New Mexico Gains TBED Tools
Increased funding for equity investments and a new university-industry R&D partnership program are among the pieces of legislation New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed this week, greatly expanding New Mexico's portfolio of programs to grow a tech-based economy. Most of the initiatives were included in the economic development agenda Gov. Richardson outlined during his first State of the State address in January. They are:
People
Randy Burge has announced his resignation as director of the New Mexico Department of Economic Development's Office of Science and Technology. Mike Orshan will serve as acting director beginning Sept. 29.
TBED People & Organizational Announcements
The Association of University Research Parks has recognized Sandia National Laboratories for the 2003 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award. Over the past five years, Sandia has participated in 183 new cooperative research and development agreements with industry partners to jointly develop technology that is incorporated into commercial products.
Hawaii's HTDC Announces Statewide Incubation Services Program
Secures State as Pilot Site for FastTrac™
Coming soon to an island near you — business development services. That could be the sales pitch for a new development within the High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), Hawaii's lead tech-based economic development agency.
People
Deborah Fleischaker has been appointed deputy secretary for the New Mexico Department of Economic Development.
Conference Profile: Sandia National Laboratories
As a national security laboratory operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, Sandia’s science and technology competencies are leveraged to support several missions that are synergistic to its primary mission — to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of underground testing, indefinitely.
People
Maria Estela de Rios has been named chairwoman of the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership Board of Directors. She is executive vice president of Orion International Technologies, which is based in Albuquerque.
MEP Career Opportunity
The New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program is recruiting a technology transfer and commercialization project manager with a proven track record in related disciplines from the private and/or public sector.
Tech Talkin' Govs 2005, Part Four
The first three installments of SSTI's annual look at how TBED will play in the 2005 legislative priorities of the governors can be found in the Digest archives on our website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm
Hawaii
Hawaii Supplemental Budget Request Expands Funding for Innovation Initiatives
Building on a successful legislative session in 2007, Gov. Lingle is requesting additional funds to supplement various ongoing TBED programs.
New Mexico Governor Signs Budget Bills, Vetoes Capital Package
New Mexico’s 2008 legislative session wrapped up last week, resulting in no final action on several TBED-related bills and leading Gov. Bill Richardson to call a special legislative session to address his health care reform agenda.
Hawaii, DOE Partner toward Ambitious Clean Energy Goals
With the goals of reducing crude oil consumption by a whopping 72 percent and identifying clean energy sources to cover 70 percent of the state’s energy needs by 2030, Hawaii has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to figure out exactly how to get the job done under the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.
New Mexico Legislature: Tax Credits, Energy Initiatives among Successes of 2007 Regular Session
With the close of its 2007 regular session, the New Mexico State Legislature wrapped up "one of the most productive sessions in state history." Those were the words of Gov. Bill Richardson, following the legislature's adjournment last month. The governor had outlined a number of economic development and energy initiatives in his 2007 State of the State Address that he hoped would be brought to bear (see the Jan. 15, 2007 issue of the Digest).
People
Roberto Salazar is leaving his post as the Director of the New Mexico Office of Science and Technology at the end of March to assume the position of State Director of the USDA's Rural Development Agency for New Mexico.
People & TBED Organizations
Rick Homans announced that he will step down as executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, effective July 27.
People
Rick Homans will step down as secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department to become executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, effective May 1.
People and Organizational News
Larry Willard, president of the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, is leaving the position to become chairman of the New Mexico Economic Development Corp.
New Mexico Establishes Statewide Research Collaborative
With a combined annual research budget totaling $4.8 billion, New Mexico's 12 largest research facilities signed a Memorandum of Agreement on May 30 to help turn intellectual property into jobs for New Mexicans. Members of the newly formed New Mexico Technology Research Corridor (TRC) include:
People
Noreen Scott, former economic development division director for the New Mexico Department of Economic Development, is the executive director for the Rio Rancho Economic Development Corp.
New Mexico Looks to Build Hydrogen-based Economy
As states and communities consider how to build a tech-based economy, the prospects of centering efforts around hydrogen fuel cell technology has become an increasingly appealing option. Fuel cells may have huge implications for the future, and the technology already is the focus of some states' multi-billion economic development strategies.
People
Gov. Bill Richardson has appointed his chief of staff, David Harris, to serve as executive director of the New Mexico Finance Authority.
Energy RoundUp : States, Governors and Feds Turn Attention to Need for Clean Energy
National Governors Association
Governors Challenge Youth to Solve Real-world Industry Problem
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.
People & TBED Organizations
Publisher's Note: SSTI notes with much sadness the March 5 passing of Indiana State Sen. David Ford, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. David was a good friend not only of SSTI's, but also of the tech-based economic development community across the nation. In addition to being a tireless and cheerful advocate for investing in science and technology, he was also a gentleman in the true sense of the word, and we miss him greatly.