Among the little-known gem businesses and associations that call Tucson home is the Association of University Research Parks, which represents more than 170 research parks in 17 countries.

Headquartered in a Catalina Foothills office building, 6262 N. Swan Road, Suite 100, the association’s mission is to foster innovation, commercialization and economic growth in a global economy through university, industry and government partnerships.

“We work to connect our members to one another, which increases collaboration and furthers innovations,” said Chief Executive Officer Eileen Walker said. “We also work to establish and promote best practices for university research parks.”

Lasertel Inc., a manufacturer of high-powered laser diodes, is being sold to Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems Inc., the U.S. divisions of Finmeccanica, an Italian defense contracting company specializing in electronics.

Lasertel’s current parent company, Presstek, headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., said it is selling the subsidiary to reduce the company’s debt.

The sales price was announced as $10 million — $8 million in cash and about $2 million in laser diodes that will be used in Presstek’s future products. The sale is expected to close during the first quarter of 2010.

Selex said it will assume the lease on Lasertel’s Tucson facility, at 7775 N. Casa Grande Highway. Mark McElhinney, president of Lasertel, said the sale will not change or interrupt normal business processes at the company’s offices. Lasertel employs 73 people.

By Tom Beal

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.24.2009

University of Arizona researchers snared more than $83 million of the $21.5 billion in stimulus funds designated for scientific research in the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, said Leslie Tolbert, UA vice president for research.

At a briefing held Monday at the UA’s Bio5 Institute, Tolbert said the money had so far created or retained more than 157 jobs at the UA, in addition to buying expensive equipment for 125 projects, ranging from astronomy to anthropology.

In some cases, the money will create entire new programs, like the $13 million Center for Interface Science: Hybrid Solar-Electric Materials, headed by Neal Armstrong of the Chemistry and Optical Sciences departments.

She is among 32 nationwide picked for study at Oxford

Staff and wire reports

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.23.2009

A UA graduate student was selected as one of 32 American Rhodes Scholars for 2010, it was announced Sunday.

Justine Schluntz, 22, a first-year grad student in mechanical engineering, said it was an “incredible honor.” Along with other finalists, she interviewed for the scholarships in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday.

Schluntz, who is from Albuquerque, competed against 12 other top candidates and emerged as one of the two who were selected in the district that included her home state.

There were 805 applicants in all, endorsed by 326 colleges and universities. Applicants are divided into 16 districts.

She said she cried when it was announced that she had won.

Better cereal crops expected to follow

By Tom Beal

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.20.2009

Scientists have completed sequencing the highly complex genome of the maize plant and say the accomplishment could herald a second “green revolution” in more productive and nutritious cereal crops.

Much of the work for the four-year, $30 million collaborative effort by 150 researchers to create a genetic road map for future manipulation of the maize plant was done at the University of Arizona’s Arizona Genomics Institute.

The ultimate goal of the push to decode the genomes of food crops is ending world hunger through a “safe and secure food supply,” said Rod Wing, the institute’s director. Wing’s lab previously produced a genetic map for the rice plant.

By Ian Friedman

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.19.2009

When the space shuttle Atlantis took off from the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, carrying supplies to the International Space Station, it also brought with it the labor of about 19 years of work for one Tucson company.

Composite Mirror Applications Inc., 1638 S. Research Loop, sent three 2-inch diameter, carbon-fiber composite mirrors to the International Space Station so they can be tested by NASA and the Department of Defense for potential use in downward-looking spy satellites, said Bob Romeo, the company’s president.

The mirrors will be exposed to the space environment in hopes that they can be used as a less-expensive, lighter and sturdier alternative to glass, silicon carbide and metal mirrors, Romeo said.

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.17.2009

The University of Arizona Office of Economic Development has a new name and a new focus as the university continues its reorganization process.

Now called the Office of University Research Parks, it will focus on using research parks as a business incubator aimed at developing technology and other commercialization tools, the UA said.

The office is responsible for overseeing the UA Science and Technology Park, the Arizona Center for Innovation and the Arizona Bioscience Park, according to the release. The technology park, 9070 S Rita Road, houses 40 companies that together employ more than 7,000 people.

Bruce A. Wright, associate vice president for university research parks and founder of the Arizona Center for Innovation, will run the office.

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.17.2009

Raytheon Co. and a United Arab Emirates partner have completed a series of guided test flights of a new laser-guided rocket, the company said in an announcement Monday at the Dubai Airshow.

The successful flight tests of the Talon Laser-Guided Rocket were part of a cooperative development effort with Emirates Advanced Investments of the UAE.

The Talon system is a relatively low-cost, semi-active laser guidance-and-control kit that connects to the front of the existing 2.75-inch-diameter unguided rockets currently in U.S. and international arsenals.

The Talon rockets were pre-conditioned in extreme hot and cold temperatures before the flights, and they and hit targets at ranges of about 1 1/4, 1 7/8 and 3 miles during the tests, Raytheon said.

By Tom Beal

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.16.2009

Victims of cardiac arrest were twice as likely to survive when given continuous chest compressions by bystanders, according to a study released Sunday by two Arizona researchers.

Those receiving traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which includes blowing air into the lungs, died at almost the same rate as those for whom nothing was done, according to the study presented Sunday in Orlando, Fla., at an American Heart Association resuscitation symposium.

Dr. Gordon A. Ewy, director of the University of Arizona’s Sarver Heart Center, said he hopes this latest evidence will persuade the Heart Association to change its guidelines for teaching resuscitation techniques.

Ewy has been crusading since 2003 for the change.

By Dan Sorenson

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.12.2009

There’s $900,000 in matching grants waiting for Arizona businesses and local governments that want to start using ethanol or biodiesel fuels in their vehicle fleets, a little-known and relatively small part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The money can be used for capital expenses involved in converting or installing biofuel-compatible fuel dispensers, blending equipment and other components used in dispensing biofuel, says the Arizona Commerce Department, which is administering the grant money here.

Directly associated expenses, such as fees to clean existing storage tanks and labor to install tanks, fuel lines and dispensers, may also be eligible.

Each grant is limited to 40 percent of the project cost, up to a maximum of $30,000.