The state's biopharmaceutical industry continues to expand despite the recession  This was the message offered by industry and academic leaders who recently held a news conference at the state Capitol. They were in Albany to unveil a report that shows the industry's potential for growth, and the impact that growth could have on the state's economy.

Full Report    Full Story  Executive Summary of Report   Source:  Times Union.com

President commits to raise federal R&D spending to 3 percent of GDP -- equal to the record set in 1964  President Obama recently announced that the U.S. would increase its investment in basic and applied research and science and mathematics education to match the historic levels reached during the height of the space race. In addition to the increases in R&D spending already included in the Recovery Act, President Obama committed to finish the doubling of funds for federal science agencies and create several new programs to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM fields. The administration remains committed to double the research budgets of the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which was launched with $400 million made available through the stimulus package, will fund the development of cutting-edge energy technologies. The president's FY10 budget would make the federal R&D tax credit permanent to promote private investment in innovative research.

The NSF's Federal Funds for Research and Development series illustrates trends in the U.S. government's funding obligations for science and engineering R&D  Federal funding is distributed to government agencies, academic institutions, research centers, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, as well as private companies.

SSTI has prepared a table presenting federal R&D obligations to industry in each state for the five fiscal-year period of 2001 to 2005. In FY05, $44.03 billion, or 41.2 percent of total federal R&D obligations, went to industry.