State launches Web site as science clearinghouse

AUGUSTA – Gov. Angus King and legislative leaders Tuesday helped launch the state’s new Web-based clearinghouse for science and technology information.

King compared the site – www.mainescience.org – to a technological country store where people gather and swap information.

“This is a perfect use of the Internet,” the governor said. “This is the high-tech backroom of the general store.”

The Web site creates a single portal for businesses, researchers, educators, students and others seeking information about science and technology in Maine.

The idea for such a clearinghouse originated in 1998 as a way to help in the development of high-tech businesses in Maine.

At the request of the Legislature and governor, the Maine Science and Technology Foundation expanded the project to include science resources for students and teachers, as well as information about research activity in the state.

The Web site lists all of the technology-intensive businesses in the state and showcases some of their innovative successes.

It includes a jobs bank and employment links, schools that offer science and technology-related courses, an inventory of high-tech resources, and research grants and business-financing opportunities.

“The clearinghouse exceeds anything available in other states,” said Joel Russ, president of the Maine Science and Technology Foundation. “Even high-tech bellwether states like California, North Carolina and Massachusetts have nothing comparable to this Web-based technology tool.”

Maine Senate President Pro Tem Richard Bennett, R-Norway, said the Web site “has the promise of being the nexus between the business community and the educational community.”

The Maine Biological and Medical Services Symposium, a group of 1,200 researchers across the state, plans to use the site to enhance its research and reach out to students across Maine.

“Thanks to the clearinghouse, Maine is building a scientific community in ways that were unimaginable two decades ago,” said Norman Anderson, president of the symposium.