We read a lot of e-mail for the Digest. A lot of e-mail. We know that e-mail boxes are getting fuller all the time, so even thinking of recommending that you increase your reading load takes a lot of nerve, or a very good reason. This one is the latter.

With nearly $1 billion in federal R&D funding proposed for the new Department of Homeland Security, many states, universities and companies are exploring ways to be actively involved as R&D partners. Already home to several military and intelligence research activities, with proximity to Washington, D.C. in its favor, Virginia recently announced an effort to further strengthen its competitive position in the funding race.

Ellen Hemmerly has been named president of the nonprofit Association of University Research Parks.

Charles W. Steger, President of Virginia Tech. has been elected chairman of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. Paula S. Gulak, Founding Partner of SyCom Technologies, is the new Vice Chairman.

Since reaching a high point of almost 27,300 in 1998, the number of science and engineering (S&E) doctorates has dropped by 7 percent to just over 25,500 in 2001, reports a 2001 nationwide survey conducted for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The decline since 1998 has led to a rollback of total Ph.D.s to pre-1994 levels, the report states.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) plans to fund $9 million in new FY 2003 awards under the Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program, according to the program solicitation's recent release. To promote PFI, NSF will sponsor 15-25 partnerships among academe, government and the private sector that explore new approaches to innovation.

The purpose of the program, as defined in the PFI solicitation, is threefold:

Ontario is performing from a base of strength in its transition to a knowledge-based economy, according to the Ontario Innovation Index recently released by the Ontario Science and Innovation Council (OSIC). Using 30 indicators, the report measures all aspects of the province's innovation system, from community awareness and support for science and technology (S&T) to levels of investment to support its infrastructure.

Hard evidence of the increasing global research competence discussed in the Thursby's paper above was provided last week when the Singapore Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) announced plans last week to commit $7.5 billion ($4.6 billion US) over the next five years to sustain innovation-driven growth through economic-oriented R&D. All figures below are in U.S. dollars.

University partnerships lead to diversity in teaching and research, highlight the importance of university research and lead to the development of special expertise, concludes a policy brief by the Conseil Superieur De L’Education in Quebec.

With several of the right elements already in place but scattered across a wide area, the two planning districts comprising the 13-county region surrounding Roanoke, Virginia, combined efforts to develop a strategic economic development strategy that focuses heavily on science and technology-based initiatives.

The importance of strong academic R&D capabilities in building state and regional tech-based economies cannot be overstated. Subsequently most states, either independently or in partnership with federal EPSCoR programs, are making investments toward strengthening their academic research enterprises. Some also have invested in programs to attract, leverage or match federal R&D investments.

Anne Armstrong, president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology since 1999, has resigned from the position effective the end of this month. Virginia Secretary of Technology George C. Newstrom will serve as Interim President during a search for a new president.

Robert Templin, Jr., has been named the new president of Northern Virginia Community College, effective August 17. Templin, currently a senior fellow at the Morino Institute, was a previous president of Virginia' Center for Innovative Technology.

Virginia is one of the most connected states in the country with 5.19 million access lines, 2.76 million wireless telephone subscribers and 218,808 high-speed lines, according to a report issued by Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT).

Today's online issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education reports Microsoft Corporation is contributing $750 million to China to support computer science education, basic research, software training, and business growth.

The National Science Foundation has released a new set of statistical tables that show research and development (R&D) funding levels, reported by 31 federal agencies for the last three fiscal years.

Canada already has seen its number of biotech firms grow from 227 in 1997 to 400 in 2000, second only to the U.S. in biotech concentration. Last week's announcement of a $51 million (Canadian) biotechnology strategy is intended to further strengthen the Ontario's position in health research and commercialization.

The Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity — the research arm of Ontario's Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress — has released a comprehensive view of Ontario's industry clusters, showing for the first time how they compare with similar clusters in other provinces and U.S. states.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published the Science & Engineering State Profiles: 1999-2000, an online database. One-page statistical summaries are given for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, permitting calculation of per capita statistics and rankings.

The Board of Directors for Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced last week their selection of Peter Jobse as the new president of CIT. Jobse has been CIT’s executive vice president and chief operating officer since joining the organization in October 2002.

A strategic plan issued in 2002 by the Fifth Planning District Regional Alliance in Virginia may officially have completed the first phase when the Alliance recently awarded $273,342 in grants and earmarked funds.

The Ontario Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation has launched a two-phase, $30 million program intended to accelerate the development of Ontario's biotechnology cluster. The Biotechnology Cluster Innovation Program (BCIP) will support biotechnology infrastructure projects that will help create new companies.

With the goal of supporting partnerships that unite the efforts of local school districts with science, mathematics, engineering and education faculties of colleges and universities, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released the first request for proposals (RFP) for the $160 million Math & Science Partnerships (MSP) initiative. Involvement of additional stakeholders, especially states, is highly encouraged, according to the RFP.

While 2002 marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, it also may be remembered as the first time an agency successfully finagled its way out of SBIR's requirement that 2.5 percent of extramural R&D be awarded to small technology companies.

Several warnings have been issued in recent years about U.S. dominance in the world's scientific and technological communities slipping: the number of science and engineering (S&E) doctorates awarded per capita; the dearth of women and minorities entering technical fields; the facility in which knowledge, companies and people can be transferred globally; scores on standardized math and science tests; and indicators for global entrepreneurship, to name a few.