The U.S. Department of Commerce is accepting nominations for the 1998 National Medal of Technology. The Medal of Technology recognizes technological innovators who have made lasting contributions to enhancing America's competitiveness and standard of living.

The Role of Technology in the Connecticut Economy, a new report produced by the Connecticut Technology Council (CTC), provides a comprehensive analysis of the role of technology in the state's economy. Overall, the report reveals both a strong technology contribution to the Connecticut economy, as well as the state's dependence on technology for achieving its economic potential.

President Clinton intends to nominate Ray Kammer to become the next director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Duncan Moore as the Associate Director for Technology in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Both appointments must be confirmed by the Senate.

The Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) were the focus of a hearing before the Technology Subcommittee of the House Science Committee last week. The subcommittee is considering re-authorization of the STTR program.

The State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) recently released an issue brief that examines the current efforts of states to write and implement science and technology strategic plans. The report is entitled An Overview of State Science & Technology Strategic Planning.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) has released a study entitled "Managing the Successful Transfer of Technology from Federal Facilities: A Survey of Selected Laboratories & Facilities in the Mid-Continent Region of the Federal Laboratory Consortium." The study was commissioned by the FLC and was undertaken by Chapman Research Group, Inc.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) is creating the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center. The Center will help technology-based firms assess their commercialization needs, guide them through the commercialization process, and link them to a network of technology sources and commercialization assistance services.

Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) has adopted a new strategic plan through the year 2000. The new plan considers the appropriate balance between short-term and long-term goals and places CIT in a position to serve Virginia as it builds its 21st century knowledge-based economy.

The Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy (OTP) recently released a policy paper that suggests the global environment affecting U.S. technology policy is changing rapidly, and policymakers are operating without current data or up-to-date conceptual frameworks.

Price Waterhouse recently announced that venture capital investments hit an all-time record in the second quarter of 1997. Total investments exceeded $3.18 billion, a 13% increase over the $2.80 billion reported in the second quarter of 1996, which held the previous record. These findings were released in the Price Waterhouse Venture Capital Survey, a quarterly report of venture capital investments throughout the United States.

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that, for the first time, its computing resources will be made available to academic researchers. The California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and the University of Utah were selected as DOE's Academic Strategic Alliances Program (ASAP) Centers of Excellence.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that, as a first step in the transition from paper to electronic exchange of information, it is reformatting the current Notice of Grant Award (NGA) form.

Effective October 1, all NIH grant, cooperative agreement, and fellowship awards will be issued in a letter format. The new letter-format NGA will no longer provide

The Modernization Forum, a national association for the manufacturing extension community, seeks a project manager to join its team of professionals who work with the manufacturing extension community nationwide.

On Tuesday, President Clinton signed two budget bills, approved last week by Congress: one aims to balance the budget by the year 2002, and a companion piece cuts taxes by a net $95 billion over five years.

The Department of Commerce is soliciting comments on its draft Strategic Plan, which enunciates a mission statement, strategic themes, and goals and objectives for its programs. This 122-page plan responds to the Government Performance and Results Act's (GPRA) requirement that each agency prepare a Strategic Plan that aligns its programs and activities to its mission. The GPRA identifies stakeholder consultation as a key part of this strategic planning process.

SSTI is pleased to be able to provide reports issued by the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government. The Commission was created in 1988 by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to help government institutions respond to the unprecedented advances in science and technology transforming the world.

Robert A. Eisenstein, Ph.D., has been appointed Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The appointment will become effective September 8.

Ohio Governor George V. Voinovich, began his term as the National Governors' Association (NGA) Chairman at the association's annual meeting in Las Vegas this week. He succeeded Nevada Governor Bill Miller.

Governor Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware, has been chosen as the Association's Vice-Chairman. Governor Carper will become Chairman of NGA next summer when Governor Voinovich's term expires.