Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appointed Ranch Kimball to serve as his new economic development secretary.

Although Massachusetts' universities may be at the fore of nanotechnology research and development (R&D), they must continue to win on research for the state to stay competitive for federal funds, suggests a recent report by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and the Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI).

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) announces the creation of the Innovation Systems Division and a unique economic development initiative, the John Adams Innovation Institute, a vehicle for the state to make strategic investments in its knowledge economy.

Janice Bourque, president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, plans to step down once a replacement has been found.

A quick scan of most state innovation indices and report cards will reveal Massachusetts is on the short list for comparison of what others states would like to achieve. But a leadership spot in the innovation economy is not being taken for granted in the Commonwealth.

It's one thing to call your entrepreneurship education efforts the best, but it's another when more than 950 of your peers from around the country do. The entrepreneurship program at Harvard Business School (HBS) recently won the top award for MBA programs nationwide from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), an organization devoted to entrepreneurship education and development.

A new report from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) finds the federal government’s expanding investment in Homeland Security-related research is already proving a major boon to the high tech economy in Massachusetts, but the state’s overall leadership in federally-funded research and development (R&D) is under intensifying pressure from states throughout the country.

Robert Pozen, secretary of economic development for Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, announced his resignation, effective at the end of 2003.

The high tech economy of Massachusetts is emerging from the recent recession with its fundamental strengths in science, technology and entrepreneurship in good shape, according to the Executive Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. Significant innovation in the state’s industries, however, is necessary to make up for the jobs lost since 2000, the index states.

Texas leaders have fully embraced the importance that strongly supported top-tier research universities can serve for attracting and retaining high-wage technology companies and as drivers for future economic growth. With Tuesday’s passage of Proposition 4 by a solid 56.7 percent majority, it is evident the voting population of the Lone Star State gets it as well.

State governments are poised to play a vital role in the economic recovery through their use of federally-appropriated funds and through their internal policy responses to the global crisis. Several states are focusing on innovation as a means of recovery. Massachusetts and Maine both recently released the latest editions of their annual innovation indices. These annual publications have long helped to clarify trends in the innovation economy and provided assessment of their performance relative to other states.

W. Steven Burke is the new president of Biofuels Center of North Carolina.

Despite the global growth of the industry over the past few decades, U.S. venture capital remains as concentrated as ever in the Silicon Valley region, and to a lesser extent, Massachusetts.

Seven emerging research universities in Texas would receive funding and incentives to help advance their status to nationally-recognized tier one schools following passage of HB 51, awaiting Gov. Rick Perry's signature.

Gov. Deval Patrick announced last week a venture funds competition providing seed money and mentoring to support new business development, adding to a growing number of states seeking to boost entrepreneurial efforts during the economic downturn (see the March 5, 2009 issue of the Digest).

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recently announced plans to develop a $100 million high-performance computing center powered by clean and renewable energy in the small city of Holyoke. The center will be managed by a consortium of state agencies, universities and technology companies including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Massachusetts, Cisco Systems and EMC Corp..

Three metropolitan areas dominate the U.S. venture capital landscape: San Francisco, Boston and New York. These cities are home to about half of all U.S. venture firms and about half of all U.S. venture-backed companies. Though venture firms have sprung up around the country over the past 25 years, the three cities have maintained, and even expanded, their share of national firms and investment.

Over the past few months, several states have enacted spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year and passed legislation to support renewable energy initiatives and tax credits for R&D. While some TBED programs will face dramatic cuts in FY10, others are slated for slight decreases or will receive level funding. The following synopsis provides an overview of the 2009 legislative sessions across the following states:

Karl Fooks, a past managing director for J.P. Morgan & Co. in Asia, is the new president of the Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation. Fooks replaces John Chock who retired last year.

One of the biggest challenges for green technologies and products is breaking into the market. Achieving the critical mass that allows production volume to drive down prices is difficult, particularly when the commodity being sold is, at least initially, more expensive to make because more of the actual cost of production is captured in the green company's business model.

Not all of the news coming out of governors' offices is bad for TBED strategies. For example, just in the past week, governors in Missouri, Ohio and Texas proposed increases in state investments for job creation in emerging fields, higher education scholarships, and technology commercialization and research programs. The following overview provides highlights of their recommendations for TBED proposals in the upcoming fiscal year or biennium.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Daniel O'Connell, resigned for personal reasons and was replaced by Greg Bialecki, an undersecretary who has been responsible for business development

The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved $15 million in funding for three programs that will support innovation and extraordinary effort among its faculty. Two of these programs will make awards for teaching excellence, one for faculty at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and the other for teaching at the system's other eight universities.