The Technology Innovation Program

[Excerpt] The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was established in 2007 to replace the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). This effort is designed to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need, according to the authorizing legislation. Grants are provided to small and medium-sized firms for individual projects or joint ventures with other research organizations. While similar to the Advanced Technology Program in the promotion of R&D that is expected to be of broad-based economic benefit to the nation, TIP appears to have been structured to avoid what was seen as government funding of large firms that opponents argued did not necessarily need federal support for research. The committee report to accompany H.R. 1868, part of which was incorporated into the final legislation, stated that TIP replaces ATP in consideration of a changing global innovation environment focusing on small and medium-sized companies. The design of the program also acknowledges the important role universities play in the innovation cycle by allowing universities to fully participate in the program. The elimination of ATP and the creation of TIP have renewed the debate over the role of the federal government in promoting commercial technology development. In arguing for less direct federal involvement, advocates of this approach believe that the market is superior to government in deciding technologies worthy of investment. Mechanisms that enhance the market\u27s opportunities and abilities to make such choices are preferred. It is suggested that agency discretion in selecting one technology over another can lead to political intrusion and industry dependency. On the other hand, supporters of direct methods argue that it is important to focus on those technologies that have the greatest promise as determined by industry and supported by matching funds from the private sector. They assert that the government can serve as a catalyst for cooperation As the Congress makes appropriation decisions, the discussion may serve to redefine thinking about governmental efforts in facilitating technological advancement in the private sector

The Lawyer and the Scientific Community—Procuring Basic Research

A major open question in astrophysics concerns the formation of highly collimated beams of matter and electromagnetic radiation, so-called relativistic jets, emerging from active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the center of certain galaxies. It is not known how, or why, these jets are formed nor how they maintain their collimated state for such large distances. For long it has been thought that jets can only be hosted in large, elliptical galaxies, though quiterecently AGNs have been discovered that contradict these beliefs. These objects are called radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (RLNLSy1). In this thesis an AGN belonging to this class is analysed. Utilising an X-ray spectral fitting package (XSPEC), data from two separate observations obtained from the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission observatory (XMM-Newton) of the radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy SDSS J154817.92+351128.0 are fitted through the use of different models and analysed in the energy region of 0.3 keV to 10 keV. The purpose is to disentangle the emission from the light-emitting accretion disk surrounding the central supermassive black hole(SMBH) and the emission from a possible jet, as well as to determine their properties. The results indicate a strong presence of a jet while still maintaining a visible spectrum from the accretion disk. No sign of the Fe line, usually seen in radio-quiet NLSy1s, can be detected, even though the data is not of sufficientquality to exclude the possibility of detection. Furthermore, considerable amounts of enhanced emission below 2 keV is observed, a so-called soft excess. The soft excess could be explained by inverse comptonisation of the light emitted from the disk and/or reflections in the disk. Our results confirm the presence of powerful relativistic jets emerging from J1548+3511. The wider implications of jet formation are further discussed

Audit report on the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Des Moines, Iowa, for the year ended June 30, 2012

Audit report on the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Des Moines, Iowa, for the year ended June 30, 201

Survey of AIDS Prevention Funders: Which Programs Are Funded, and Why?, A?

This survey of foundations across the United States asked questions about the amount of money they spend on AIDS and HIV prevention, the types of prevention projects and populations their grants served, and the sources of AIDS information used by the foundation staff. The results were then compared to the types of projects known to be effective and to the populations most at risk for HIV infection.These organizations funded a diverse range of HIV prevention programs, with a total of 583 grants worth over $8.1 million. This represents almost a quarter of all AIDS-related funding by foundations in the United States

Relationship of Local, State, and Federal Participation in Public Library Development

published or submitted for publicatio

Funding the Future: Resources for Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Programs in Developing Countries

Provides a directory of over 90 foundations, agencies, and organizations that support adolescent reproductive and sexual health related programs in developing countries, through direct and/or indirect financing, technical assistance, and information

Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in Georgia

This report documents the intergovernmental fiscal system in Georgia, with a focus on the expenditure, revenue, and intergovernmental grant system in the state. FRC Report 14

Iowa State Fair Authority, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements and Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings for the Year Ending October 31, 2005

Audit report of the Iowa State Fair Authority for the year ending October 31, 200