Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Birmingham, Ala.-based economic development journal is listing Mississippi State among the region's top universities for fostering new businesses.
Southern Business and Development ranks MSU at third in its recent article titled "Ten University Markets that Really Have Their Act Together."
According to the article, the top five include Rutherford County, Tenn., home of Middle Tennessee State University; Auburn-Opelika, Ala., home of Auburn University; Starkville, home of MSU; Richmond, Va., home of Virginia Commonwealth University; and Blacksburg-Roanoke, Va., home of Virginia Tech University. (See story at http://www.sb-d.com/issues/winter2005/features/TenUniversityMarkets.asp)
"Universities have the potential to be powerful economic drivers, technology centers, employers, developers, and investors," reporter Laura H. Corbin observed in her introduction.
The other five "Top 10" locations include the municipal homes of Florida Technological University; University of North Carolina, Duke and North Carolina State universities (combined); University of Texas; University of Kentucky; and Wake Forest, North Carolina A&T State and Winston-Salem State universities, along with the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (combined).
Colin Scanes, MSU vice president for research and graduate studies, said "Mississippi State is serving as a catalyst to create the potential for additional industry spin-offs and jobs."
Pointing to MSU's current National Science Foundation ranking at 57th among the nation's public universities for research and development expenditures, Scanes said the
127-year-old land-grant institution has a continuing mission of translating research into direct benefits for Mississippi.
Citing recent examples, Scanes said Mississippi State research "played an instrumental role" in attracting Nissan to the state, and was a major factor in bringing such other high-technology industries as Aurora Flight Sciences and II-VI Incorporated to the Golden Triangle area.
Manassas, Va.-based Aurora is collaborating with MSU's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory in the development and manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicles. The lab is located at Bryan Field, Starkville's municipal airport.
II-VI Incorporated, which initially is locating adjacent to campus in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park, recently announced plans to build a manufacturing facility to produce semiconductors used in such high-voltage, high-temperature and high frequency electronics applications as radar and power conversion, among others.
Pennsylvania-based II-VI (pronounced Two-Six) is partnering with SemiSouth Laboratories, a local company that developed as a spin-off from MSU research.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional comments, contact Dr. Scanes at (662) 325-3570 or scanes@research.msstate.edu.