The R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council last Wednesday released a wish-list of investments and policy initiatives it says could help turn Rhode Island into a regional hub for the life sciences, information technology and other research-based industries.
The list builds on initiatives begun last year by STAC, which was created in 2005 to help build Rhode Island’s “innovation economy.”
First, it calls for a renewal of last year’s $1.5 million investment in STAC’s Research Alliance, which promotes collaborative research among public and private partners.
Next, it calls for continued support of the R.I. Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs), which aims to create the nation’s first statewide broadband wireless network. The project is now in the final stages of its pilot phase and is almost ready for statewide launch.
STAC also wants an annual $600,000 budget for a new Rhode Island IT and Digital Media Center that would provide local entrepreneurs with subsidized space and other support.
It also wants new work force development programs geared toward the technology and research industries, which require well-trained and highly educated workers.
Finally, the council is urging the state to renew its $100,000 investment in STAC, to support its operations in fiscal year 2008.
“We believe that the tools to grow and support a vibrant innovation economy are well within Rhode Island’s reach,” Clyde Briant, vice president for research at Brown University and STAC’s co-chair, said in a statement.
“STAC’s 2007 recommendations aren’t able to address every issue and factor affecting Rhode Island’s ability to prosper in the 21st century,” he added, but they “promote education and research, which in turn create the ideas, inspiration and building blocks that drive an innovation economy that benefits all citizens of Rhode Island.”
Also last week, STAC announced the first round of recipients for its Research Alliance Collaborative Research Award program in 2007, which will provide $1.5 million to 32 scientists from 15 research organizations across Rhode Island.
The chosen projects include one to use virtual reality to improve the design of prosthetic limbs; one to develop high-tech toys to aid children with diseases such as cerebral palsy; one to modify plant fibers to enhance their commercial value and use in products such as biofuels; and an academic-industry partnership to showcase uses for robotic or autonomous underwater vehicles.
The full list of grants is at www.stac.ri.gov.
