The SSTI Weekly Digest will be taking a brief summer break and will resume publication on Friday, August 22.

Case Western Reserve University is seeking an executive director of The Power Partnership for Ohio, one of the new Wright Centers of Innovation funded in part by a $18 million grant from the State of Ohio.

By a narrow margin, Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would have permitted the state to issue up to $500 million in bonds over 10 years to fund technology-based economic development projects. Defeated 51 percent to 49 percent, Issue 1 would have made up the final component of Gov. Bob Taft's proposed 10-year, $1.6 billion Third Frontier project. The remaining $1.1 billion is unaffected by Tuesday's vote.

Looking to launch a biotech initiative? Getting into commercializing university research? Are tight budgets leading to more rigorous program evaluation?

In mid-September, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich unveiled a new approach to economic development in Illinois– regionalism. While several other states currently use or have explored a regionalized approach to delivering state economic development services, the concept is new for Illinois.

Julian Manly Earls is the new director of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Team Northeast Ohio has picked Texan Robert Farley for its first executive director.

Dan Lohymeyer has stepped down as president of Ohio's IT Alliance.

The new executive director of the Center for Regional Economic Issues is Edward Morrison.

The interim director for Cleveland's new Industrial Technology Institute will be Charles Alexander, dean of the College of Engineering at Cleveland State University.

The Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization has appointed David Miller to serve as president, effective September 3.

Stem cell research, an expanded tax zone redevelopment initiative and faculty/researcher recruitment are all beneficiaries in the fiscal year 2007 budget proposal submitted by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich last week. In addition, while overall funding for the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is down 16 percent from the FY 2006 appropriation, the governor's request includes several new programs to assist technology entrepreneurship.

The Wright Center of Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis changed its name to daytaOhio and named Paul Cashen as its new president.

Ted Ford, former president and CEO of the Edison Welding Institute, recently was named president and CEO of TECHColumbus.

Already, more than 20 organizations are taking advantage of SSTI's new affiliate membership program. In addition to being able to tap into SSTI's resources, among the benefits available to SSTI affiliates are two perks that many are taking advantage of: discounted registration fees for Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, SSTI's Sixth Annual Conference and a 10 percent discount on any purchases from SSTI's 150+ title bookstore and catalog.

In what may be the first gift of its kind, a $5 million cash donation has been made to a technology transfer office to endow the commercialization of new health technologies. The Cleveland Clinic announced receipt of the donation from John Ferchill, a Northeast Ohio real estate developer, in mid-December.

The SSTI Weekly Digest will resume publication on January 9. We hope all our readers have a safe, prosperous, and happy 2004.

The promise of high-wage jobs, increased business competitiveness and wealth creation makes the commercialization of university research a central element in the technology-based economic development strategies of many states, provinces and regions of North America.

The Chicago based Committee of 200, an organization of leading women in business, has named Diane Graham as its new chair.

Patrick Rea recently was selected as administrator for the Small Business Administration's six-state region involving Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The Air Force Dual Use Science & Technology (AF DUS&T) Program is part of a congressionally mandated, tri-service program to cost-share research projects with industry for the development of a technology that has both military utility and sufficient commercial potential to support a viable industrial base.

The Greater Cincinnati Regional Technology Initiative has released revving up the tech engine, a strategic plan with more than 30 recommendations to improve Cincinnati's position in a tech-based economy. Giving themselves just 100 days to complete the plan when they started in Spring, the project was developed through six "Accelerator Teams" involving more than 200 volunteers from the three-state metro area.

Ohio businesses experienced a 15 percent increase in overall Internet and website usage between 1999 and 2000, according to the 2001 report released by ECom-Ohio — a public-private collaborative project to increase Ohio's readiness for global electronic commerce. 

Ohio Governor Bob Taft last week signed legislation creating the Ohio Aerospace and Defense Council to examine state and federal laws, rules, and policies that affect the two industries and associated federal installations in Ohio. Ohio is home to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the state’s largest single-site employer, and the NASA Glen Research Center in Cleveland.



Six objectives are to be addressed by the council:

SSTI welcomes Brandon Lawrence to its staff as a Graduate Research Assistant. Brandon holds a BS in microbiology from Miami University (Ohio) and is working on his MBA at Ohio State University.