budgets are being severely trimmed. A recent article in The New Republic reports on a new trend where states are embracing ballot measures as a potential source of dedicated funds for targeted investments in regional economic growth and development.

The answer may not be clear, but both sides can agree the U.S. skills gap will continue to deepen if changes do not occur. In the U.S. manufacturing sector, the skills gap may be less pervasive than many believe, according to a report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). BCG researchers estimate the U.S. is short 80,000 to 100,000 highly skilled manufacturing workers.

Recent announcements of new and emerging technology incubators range from Google's selection of Cape Town, South Africa to launch a pilot incubator supporting technology entrepreneurs that it hopes to replicate globally to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's plan to create a statewide business incubator focusing on workforce training. Select announcements from across the globe are highlighted below.

Proposals that promise job creation and economic growth have taken center stage in several state legislatures. Lawmakers who recognize the importance of R&D, tech commercialization, access to risk capital, and investment in higher education are fighting for passage of TBED-focused bills in the final months of their states' 2011 legislative sessions.

Georgia Tech has launched a crowdfunding resource for university-based students and faculty. Originally announced in the spring, Georgia Tech joins several other universities that are using crowdfunding to finance commercialization and the development of startups based on university research. The field has become common and relevant enough that an online community has started tracking this growth.

President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee “2.0.” Former SSTI board member Luis Proenza, president of The University of Akron is part of the steering committee chaired by Andrew Liveris, president, chairman, and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, and Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Richard Bendis has been named the first president and CEO of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early stage funding in Central Maryland.

With increasing pressures from state and local policymakers to show a return on investment, universities and colleges across the country are stepping up their efforts to transform innovative ideas into ready-for-market products and develop a new generation of entrepreneurs that will spur regional and state economic growth.

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned for its 12th annual edition. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses across the nation. The first installment includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Georgia, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, State of the State Address, Jan. 10, 2012 "... I want to announce two ambitious goals.

In his inaugural address last week, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas announced a four-part plan to bolster research and high-tech economic development. The governor’s Vermont Way Forward strategy would promote high-tech business, particularly in the state’s emerging environmental engineering industry. In addition, the strategy includes a plan to make Vermont what the governor says would be the country’s first “e-state,” one in which universal access to broadband and wireless technology are available anywhere within the state’s borders.

This past fall, Vermont released what may be the nation's first statewide effort to lay out an economic development strategy based on the creative economy theories advanced most prominently by George Mason professor Richard Florida.

The city of Montpelier, Vt., will soon join the ranks of other high-tech cities as it prepares to implement its first Wi-Fi “hotzone” in the central downtown area. With support from Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), city officials and local businesses, the Vermont Broadband Council recently launched MontpelierNet, a high-speed Internet network that will bring wireless broadband Internet access to the city.

Overall retention rates for female engineering graduates has remained steady over the last few years, and according to the latest survey from the American Society for Engineering Education, a significant percentage of women are focusing on the less traditional fields of engineering.

Convergence Group Formed in Silicon Valley

Former president and CEO of the Columbus Technology Council William "Sandy" White is the new CEO of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Research Foundation.

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) recently held its 18th International Conference in Atlanta, honoring excellence in business incubation programs, graduates and client companies. NBIA, a nonprofit organization, works to advance incubation and entrepreneurship. This year’s recipients include: