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Richard Lunak is the new CEO of Innovation Works and Ron Bianchini has been named chairman of the organization.
Pennyslvania Outlines Role and Function of Its TBED Portfolio
Is Pennsylvania getting enough bang -- or the right bang -- from its investments in promoting a tech-based economy? The state has been one of the nation's leading public investors in technology-based economic development (TBED) for more than 20 years. Programs have evolved and been added over the years as factors affecting innovation and private sector growth changed. The result is now Pennsylvania's researchers and entrepreneurs have a complex portfolio of public-private resources available to them.
Recent Research: A Response to the Morrison Paper on Leading Firms
Editor's Note: Last week's issue of the Digest included a Recent Research item, Are Leading Firms Team Players? that drew an animated reaction from a reader whose opinion SSTI holds in great respect because of his contributions to improving the understanding and delivery of technology-based economic development initiatives. As a result, Dr.
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Delaware Economic Development Office announced Ken Anderson as its new director of entrepreneurial and small business development.
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Jack Pfunder is the new executive director of the Manufacturers Resource Center in Bethlehem, Pa.
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Rebecca Bagley is the new Deputy Secretary for Technology Investment in the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development.
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Citing a reorganizing, the Delaware Economic Development Office fired 20 percent of its staff (10 positions) last Thursday. According to the Associated Press and local news sources, among those relieved of their duties were Janet Wurtzel, chief operating officer, and Rob Propes, entrepreneurial and small business support director.
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After nine years as deputy director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Joseph Bordogna is resigning. He will return to the University of Pennsylvania as Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Engineering.
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Richard Overmoyer, deputy secretary for technology investment at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, is leaving to join the lobbying group, GSP Consulting.
Launch of Emerging Technology Center Completes Delaware Governor's New Economy Initiative
Gov. Ruth Minner launched over the summer the final component of her New Economy Initiative to provide a network of support and services to technology-based start-up companies.
Programs Recruit, Train Workers and Youth for Critical ‘Middle Skill’ Jobs
Across the nation, policymakers, business leaders, private foundations and nonprofit groups are investing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates to maintain a competitive U.S. workforce. From middle school math and science labs to engineering-centered summer camps and tuition reimbursement for undergraduates who pursue these fields, there is widespread support for STEM graduates.
Recent Reports & Studies: Bayer Survey Shows Strong Public Support for S&T
Americans say they take pride in our nation's leadership role in science and technology and believe the U.S. needs to continue investing in scientific research and development (R&D) in order to remain at the forefront of discovery and innovation, according to a Gallup survey conducted on behalf of the Bayer Corporation in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
NSF Awards $45 Million to Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
The next U.S. supercomputing system operating at speeds well beyond a trillion calculations per second will reside at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) through an expected $45-million award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Last week, the National Science Board (NSB), NSF's governing body, authorized the three-year award following a national competition.
Delaware Selects Three Centers
The State of Delaware has selected its first three Advanced Technology Centers (ATCs), public/private partnerships designed to bolster the state's technology base and to create and retain quality high-tech jobs. The centers will receive $2.31 million from the state's 21st Century Fund for their first year of operation and are eligible for two more years of state funding given satisfactory performance.
The centers selected are:
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
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Rob Jaffe, director of federal funding programs with Innovation Philadelphia, is resigning to become a senior underwriter for Institutional Lending at Commerce Bank.
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George Burrell is the new president and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia.
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Krista Paternostro is the new vice president of operations at the Pittsburgh Technology Council.
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Dr. Alan Brown was named executive director of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, a newly formed economic development initiative.
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GSP Consulting, a full-service government and consulting firm, has added Dr. Jerry Paytas to its newly established Economic Architecture practice as director of research.
Biotech Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania Released
To shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the region's biotechnology cluster, Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development (CED) has published A Biotechnology Action Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The CED report says the Pittsburgh biotechnology cluster largely depends on the amount of available venture capital and the development of new technologies and that total funding levels must be increased to continue biotech development.
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Don Smith has been appointed Vice President for Economic Development at the new Mellon Pitt Carnegie Corporation. MPC, a joint venture of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, is intended to coordinate the economic development and tech commercialization activities of both schools.
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Telecommunications entrepreneur R. Chadwick Paul Jr. has been hired as chief executive officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Tech-talkin' Governors: State of the State and Budget Addresses
This week, the SSTI Weekly Digest continues its series on governors' State of the State addresses, highlighting those portions concerning programs, policies and issues immediately affecting the tech-based economic development community.