While Albany securing Sematech North has captured national attention in the TBED community for the past week, area leaders have been working for more than a year to forge a partnership toward regional technology-based economic development. That effort came to fruition in June when leaders of the Albany-Colonie Regional, Rensselaer County Regional and Schenectady County Chambers of Commerce announced the formation of the Tech Valley Chamber Coalition.

The Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation (CATI) Partnership Board and the Gateway Technical College Board of Directors recently held a groundbreaking to begin construction of the new 40,000-square-foot facility located in Sturtevant’s Renaissance Park.

Plans for a joint five-year $320-$403 million program to accelerate the development of next generation lithography were announced Thursday by International SEMATECH (ISMT) and The University at Albany-SUNY (UAlbany).

Keith Servis has left his position as director of programs at the New York Office of Science, Technology, and the Advancement of Research to return to the New York Department of Health.

Thomas Still has been selected at the new president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Still, currently associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, will fill the vacancy created by Larry Kline's departure this past spring.

New York's initiatives to support technology-based economic development (TBED) will share more than $520 million in state appropriations during Fiscal Year 2003. The highlight: two originally competing budget proposals to support university-based centers of excellence survived with a combined $470 million in state funds (see the Jan. 5, 2001 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest for background).

The Wisconsin Venture Network (WVN) in Milwaukee has folded into the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) Foundation in Madison, and the combined WIN entity has become a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

A new study examining the post-Sept. 11 economy of New York argues the city's traditional approach to economic development, one which has banked on a few favored sectors such as financial and business services, is outdated and should be reconceived.

Merideth Andreucci has succeeded Michael Wilton as president of the USA Niagara Development Corp. Wilton was nominated by Governor George Pataki to serve as President of the New York State Higher Education Services Corp.

State Partnership with Texas Instrument Yields $3B Investment

From the outsider's perspective, it could be analogous to a world wrestling prize fight, except the punches and stakes are real. Two big, proud states wrestling for dominance in one lucrative industry — semiconductors.

After 30 years as leader of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Robert Brennan is leaving to become a consultant to the new Office of Corporate Relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

On Jan. 26, New York Gov. George Pataki and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno announced legislation to create a $200 million Biotechnology and Biomedicine Research Initiative through the New York State Charitable Assets Foundation.

Jennifer Alexander is the new president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.

Gov. Jim Doyle last week unveiled his plan to jumpstart the Wisconsin economy. The plan, "Grow Wisconsin," calls for a series of executive actions, private sector partnerships and legislative steps to create high-wage jobs and achieve other goals. Some of the tech-based economic development items outlined in "Grow Wisconsin" are:

Kathleen Wise is the new Director of Programs for the New York Office of Science, Technology and the Advancement of Research. She fills the position vacated this summer by Keith Servis.

Temi Bova is the new director of Union College's U-start technology business incubator in Schenectady, N.Y.

Earlier this week, New York Governor George E. Pataki and NY Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno unveiled a new funding program designed to recognize and support outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show potential for leadership and scientific discovery in the field of biotechnology.

New York Governor George Pataki, in his 10th State of the State Address last week, outlined a variety of initiatives designed to further promote tech-based economic development (TBED) in the state. From refining the state's Empire Zones program and strengthening the manufacturing sector to making New York a leader in renewable energy and academic research, the governor's agenda is not short on TBED items.

On July 16, both houses of Wisconsin’s state Legislature passed a state budget including numerous incentives for technological development. The budget covers state spending for a two-year period that began July 1. Gov. Scott McCallum has until August 30 to approve the budget; several of the tech-related items were in the Governor's first state of the state and executive budget addresses.

With so much attention given to increasing private seed and venture capital activity as a means of growing tech-based economies, one might expect that encouraging and attracting community development venture capital (CDVC) – that is, equity investments and entrepreneurial assistance to meet both profit targets and community development goals – would be a common element of a state or local community’s portfolio of economic development tools.

Larry Kline has resigned as president of the Wisconsin Technology Council to take a position as chief financial officer and vice president for business development with a biotech firm.