December 17, 2011 | Xconomy

In Forbes magazine’s annual piece about America’s most dangerous cities, the article leads with an anecdote from Detroit. Detroit has been a mainstay on such lists for decades, and last year, it led the nation in violent crimes. What gets lost in Detroit’s raw crime statistics are the innovative, tech-heavy, crime-fighting efforts of the Wayne State University Police Department —efforts that are now beginning to pay off.

December 14, 2011 | Innovation Excelence

A university’s ability to create and share innovative technology and know-how should be evaluated in a holistic way that includes both academic and commercial activities. In this article I compare the innovation transfer activities of U.S. research universities in a new, multi-faceted way: by counting and mapping universities according to their ability to 1. Publish Papers 2. Generate New Inventions, and 3. Attract Industry Research Funding

December 18, 2011 | Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Set amid steep, forested hills on the banks of the west branch of the Susquehanna River, this little northern Pennsylvania city has always had its charms. Today, this metro area of 120,000 — slightly larger than metropolitan Ithaca — has drawn at least 110 new businesses that have brought as many as 2,000 jobs. Its economy was the seventh fastest-growing in the nation in 2010. The city is festooned with new hotels and restaurants.

December 15, 2011 | New Tork Times

Technology gurus have long lamented how hard it is for foreign talent to secure American visas and create start-ups here. As Congress spins its wheels with endless debate over immigration, an ambitious venture based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is trying to chart a more productive course aboard a 600-foot boat, or possibly a barge.