Science and Enterprise

Category: Hiring/layoffs

  • To Grow Economies with Small Businesses, Think Local

    Economists at Pennsylvania State University have found that small, locally owned businesses and start-ups tend to generate higher incomes for people in a community. Stephan Goetz and graduate student David Fleming from the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development at Penn State published their findings in the August issue of the journal Economic Development Quarterly…

  • Study: Start-Ups Hiring and Keeping Fewer Workers

    A new study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation indicates recent start-up businesses — like those formed by scientists to commercialize their research findings — are not generating the numbers of jobs created by earlier start-up businesses. The foundation says the trend of less hiring by start-ups pre-dates the 2007-2009 recession. The Kauffman findings show…

  • Report: Research Triangle Becoming Smart-Grid R&D Cluster

    A new report by Duke University’s Center for Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness (CGGC) assesses the capabilities of North Carolina, particularly the 13-county Research Triangle region, to serve as a hub for developing advanced technologies to better manage electrical power. A smart grid, as this collection of technologies is called, promises to make the outdated U.S.…

  • Timken, College to Build Wind Energy R&D Center

    The Timken Company in Canton, Ohio revealed plans for a new research and development center for wind turbine mechanisms used to generate electricity. The $11.8 million facility, built in collaboration with nearby Stark State College, is expected to add 65 new jobs. The R&D center will focus on wind turbine mechanisms that convert wind power…

  • Study: Genomics R&D Generates $796 Billion Return to U.S.

    An analysis by Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio estimates that the Human Genome Project and associated activities generated an economic return of $796 billion between 1988 and 2010, from an investment of $3.8 billion ($5.6 billion in constant dollars). In addition, Battelle calculates genomics research and development directly and indirectly resulted in personal income…

  • One Nation, Under Geeks

    Review: Geek Nation by Angela Saini. Hodder & Stoughton (3 Mar 2011). Science writer Angela Saini describes the rise of science and engineering in India in her new book Geek Nation. But if you’re looking for a triumphant Indian victory march you may be disappointed. The book instead offers a sophisticated and nuanced analysis of…

  • NIH Panel to Study Biomedical Workforce Future

    A National Institutes of Health (NIH) working group will study the U.S. biomedical workforce of the future, but with limited input from private companies. Of the 12 members of the panel, only one participant — Garry Neil, vice president of Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, New Jersey — is from the private sector. The…

  • Dell Inc. to Open Silicon Valley R&D Center

    Dell Inc., a computer manufacturer in Round Rock, Texas announced plans to open a new research and development center in in California’s Silicon Valley. The company says the new Santa Clara facility is expected to grow to 1,500 employees over the next five years. The Dell Silicon Valley Research and Development Center will focus on…

  • Novartis to Close U.K. Plant, Consolidate R&D Sites

    The pharmaceutical company Novartis, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, says it has begun talks to close its factory in Horsham, U.K. and consolidate its R&D facilities in Europe. According to the Financial Times, Novartis will continue its other U.K. plants in Grimsby, Liverpool, and Dundee. Closing the Horsham plant will mean the loss of 550 jobs,…

  • New U.S. Start Ups Rise in 2010: That’s the Good News

    According to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, American adults created 565,000 new businesses in 2010, which represents the highest level of entrepreneurship over the past 15 years. The foundation notes, however, that the dismal state of the economy and high unemployment may have pressed more individuals into going it alone, rather…