Tech Talkin' Govs 2003: The Inaugural, Budget, and State-of-the-State Addresses
Annually, SSTI looks at the various addresses given by the nation's governors at the beginning of the year. Over the next several weeks, the SSTI Weekly Digest will profile the excerpts concerning programs, policies and issues immediately affecting the tech-based economic development community.
People
Doug Rothwell, President and CEO of Michigan Economic Development Corp. until the end of Gov. Engler's administration in January, has accepted the position of executive director for worldwide real estate at General Motors Corp.
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Howard Bell is the new executive director of Wayne State University's Research and Technology Park. One of the state's SmartZones, the park was recently named the permanent site for Michigan's $50 Million NextEnergy Center.
Programs with Results: California's Matching Grants Yielding Big Results
Note: With this issue, the SSTI Weekly Digest is launching a new occasional "Programs with Results" series — articles profiling a variety of technology-based economic development programs that have been around many years and are yielding positive results. Our goal is to help answer the question "What Appears to Work?" with models that potentially could be duplicated in other states, regions or communities.
Wayne State University to House Michigan's NextEnergy Center
Michigan's NextEnergy Center, the central component of Gov. John Engler's $50 million fuel cell initiative, will be located within Wayne State University’s Research and Technology Park in Detroit, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) recently announced. Wayne State is situated in the Woodward Technology Corridor, one of 11 SmartZones located across Michigan.
Communities Team with Federal Labs to Promote Tech-based ED
With more than 700 facilities around the country, federal laboratories and research centers can provide many resources for communities to tap as they strive to develop tech-based economies: technologies available for transfer and commercialization; facilities and technical staff available to partner with companies and universities for research; and, connections to funding and procurement opportunities.
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Bay Area Regional Technology Alliance (BARTA) has been renamed the TechVentures Network as the Bay Area's leading source of access to financing, business data and services for emerging technology.
Michigan Life Science Initiative Threatened at Ballot Box
A ballot proposal being put forth by Citizens for a Healthy Michigan would reduce funding for Michigan Life Sciences Corridor sponsored projects by nearly $50 million annually, estimates a report released by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The annual reduction includes both the cut in direct funding and required matching funds for Corridor funded projects.
California Promotes Stem Cell Research With New Law
Joined by actor Christopher Reeve and several of California's leading biotech researchers, Governor Gray Davis Sunday signed legislation designed to promote stem cell research in California.
Stronger TBED Efforts Would Benefit Orange County, Larta Asserts
True technology growth for Orange County hinges on a broader, more supportive infrastructure, argues the latest research report by the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance (Larta).
No Digest Next Week; SSTI Offices Closed to Attend Annual Conference
The SSTI Weekly Digest and Funding Supplement will not be published next week as the office will be closed during SSTI's 6th Annual Conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policies to Practice on October 1-3.
The next issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest will be released on October 11.
Milken Releases California Tech & Science Index
"California must continue to increase funding for science and technology in its university systems or risk losing one of its most important comparative advantages," warns the Milken Institute in the State Technology & Science Index: Comparing and Contrasting California.
SSTI Conference Sponsor Profile: The Advanced Technology Program
Are you looking for funding for high-risk research? The Advanced Technology Program (ATP), part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, bridges the gap between the research lab and the marketplace stimulating prosperity through innovation. ATP’s mission is to accelerate the development of innovative technologies through partnerships with the private sector.
SSTI Conference Sponsor Profile: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
Do you have a great idea for a new industrial product or process that can help save energy, reduce emissions, and/or provide clean manufacturing? If so, then you will want to look to the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for possible financing. Several programs provide finance solutions through grants and seed money to help companies get energy ideas off the ground.
Milken Finds California, U.S. Lead Biotech Transfer
Separate MERIT Study of European Tech Transfer Contradicts Some Conclusions
Michigan's Jobs Fund Commits $200M for Commercialization, VC
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has announced the first round of awards from the states new 21st Century Jobs Fund initiative. Totaling more than $100 million, these awards will support applied research and later-stage commercialization of promising new technologies developed at Michigan's public and private research centers.
Milken Report Provides Suggestions for Better Biotech Funding
In a time of tightening budgets and funding shortfalls, many institutions are searching for innovative sources of capital to finance their investment needs. Financial Innovations for Accelerating Medical Solutions, a recent report from the Milken Institute, provides some insight on inventive ways to raise capital for the biotechnology industry.
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William Carney is the new president and CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, a private, nonprofit regional economic development organization in southern California. Carney replaces Paul Hiller, who left earlier this month to take a similar job in Boise, Idaho.
People
David Hollister announced he will leave his position as director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth on Feb. 3, to head Prima Civitas, a newly formed nonprofit agency promoting economic development.
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Russel Hancock is the new president and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley.
U.S. Universities Partner with India for Satellite Engineering Education Program
A partnership between U.S. universities, research centers, private sector corporations, and Indian institutions recently was formed to improve engineering education in India and offer U.S. faculty the opportunity to collaborate with Indian researchers.
People
The new head of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City is Jeffrey Kaczmarek, effective Sept. 6. Kaczmarek currently is senior vice president for community development with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
TBED People
Michael Anastasio is the new director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, effective July 1. He was serving as deputy director of strategic operations for the lab.
TBED People
John Dixon, director of the University of Michigan's Life Sciences Institute, a cornerstone in the state's life sciences initiative, has resigned to join the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Diego.
New NSF Institutes to Strengthen Mathematics as Base for National S&T
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is establishing three new research institutes that are designed to help strengthen the mathematical sciences as the backbone for U.S. scientific and engineering research. The three centers are expected to receive $24 million over five years. A fourth $9 million award renews for six years the operation of an existing mathematical center that integrates education with research.