Dr. Eugene Wong has been named assistant director for engineering at the National Science Foundation. As the head of NSF's engineering directorate, he will oversee a $320 million annual budget. His most recent position was with a start-up California company.

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) is sponsoring a workshop entitled "Building University Engines for Academic Excellence, Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship." The workshop will he held on May 30, 1998 in Philadelphia, PA.

A recently released data brief from the National Science Foundation, entitled Six States Account for Half of the Nation's R&D, analyzed the distribution of research and development activity by state and found most of the activity is concentrated in a small number of states.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released an assessment of its Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program. The two-part study looked at two key aspects of the ERC program: ERC- industry interaction and effectiveness of former ERC graduate students in the workforce.

The SSTI Weekly Digest will be taking a brief summer break and will resume publication on Friday, August 22.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published online the Science & Engineering State Profiles: 2000-2001, a set of 52 science and engineering (S&E) profiles summarizing state-specific data on personnel and finances. Rankings and totals are given for the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and the report includes a data source page.

Ohio Governor Bob Taft today signed into law Am. Sub. House Bill 1, putting into place the newest components of his Third Frontier Project to foster tech-based economic development (TBED) and growth in Ohio.

The Virginia Institute for Defense and Homeland Security has named Hugh Montgomery, Jr. as the consortium's first director, effective July 1.

With preparations for SSTI's 7th Annual Conference on October 20-22 well underway, we have received many questions from local, regional and state organizations wanting to host the premier event for the tech-based economic development profession in 2004. Because of the increased interest, SSTI has bumped up its schedule for selecting the 2004 site. We are accepting nominations of host organizations and locations for SSTI's 8th Annual Conference until July 11, 2003.

SSTI is declaring its independence from publishing an issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest on July 4. The Digest will resume on July 11.

With the state's current fiscal year winding down and a $1 billion deficit looming for the next one, Ohio has re-emphasized its commitment to building a stronger economic future through research and technology with a series of multi-million grant announcement over the past three weeks.

Kenneth Alfred will become the first executive director for the new Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition.

Meeting short-term budget demands are consuming more and more of state, local and academic tech-based economic development practitioners' time. However, keeping an eye on the long-range funding picture is critical for sustained success. One of the most important federal sources for supporting the research enterprise is the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The new executive director of the Virginia Piedmont Technology Council is Gail Milligan.

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) honored six top incubation programs, graduates and clients at its 17th International Conference on Incubation, held May 18-21 in Richmond, Va. Award winners are highlighted below:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced it intends to have almost $200,000 in fiscal year 2003 funds for new awards under the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) Program. Nominations to honor individuals and institutions are invited for the 2003 competition of these annual awards.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a statistical report on Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2001. The data show trends in science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients.

Peter Jobse has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced 24 awards under the new Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program — an anticipated investment of $240 million over five years in projects to improve the achievement of K-12 students in science and mathematics. The Department of Education is an NSF partner in this effort, co-funding two projects involving state education agencies.

NASA has announced the Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, will team with the National Institute of Aerospace Associates (NIAA), Reston, VA, to create the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) to perform aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

The future of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) became clearer on Wednesday with Governor Mark Warner's release of Commonwealth of Virginia Strategic Plan for Technology for 2002-2006. CIT has a lead position for half of the eight initiatives outlined in the 129-page document.

Highlights of "One Virginia," CIT's portion of the plan, call for:

From angel capital to university technology commercialization, there are myriad facets to technology-based economic development (TBED). The key to success lies in a solid understanding of your respective element of the field — from grasping the policy issues to developing effective programs and practices to implementing sound evaluation techniques.

The interim director for Cleveland's new Industrial Technology Institute will be Charles Alexander, dean of the College of Engineering at Cleveland State University.

Anne Armstrong, who in July resigned as president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, is returning to Federal Computer Week as its publisher. Armstrong was with the weekly publication prior to joining CIT.

Jerald Coughter, industry director for biotechnology and medical applications for Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), has been named executive director of Governor Mark R. Warner’s Advisory Board for the Virginia Biotechnology Initiative.