Kelly Lewis, a state legislator in Pennyslvania, will be the new president and CEO of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, beginning Jan. 1.

West Virginia University’s plan to develop strong research capabilities in a number of focused areas, creating hundreds of new jobs, may be completed in half the time originally anticipated. Gov. Bob Wise announced last week a $24.4 million funding package to jump-start the implementation of new research facilities and laboratories on the WVU campus.

Implementation of the Global Grid Exchange, a state-sponsored open public computing grid in West Virginia, is underway. Hewlett Packard will provide the infrastructure technology that will power the grid, an initiative of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation.

During the states' fiscal crisis, a number of TBED programs were eliminated, while others survived. SSTI staff spent a fair amount of time analyzing what the survivors had in common, and we boiled the results down to three items that successful TBED programs have in common. While it may seem simplistic, the three commonalities are:

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP), a nonprofit economic development organization based in Philadelphia, seeks someone to serve as director of its investment and entrepreneurial services. Established in 1982, BFTP exists to stimulate economic growth through innovation, entrepreneurship and the development and adoption of new technologies.

The discounts ending this week on registration and accommodations for SSTI's annual conference will pay for much, if not all, of your round trip airfare to Philadelphia, so we encourage you to act soon on both. Or you can use the savings toward having one of your colleagues attend as well!

A two-year grant from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Community and Economic Development enabled Lehigh University to announce last week the appointments of Glenn Doell and Graham Mitchell to serve respectively as director of the office of technology transfer and director of the entrepreneurship program.

Travel and training dollars are limited for most tech-based economic development programs. For many states, these are the first budget items frozen in a cutback. As a result, you need to get the most bang for each dollar spent on professional development for each staff member.

Few of us would consider one piece of a jigsaw puzzle to be sufficient for comprehending the whole picture. Similarly, a state or regional strategy to develop a knowledge-based economy is not complete with just one element of a complete portfolio to nurture science, technology and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Doros Platika is the new chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is set to release his fiscal year 2006-07 budget request later this week, which is expected to significantly redesign the state's investment in biotechnology and life science research, according to materials released by the governor's office.

In its second attempt to distribute $225 million across the state to local economic development projects, after a lawsuit successfully challenged the initial selection process, the West Virginia Development office is poised to award nearly $47.5 million to directly benefit several technology-specific initiatives.

The jury's still out on the appropriate role or effectiveness of most tax credits to encourage tech-based economic development (TBED), but most politicians and economic development practitioners believe their state is at a competitive disadvantage without at least a few breaks.

Jill Felix, chief executive officer of the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, has announced she is stepping down.

The Allegheny Conference on Community Development announced the following three staff appointments: Leigh McIntosh was named special projects director, Katherine Needham is a new senior vice president, and Roger Cranville will serve as senior vice president of business investment for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

Shortly after a General Assembly vote last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell announced the bipartisan approval of the remaining components to the state’s economic stimulus package. The governor's plan is intended to fuel major new investment in communities across the state.

A significant reduction in employment among southwestern Pennsylvania's technology industries in 2002 was not enough to offset signs of a turnaround, according to new data released by the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC). Over the second half of the year, a turnaround began to emerge and technology companies accounted for nearly 17.5 percent of the region’s workforce, PTC's annual State of the Industry Report shows.

Looking to jumpstart the federal policy process regarding broadband Internet access, the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) has released A Nation of Laboratories, Broadband Experiments in The States, a report examining various broadband policies and programs nationwide.

With contributions of nearly $64 billion annually to the gross state product, manufacturing remains the largest of all industry sectors in Pennsylvania, according to a new report sponsored by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation. Data released by the nonprofit public-private partnership documents the role of manufacturing in Pennsylvania and analyzes the forces shaping the future of the industry.

Doros Platika is the new chief executive officer for the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.

Teri Ooms is the first director of the new Joint Urban Studies Center in Wilkes Barre, Penn.

A new energy initiative in West Virginia, Energy Village, aims to help grow the state's small and start-up energy and environmental technology businesses. Gov. Bob Wise announced $125,000 in funding for the initiative on Monday.

Pennsylvania's Tobacco Settlement Investment Board (TSIB) recently approved a commitment of up to $20 million to Birchmere Ventures III LP to invest in life sciences companies based in Pennsylvania. Birchmere Ventures III, a new fund jointly formed by Pittsburgh-based Birchmere Ventures and San Francisco-based Bay City Capital, will raise up to $150 million.

Carl Bauer is retiring from federal service and leaving the National Energy Technology Laboratory effective Feb. 28, following a four-year tenure as the laboratory’s director.

Joining the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse as executives in residence are Maureen Peszko and Michael Lang. Pierre Queiroz de Oliveira will be joining the program as an executive associate.

The recent creation of the Energy Alliance of Southwestern Pennsylvania is intended to advance the energy-related economy of the Pittsburgh region by funding companies, coordinating projects, devising policies, and marketing the region's assets. While staff for the Energy Alliance will come primarily from the Allegheny Conference and Innovation Works, other partners of the effort include the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and various energy-related firms in the region.