The United States Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren continued its pattern of building great local supplier relationships. TARDEC awarded a five-year, $430 million contract for engineering and manufacturing services to Sterling Heights-based General Dynamics Land Systems. More than a dozen small firms along with Lawrence Tech and Michigan Tech, will collaborate with General Dynamics on the project.

 

The University of Michigan secured a $9.3 million award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to fund vaccine research associated with “Innate Immune Receptors and Adjuvant Discovery.” Ann Arbor-based NanoBio Corp. is the principal subcontractor for the deal, receiving a subcontract of approximately $4.1 million over the research period.

 

In another example of Michigan’s competitiveness in the global renewable energy market, flexible solar panel producer Energy Conversion Devices of Auburn Hills has landed a new contract in Spain. The company has been selected by Recurrent Energy to deliver solar generating systems for building rooftops in two industrial parks in Barcelona and Madrid.  

 

The initial estimates on job impact of the stimulus package are out and approximately 19,500 jobs in Michigan were saved or created through the end of September with federal stimulus money, according to the state's first report of how the money was spent. About 74 percent of the jobs were at schools or related to education.

 

Birmingham-based Glencoe Capital’s Michigan Opportunities Fund acquired the inbound telephone customer service business of Novo 1, a call center operation based in Waukesha, Wisconsin.  Under Glencoe’s ownership, Novo 1 plans to open a customer care and contact center in western Michigan by early 2010 that will employ more than 300 personnel.

 

Pfizer Inc.'s Veterinary Medicine Research and Development group, which is globally headquartered in Kalamazoo County, will be adding 50 jobs at its new downtown Kalamazoo campus over the next six months. The company is said to be actively recruiting drug discovery scientists and researchers in animal health.

 

Governor Granholm signed a new wetlands law last month that experts believe will make cranberry production easier. The fruit grows in marshy conditions and the new law allows the state to retain control of its existing wetlands and create new ones. This paves the way for an industry expansion. According to a 2008 report by Michigan State University's Product Center, a one-time economic impact of adding 2,500 acres of cranberry bogs in the state will be $153 million, with 1,082 jobs created to construct the bogs.  The additional acreage would then generate nearly $30 million for the state annually and create 383 jobs beyond bog construction.

 

Michigan’s burgeoning clean-energy industrial base got another jolt last month with the announcement that Georgia-based Suniva Inc. plans to invest $250 million in a new solar manufacturing facility in Saginaw County’s Thomas Township. Suniva will create 500 new jobs over the next five years subject to receiving a Department of Energy loan guarantee.

 

State officials also approved incentives to advance the Wixom transformation project announced previously. The redevelopment plan is expected to create more than 4,000 direct jobs, including 750 direct jobs by Clairvoyant, 2,500 direct jobs by Xtreme Power, as well as those created by local suppliers, and thousands of indirect jobs.

 

Hungry to make fruit taste better and last longer, Michigan State University is the recipient of the largest grant ever awarded by the U S Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crop Research Initiative. MSU scientists will lead a four-year, $14.4 million grant-funded research project to improve the quality and sustainability of fruit.

 

In another research coup, MSU recently lured an elite group of scientists away from the University of Cincinnati along with a $6.2 million federal grant to study Parkinson's disease. The National Institutes of Health grant, which is expected to be transferred by next summer, would put MSU into an exclusive group of only 14 universities with a Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research.

 

We’ve seen an awful lot of wildfires nationwide lately, which begs the question, what does that mean for the health of people downwind from the smoke? Well, a team of Michigan Tech researchers has also received help from the National Institutes of Health to examine that question.  The $452,000 grant will enable a study on the impact of climate change on wildfires and the resulting impact on human health from the smoke.

 

Kalamazoo-based OtoMedicine Inc. is also the recipient of a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Its two-year, $1.1 million allotment will provide funding for the company to conduct a human, clinical study testing of OtoMedicine’s oral therapeutic product, AuraQuell, for prevention of noise-induced hearing loss caused by gunfire. The company is also collaborating with the University of Michigan on the project.

 

Meanwhile, Wayne State University scored a $5.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study child obesity, particularly to answer the question of why it is higher among African Americans.

 

In other health-related news, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute received a $3 million grant from the Herrick Foundation. The initial gift of $1 million launches The Herrick Foundation Cancer Research Challenge, a special initiative to increase research funding at the Karmanos Cancer Institute over the next four years. The additional commitment of $2 million will be given in match funding. For every dollar Karmanos raises for cancer research beginning Oct. 1, the Herrick Foundation will match dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000 per year, over the next four years, making this a great time to give.

 

In its most recent round of funding, the Troy-based Kresge Foundation earmarked $5.4 million for nonprofits in Michigan.

 

The University of Michigan has received 13 federal stimulus grants worth $6.8 million for stem cell research since voters last year eased restrictions in the emerging field that seeks treatments and cures for numerous diseases. 

 

Detroit-based DTE Energy is to receive a grant of nearly $84 million from the U S Department of Energy that will allow the company to move forward with its SmartCurrents program, providing customers with improved electric service reliability, the distribution of smart appliances, and ways to control and reduce energy consumption and costs.

Similarly, Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corp. announced that it is the recipient of stimulus funds as part of the U S Department of Energy's Smart Grid Investment Grant program. The grant is for $19.3 million over a two-year period. Whirlpool will match the funds with its own investments to accelerate its work to deliver smart appliances that can connect with the smart grid to save energy and money for consumers.

 

Ford, who often does not seem to get enough credit for being the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised many investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter. The good news continues as the company forecasts itself as "solidly profitable" by 2011. 

University of Michigan researchers disclosed 350 new inventions in fiscal year 2009, setting a new record. Royalties from university-developed technologies rose 20 percent during that period, another all-time high. The university licensed eight new startups in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to the U of M Office of Technology Transfer. The university conducted more than $1 billion in research for the year--a record high.

 

Ongoing audits and financial reviews within the Detroit Public Schools have brought the district about $19.5 million in savings. The savings are the handiwork of Robert Bobb, who took control of the district’s finances last February. Bobb will stay on for a second year as the Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager.

 

The future of our state is very much linked to the education of its people so it is great news to report that despite the recession, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University all reported higher fall enrollments.

 

The Greening of Detroit is celebrating its 20th anniversary by planting 2,000 trees in the city this fall. Detroit was known a century ago for its tree-lined streets and neighborhoods. The city saw much of its greenery fall casualty to the spread of Dutch elm disease in the 1950s and, more recently, the tree-killing emerald ash borer.

 

The 2010 World Stem Cell Summit will be held in Detroit and will be co-hosted by the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University. The summit will attract more than 1,200 of the most influential stem cell stakeholders from more than 30 countries representing the fields of science, business, policy, law, ethics and advocacy.

 

According to a recently released MSNBC report, the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area ranked in the top metro areas in the nation leading the way out of the recession. Out of 384 metro areas studied in the nation, 79 were indicated to be in recovery according to August data on jobs, manufacturing and housing, including Kalamazoo-Portage.

 

According to Cleveland-based BioEnterprise, Michigan is now the No. 3 state in the Midwest for health care venture funding, and the Detroit-Ann Arbor area is the No. 2 metro area. The company reports that this year's total funding is lower than the prior two years; however, surprisingly, the number of companies receiving investment is greater and is on pace to set a new record for Midwest health care venture transactions.