The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation recently announced that the U.S. had completed its contribution to the international Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Project on budget and ahead of schedule. By the end of the year, the LHC at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) laboratory near Geneva will generate its first particle collisions and research output. Total U.S. contribution to the project is about $531 million of the $5.89 billion cost of the project. Although the U.S.

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.
 

The following overview is a synopsis of select recent announcements from research parks across the world, including groundbreakings and development plans to support vibrant regional economies based on science, technology and innovation. 
 

An upcoming report finds that Hawaiian high-tech industries contributed $3 billion to the state's economy in 2007.

The Alberta Center for Advanced Microsystems and Nanotechnology Products (ACAMP), funded with $8 million from the provincial Alberta government and $3.5 million from the Canadian government, recently commenced operations in the Edmonton Research Park. The new program will be structured around three central components to assist commercialization in this area: packaging and assembly, product development, and marketing.
 

• Tony Armstrong, Indiana University executive director for engagement, has been chosen as the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporations new president and CEO.
• Jeff Costantine will retire this fiscal year as president of the Nashville Technology Council. The board of directors has begun the search for a new president.

Cluster strategies show proximity is seen as an important requirement for tacit knowledge flows and the resulting economic development benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Legislative approval of several measures to support the state’s energy initiatives were accompanied with lawmakers’ rejection of Gov. Linda Lingle’s proposals to fund Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs and expand TBED initiatives at the conclusion of the 2008 legislative session earlier this month.
 

During the 1990s, especially the mid- to late-part of the decade, many countries experienced booms in their high-tech and venture capital industries. Few, however, grew at the same pace as Israel.
 
Israeli entrepreneurs created eight times as many high-tech companies during the 1990s than in the previous decade and equity investment in Israeli start-ups grew from $50 million to $6.65 billion. The number of venture capital companies in the country jumped from two in 1990 to about 100 in 2000.
 

On June 5, 2008, the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg announced plans for a $200 million five-year molecular medicine initiative that draws on a strategic partnership involving three Luxembourg Public Research Centers (CRPs), the University of Luxembourg and three U.S. research institutes prominent in the field.
 
The U.S. research institutions include:

• Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, led by Dr. Jeffrey Trent;

Last week, Premier Ed Stelmach of Alberta introduced a $170 million suite of initiatives to support high-tech economic development in the province. The government hopes that by providing support for commercialization from research to market it can attract high-tech entrepreneurs from other areas. Most of the province's investment will support the creation of the $100 million Alberta Enterprise Corporation to encourage venture capital investment.

If the innovation powerhouse that represents the U.S. economy for the past century were a cinder block foundation of a house, then China and India would present two of the more significant cracks. These two great nations may grab the headlines, but the improved innovation and research capacities of any country provide new challenges for continued U.S. domination of the world's economy. As this week's article on the Czech Republic and Singapore reveals, these are just two more blocks in the U.S.

While the U.S. commitment to science is threatened by flattening federal R&D investments, two more countries demonstrate their shared belief that the way to economic prosperity is through science and innovation.

Should policymakers focus on urban core centers as keys to economic growth or seek greater economic equity in the less developed periphery? A new study on regional policy and economic geography suggest policies should be directed toward core growth.

In the “2011 Global R&D Funding Forecast,” researchers from Battelle and R&D Magazine project consistent and positive global R&D spending in 2011. Global R&D (including public, private and nonprofit spending) is projected to increase by 3.6 percent from $1.15 trillion to almost $1.2 trillion. However, 2011 R&D as a percentage of global GDP will remain constant at 1.9 percent. This increase is attributed to a shift in the geographic distribution of investment.

In a recent speech in front of China's National People's Congress, China's Premier Wen Jiabao outlined the country's 12th five-year plan (2011-2115). The plan will focus heavily on boosting consumption through sustainable growth fueled by renewable energies and state support of strategic, emerging industries. Expenditures on R&D should reach 2.2 percent of GDP. Much of this R&D investment will be targeted in three sectors — healthcare, energy and technology.

Basic biomedical research has a greater academic impact and clinical research a greater societal impact over a 15 to 20 years timescale, according to the findings of Project Retrosight — a multinational, four-year study from RAND Europe and the Health Economics Research Group (HERG) at Brunel University. This study was based on data collected from 29 case studies on basic biomedical and clinical cardiovascular and stroke grant-funded, research projects in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

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.

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, a semi-autonomous Hawaii State agency that developed and manages a globally unique and innovative technology incubation and commercial park in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii, currently is seeking an Executive Director.

The High Technology Development Corporation, an agency of the State of Hawaii, is responsible for promoting and advancing technology-based economic development in Hawaii. They are currently seeking applicants for two positions:

Even through the enduring global economic downturn, nations across the world have targeted technology-based economic development initiatives to build their respective country's science and technology (S&T) sectors. The governments contend that building their respective country's Next Economy is necessary to compete in a globalizing world and increase quality of living for their citizens. Canada, India and the European Union have announced initiatives that could help grow their respective countries S&T sectors.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released the 10th edition of its annual Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard. Each year, OECD examines major trends in the global innovation economy and uses 180 indicators to evaluate the high-tech economies of OECD countries, as well as select non-OECD countries. The overarching theme of this year's release is the increased importance of the non-OECD countries, including Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, Indonesia, the People's Republic of China and South Africa, together dubbed the BRIICS countries.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plans to spur Russia's economic modernization through the Skolkovo innovation center. Currently in the planning stage, the research hub will be at the heart of Russia's modernization strategy. Energy, IT, telecommunications, biotechnology and nuclear technology are the five "presidential" research priorities at Skolkovo. On his current American visit, President Medvedev will attempt to attract talent and private investment from Silicon Valley. Cisco already has committed to a partnership with Skolkovo.