120 Other Metro Areas included in Analysis for Northeast Ohio

As competition for leadership in stem cell research heats up across the nation, legal battles and the introduction of new legislation are becoming commonplace among many states. Following is a round-up of recent news on stem cell research legalities and legislation in several states.

One of the latest examples of the important role a foundation can play in tech-based economic development strategies comes from a recent $15 million donation to Tulsa University. The Chapman Trust, established after the deaths of Oklahoma oilman James Chapman and his wife Leta Chapman, made the donation to perpetually endow nine new junior faculty positions at the university.

The notion that, since a 2003 ruling, small businesses that are majority-owned by venture capital (VC) funds are being unfairly excluded from participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is inaccurate, according to a recent study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

$10M Donation Funds Johns Hopkins Biomed Facility, Research Park

Regional migration patterns between 2000 and 2004 revealed a continuing net average annual in-migration in the South and the West and a net average annual out-migration in the Midwest and the Northeast, according to the Census Bureau’s latest report. Domestic Net Migration in the United States: 2000 to 2004 details recent patterns of population redistribution throughout the U.S. and provides migration data from 1990-2000 to show a historical perspective in migration patterns.

Carolina Cruz is the first director of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, a $20 million research facility developed jointly by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Louisiana Economic Development Authority.

Carolina Cruz is the first director of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, a $20 million research facility developed jointly by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Louisiana Economic Development Authority.

Past SSTI conference sponsor ANGLE Technology Group named Mark DeSantis to serve as managing director of consulting and management and Lisa Smith to become vice president of marketing.

Lenzie Harcum, former program director at the University of North Carolina SBTDC, is now assistant vice president of biosciences at the NYC Economic Development Corporation.

After seven months on the job, Connecticut Innovations President and CEO Chandler Howard is leaving to pursue an opportunity to establish a community bank in New Haven.

Rob Atkinson, the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, has announced his resignation. He has accepted a position with the Progressive Policy Institute, leading a new initiative on science and technology. As a result of his departure, the Council is seeking an executive director.

The State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) recently released an issue brief that examines specific tax incentives offered by the states to encourage research and development (R&D) activity. The report, State Research and Development Tax Incentives, identifies tax incentives for R&D offered in 1996 by individual states and describes their major attributes. It also considers the use and cost of the incentives.

Apparently as a result of Secretary of Commerce William Daley's pledge to cut the number of political employees in the department, Graham Mitchell, the assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy, will lose his job at the end of September, according to published reports. It is unclear if the position is being eliminated.

Japan is on schedule to double the government's R&D investment by the year 2000, according to a June 13 National Science Foundation Issue Brief.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley announced several changes to the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) yesterday. The changes came as a result of a Department study reviewing the ATP. A number of the changes are designed to increase the role of the states in the program.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is seeking nominations for the Tibbetts Awards to recognize outstanding technological innovation, economic impact, and business achievements of individuals and organizations associated with the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is looking for business and quality experts to serve a one-year term on the Board of Examiners that reviews applications for the 1998 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The board consists of approximately 325 members, including nine judges and 60 senior examiners.

The National Governors' Association (NGA) and the federal government signed an agreement officially establishing the United States Innovation Partnership (USIP) on June 25, 1997. The USIP brings together the Governors and the White House to improve the operation of the national science, engineering, and technology system.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) held its annual Small Business Week celebration June 1-7. Small Business Week is designated each year to honor the nation's small businesses and to highlight their contributions to the national economy and their local communities.

David Guiliani, president and CEO of Optiva Corporation in Washington state, was recognized as the National Small Business Person of the Year.

Gross State Products in the nation, after adjustment for inflation, grew at an average annual rate of 3.9 percent from 1992 to 1998, according to a paper released this week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Gross State Product measures value added in production.

Registrations for SSTI’s fourth annual conference, Beyond the Hype: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, have been brisk. As a result, the Regal Knickerbocker Hotel has no more vacancies at our special conference discount rate -- if any rooms are available at all by the time of this release. The hotel was kind enough to extend our room block by 50 percent before the discount deadline this past weekend.