RD118 - Report on the Commonwealth Technology Research Fund: Advancing Technology and Economic Development in Virginia by Investing in Higher Education Research


Executive Summary:
Per § 2.2-2233.1.E of Title 22, Chapter 22, Article 3 of the Code of Virginia, annual reports are now being submitted in lieu of the quarterly reports initially required. This report covers the fiscal year of July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004, although it should be noted that the periods of performance for the grants provided under the CTRF are not all on this same schedule.

A total of 12 grants were made: seven in July 2001, four in January 2002, and one in January 2003 for a total of $24,574,630. Implementation costs (including honoraria for peer reviews) amounted to $45,992, for a grand total of $24,620,622 in expenses under this program. Of the 12 grants, three were completed within this report period: Development of the VMASC Battle Lab Facility (ODU); Gilmer Hall Laboratory Renovations (UVA); and the Virginia Bioinformatics Consortium (UVA). One final report has been received and the other two are pending. The remaining 9 projects are still underway, with ending dates between November 2004 and May 2006.

All grantees have been required to submit annual progress reports; however, they come in at various times of the year in accordance with the period of performance for each grant. In general, the following items have been achieved:

• Recruiting and hiring top candidates in various technology fields, including postdoctoral fellows, promising junior faculty and senior faculty who bring strong reputations and the ability to secure major federally-funded research.

• Leveraging of federal funding, including a $5M, 5-year commitment for the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) at UVA and a $6.5M appropriation for the Commonwealth Information Security Center.

• Relocation of a leading bioinformatics company to Virginia – Incogen invested $2.4 million to relocate from South Carolina as a result of the College of William and Mary Industry Inducement Award.

• Establishment of strategic partnerships with businesses and other organizations to advance Virginia’s leadership in technology research, such as the partnership between VCU, GMU, and INOVA that is working on cancer genomics and related diagnostic tools and therapies.

• Renovation and upgrading of research facilities at UVA’s Gilmer Hall and the Virginia Modeling and Simulation Center at ODU.

• Acquisition of major scientific equipment enabling grantees to enhance their research programs and attract additional funding as well as new research staff.