NIST RELEASES $14.1 MILLION TO ADVANCE
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT IN MISSISSIPPI

Sen. Thad Cochran Says Funds Intended to Build High Tech Jobs Base in Magnolia State

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today announced the release of more than $14.1 million in federal funding to advance high-tech research and development in Mississippi with the objective of creating more jobs for the state.

Four different grants have been issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The funding, requested by Cochran as part of the FY2009 appropriations process, became law earlier this year as part of an omnibus appropriations bill.

“Universities and research institutes in Mississippi are making significant technological breakthroughs in a number of fields.  These grants are intended to find ways to translate these high technology discoveries into useful products and new jobs in our state,” said Cochran, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The following NIST grants were awarded today:

• Mississippi State University Research Technology Corp., Starkville – $6.5 million to support the development of a research, technology and economic development park
• University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson – $6.5 million to support the development of a biotechnology research park
• University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg – $1.0 million to support the USM National Formulation Science Laboratory initiative to create, develop, and commercialize new technology for advanced materials
• Mississippi Technology Alliance, Ridgeland -- $124,000 to continue support for the Alliance through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP), which advance domestic manufacturing

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