State Science Advisor

OVERVIEW

The State Science Advisor (SSA), appointed by the Governor, provides advice and counsel on science and technology issues to the Governor, state Legislature and other state agencies The Science Advisor serves on a broad range of boards and commissions pursuant to the oversight of key scientific initiatives, research efforts, federal and state mandates and ongoing programs devoted to science and technology issues The Science Advisor has specific responsibility to supervise or participate in the following key areas:

Advisory Council on Science and Technology (SAC)

The SSA and SAC review significant advances in science and technology and advise and make recommendations to the Governor, state Legislature and governmental agencies on the use of science and technology to foster scientific literacy and to strengthen the state’s economy, educational system and quality of life The SSA serves as an ex-officio member of the SAC and provides staff support for all SAC activities and initiatives This year, the SAC solicited and reviewed 32 nominations for the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology The dinner was held at the Discovery Gateway with nearly 200 attendees The presentation was hosted by Dr Greg Jones, a prominent member of the Utah science and technology community and the keynote presentation was given by Dr Dan Fairbanks at Utah Valley University Governor Herbert presented the awards to the 11 awardees The Governor’s Medal is a symbol of recognition for those individuals who have provided distinguished service in the fields of science and technology It recognizes outstanding achievement in the following areas: academia, industry, government and education

STEMLink Initiative

• The STEMLink initiative continues to support the growth of the talent “pipeline” for Utah’s science and technology companies STEMLink includes partners from higher and public education, government, community/philanthropy and industry who will work together to create outreach and recruitment activities, as well as education and training programs that support the life science industry in Utah STEMLink is now being transformed into Utah State-level STEM Education and Workforce Initiative which will expand the role of the initiative to serve a large Utah student end educator community • The Utah Valley University four-year Biotechnology Program continues to grow with over 200 students enrolled and a new science building to accommodate future growth in the popular program

• The life science training and business incubator, BioInnovations Gateway (a collaboration between USTAR and the Granite School District) is at capacity • BioInnovations Gateway created BioInnovate, an innovative partnership with

Intermountain Healthcare (IHC), which allows IHC employees to bring ideas to BioInnovations Gateway students and faculty members to develop prototypes for new medical devices An analytical testing lab is the newest addition to BioInnovations Gateway that will allow students to conduct analytical safety testing on raw materials submitted by dietary supplement companies • The high school Biotechnology Symposium featured nearly 60 research project posters from high school students The event’s keynote speaker was Dr Greg

Jones, Professor at the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the University of Utah

Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (STIP)

The STIP is a comprehensive, state-level strategic plan to support the growth of Utah’s science and technology community It is a partnership between GOED, the Department of Workforce Services, the Utah System of Higher Education and the State’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program The STIP has been conducted and completed by Battelle and will be submitted to EPSCoR at the National Science Foundation

• A partnership between GOED, the Utah System of Higher Education and the

Utah Department of Workforce Services has resulted in the Utah Cluster Acceleration Project report for the Life Science industry This report provides industry recommendations to support greater alignment of education and training programs in Utah’s universities and colleges with the talent demands of Utah companies • A Medical Device Workforce Consortium has been established to address and meet the growing needs of the Utah medical device industry The consortium identified several critical areas gaps in talent including injection molding and regulatory and quality control

For additional information about the State Science Advisor visit business.utah.gov or contact Dr. Tami Goetz, at tgoetz@utah.gov or 801-538-8871