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.
 

Technology-focused incubators are an important component to fostering entrepreneurial development in a region by nurturing businesses in the earliest stages of development and helping them grow into larger companies that employ high-wage workers and bring new technologies to the market. The following select announcements provide an overview of new incubators from across the nation, illustrating the vital role of entrepreneurial development in growing high-tech regional economies.

Adjourning from the 2008 legislative session on March 13, Virginia legislators passed the fiscal year 2008-10 biennial budget but immediately called for a special session to resolve differences in the proposed capital outlay plan that supports university R&D and commercialization efforts. 
 

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.

Regional and industry cries of a highly skilled worker shortage, particularly for scientists and engineers appear well grounded based on a recent InfoBrief from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Foundation reports in 2006, the unemployment rate for scientists and engineers in the U.S. fell to 2.5 percent. Decreasing from 3.2 percent in 2003, the figure is the lowest unemployment rate measured since the early 1990s using the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System, NSF reports.
 

When given a list of seven technology categories to possibly target and invest money and resources over the next 10 years, 37 percent of U.S. respondents selected “fuel efficiency and alternative fuels” as their leading choice, according to a national survey commissioned by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) in Virginia. The remaining choices provided by the survey, which was conducted in March 2008, were as follows (ranked by overall popularity):

• Medical – 30 percent;

The Aerospace, Manufacturing and Information Technology (AMIT) Cluster of Southern Arizona has consolidated its operations with the Arizona Technology Council.

Louisiana Department of Economic Development announced Robert Fudickar will be the technology industry director for the state agency.

The year-long battle between Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) and competitors BellSouth Louisiana and Cox Communications over the utility company's proposed Fiber for the Future project came to an end last month when voters approved the $125 million fiber optics plan by a vote of 62 percent to 38 percent.

Increasing and modernizing university research capacity is a priority for many states. Contrary to programmatic or operational appropriations being required annually, funding for such construction projects can be phased over decades as part of a state's larger capital budget/bond programs. Recent research from the National Science Foundation (NSF) documents the results of the increased importance placed in university research building programs.

As most practitioners know, measuring progress for tech-based economic development efforts can be difficult given the long lead time necessary for most research investments to yield results. Consequently, many programs rely on interim measures to evaluate a policy or program's impact.

Recognizing the value in supporting companies that innovate to create high-quality jobs, governors in New Jersey and Louisiana recently outlined proposals to enhance tax incentives for R&D, technology commercialization, and transferable tax certificates during the upcoming legislative sessions. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie proposed increasing the R&D tax credit to 100 percent and restoring full funding for the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer program as part of his FY12 budget recommendations. Louisiana Gov.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich named James Leftwich as the director of the Ohio Department of Development, effective March 25. Leftwich has worked at the Dayton Development Coalition for six years, including three years as president and CEO. Leftwich will take the post previously held by Mark Kvamme, a California venture capitalist named the state's development director in January. Kvamme was appointed director of Job Creation within the governor's office, effective immediately.

Lawmakers approved many of Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposals aimed at growing Virginia's technology and life sciences industries by dedicating about half of the funding requested by the governor to support R&D, commercialization, SBIR matching grants, and funding for early stage equity investments.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland is seeking a dynamic and innovative biomedical/biotechnology expert to provide strategic leadership as the director of the newly created Office of Translational Alliances and Coordination (OTAC). The OTAC is charged with accelerating the translation of basic discoveries and innovations into new diagnostics, devices, and therapeutics, and facilitating the development of new technologies via SBIR initiatives.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a five-year strategic plan for the agency, focused on education and research impact. Under the goals set in the report, NSF would weigh intellectual merit and the broader impacts of research more heavily when evaluating research proposals. The agency also would increase its use of resources, such as the STAR METRICS project, which provide a clearer assessment of the impact of science investments. Read the plan...

One is a proposed tech corridor focused on energy and environment in southeastern Louisiana and the other is being called a "knowledge district" meant to capitalize on the life sciences sector in Providence, but both have the same goal: growing high-tech industry sectors and creating high-wage jobs. Though the concept has been around for decades and is successful in many areas of the country, some states and regions are just now finding their niche and gaining support to establish tech hubs.

At the close of the 2011 legislative session in Louisiana last week, lawmakers approved three measures to encourage investment in high-tech economic endeavors. This includes renewing and enhancing the R&D tax credit and the Technology Commercialization credit and reinstating an angel investor tax credit for investment in emerging startups.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a $27.5 million, five-year grant to the University of Maryland for a multi-disciplinary research center focused on the interplay of human activity and healthy ecosystems. The grant is the largest ever received by the university and will provide funds for research in environmental sciences, public policy, engineering, computer science and economics.

Spending time at a technology or business incubator may be the key to learning about entrepreneurship. Some universities, seeking to ramp up entrepreneurship programs, are turning to incubators as real-world teachers.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, a public-private partnership, intends to connect NSF-funded scientific research with a project team, made up of professionals from the technological, entrepreneurial and business communities, to help transition NSF-funded scientific and engineering discoveries at institutions of higher education into commercial technologies, products and processes.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded a five-year, $10 million grant to the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) to create a national center for entrepreneurship engineering. STVP will partner with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) to develop resources for undergraduate entrepreneurship programs at engineering schools across the country. Read the announcement...

In what is considered typical for an odd-numbered year, only 34 questions have been certified in nine statewide ballots this election year. Some of those measures include redirecting funds to support higher education, revenue enhancements for states, and repealing legislation that limits collective bargaining for public employees.

Ballot Initiatives

With less than three months until the start of the 2012 legislative session for many states, governors and state economic development groups are working to define areas of investment seen as key to their state's competitiveness. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a job creation and growth agenda that prioritizes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to produce more graduates for a competitive workforce. Meanwhile, leaders in Mississippi and Virginia issued reports that identify industry sectors most likely to grow their states' economies.

Jeffrey Brancato has recently joined NorTech as vice president. Prior to joining NorTech, Brancato was the associate vice president for Economic Development at the University of Massachusetts.

Randal Charlton has announced his retirement as executive director of TechTown, the Wayne State University research and technology park. Leslie Smith, the general manager of TechTown has been appointed to fill the position beginning Nov. 1.