Legislators in Utah have passed a constitutional amendment that, with approval by voters, would allow the state's universities to take ownership in private businesses in exchange for intellectual property. The proposed amendment cleared the Utah State Legislature with relative ease, despite some concerns it will thwart the incentive of researchers wanting to commercialize their results.

George Swift is the first executive director for the new Southwest Louisiana Partnership for Economic Development.

To promote biotech in Baton Rouge, a new study sponsored by Capital Region Competitive Strategy (CapStrategy) recommends constructing an "idea pipeline" to better commercialize the intellectual property and research generated in the region's universities, hospitals and research institutes. CapStrategy, a nonprofit, cluster-based economic development initiative, operates under the Chamber of Greater Baton Rouge and represents nine parishes in the region.

Kathy Collins has been appointed as the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network (WEN) regional director in Madison. Previously, Collins worked as the technology and financial development manager in the Commerce Division of Business Development.

Ron Cox has been appointed as the assistant dean for economic development in the engineering college at Iowa State University. He retains his current position as director of CIRAS, the Center for Industrial Research and Service.

Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled last month an $11.3 billion spending plan for FY11 that maintains level funding for higher education and slightly reduces funding for the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR). The governor's FY11 budget plan addresses a $693 million shortfall, which is spread across FY10-11 and anticipates $34 million in state revenue growth during the next year.  Read more ...

The third installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs’ series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Delaware, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin. The first and second installments are available in the Jan 13 Digest and Jan. 20 Digest, respectively.

The Piedmont Triad Research Park laid off Bill Dean, director of the park, and Nancy Johnson, marketing director. Park officials said that the park's project manager and executive assistant also were laid off.

In the midst of a national economic recession contributing to a record number of job losses in traditional industries, forward thinking states are exploring ideas and committing funds to help grow and diversify their economies and strengthen their renewable energy portfolios.

The fifth installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses from governors in Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah.

For many states facing a challenging budget year, level funding for science and technology is welcome news to the tech-based economic development (TBED) community. With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earlier this year, governors are seeking solutions to stimulate their respective states' economies through new and expanded programs within specific priority areas.

Utah's 2009 legislative session ended earlier this month with a significant boost in funding to the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) for recruiting science and technology researchers at the University of Utah and Utah State University.

The University of Utah (U of U) announced last month two significant investments in TBED supported by USTAR, the state-funded initiative to grow Utah's knowledge economy.

Hamid Ghandehari and Marc Porter, two prominent scientists in the field of nanotechnology, recently were hired by the University of Utah as part of the state's new Utah Science Technology and Research initiative. Ghandehari comes from the University of Maryland, while Porter comes from Arizona State University.