Jeff Wadsworth has been named the next director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Wadsworth was a former deputy director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Fred Tompkins, professor and interim dean of the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Engineering, has been named interim executive director of the UT Research Foundation.

John Bradley is the Tennessee Valley Authority's as its first chief of economic development. Bradley had been senior vice president of economic development at the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Construction is underway for the Cool Springs Life Sciences Center (CSLSC), a $74 million biomedical research facility planned for Franklin, TN, 15 miles south of Nashville. When completed, the 10-acre center will be home to life sciences-focused R&D facilities for biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

Caroline Young has been named executive director of the Tennessee Biotechnology Association and director of the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation's life science initiative.

Alex Fisher, chief of staff for Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist, is leaving to become the director of technology transfer and economic development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) Tribal Chief Phillip Martin and Mississippi Technology Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Angie Dvorak recently announced a partnership to help foster science-based economic development for the state of Mississippi. The alliance's partnership with a tribal government is possibly the first of its kind in the U.S.

Community buy-in to building a technology-based economy is vital for TBED success. Establishing a strong private sector commitment to science and technology can make a significant difference, particularly as elected officials are deciding what to cut or trim from the budget. TBED organizations use different approaches to get the buy-in. In states such as Massachusetts (see story in this Digest), the top-down direction from the Governor could provide the group critical access.

Andrew Kim is the new policy director for Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Anne B. Pope of Tennessee as Federal Co-Chairwoman of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Pope currently serves as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Angie Dvorak is leaving her position as CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance to become vice president of research for the University of Southern Mississippi. The University saw a 25 percent increase in research funds last fiscal year, climbing to a record $62.6 million.

Bill Madia is leaving his position as director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory to oversee all Department of Energy business for Battelle Memorial Institute.

The Mississippi Technology Alliance has released a second annual index focusing on the process of innovation, the links between innovation and technology-based economic development, and activities that government, academia and the private sector provide to support innovation and economic development.

Earlier this week, Governor Don Sundquist and the Tennessee Technology Development Corp. (TTDC) released the New Economy Strategy, a broad plan to improve the state's economic viability through science and technology. The strategy encompasses many new initiatives to complement TTDC's existing portfolio of tech-based economic development efforts.

The first-ever Mississippi Innovation Index was released Wednesday by the Mississippi Technology Alliance.



Targeting technology-based economic development in Mississippi, the Index groups baseline data into eight categories and establishes a data collection process for 24 science- and technology-related indicators. Initial analyses suggest:

Tennessee's Sullivan County took a big step toward reducing the presence of a brain drain when it approved a scholarship program for its high school graduates.