The nation's top four undergraduate business programs on Bloomberg BusinessWeek's ROI ranking of public schools are all in the Sunshine State: University of Central Florida in Orlando; University of Florida in Gainesville; Florida International in Miami; and Florida State in Tallahassee. (Read more)

The Polk Public Schools are one of 33 school districts nationally to win a 2010 Magna Award from the American School Board Journal magazine. Polk won the award for its implementation of 31 career academies at 15 high schools. (Read more)

The University of Central Florida ranks third in the nation for the strength and impact of its patents. UCF moved up from seventh place last year in the rankings by IEEE, the world's leading association for the advancement of technology. (Read more)

U.S. Gas & Electric, Inc., a leading energy service provider headquartered in Miami-Dade County, is expanding with a new business service center in the City of Doral. (Read more)

GeNO, LLC, a biomedical pharmaceutical company previously located in Cape Canaveral, is expected to bring a total of 24 new jobs to Brevard County and generate a total economic impact of $3.06 million on Brevard County’s economy. GeNO has already hired 11 new employees due to the expansion and expects to hire 6-12 more employees with an average annual wage of $80,000 in the next 12-18 months. (Read more)

Saft, a French company that is described as a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-tech batteries, has broken ground at Cecil Commerce Center for a $200 million plant that will build advanced batteries for use in hybrid vehicles, aviation, renewable energy storage and other uses. (Read more)

The Orlando-based Florida Mezzanine Fund and CapitalSouth Partners will provide access to up to $450 million in capital to invest in Florida small to mid-sized businesses. Florida Mezz will invest from $500,000 to $30 million in debt and equity financing per investment, and will provide one of Florida's largest sources of private venture funding. (Read more)

Wireless communications tower company Tarpon Towers, has received a $15 million investment from Spire Capital Partners to further its acquisition and development strategy. With ABS Capital, Tarpon has secured over $50 million of equity and also has a $30 million bank facility with a prominent regional bank. (Read more)

Since its program began in 2007, South Miami Hospital executives say it has become one of the world's busiest centers for surgeries using robots, formally called da Vinci Surgical Systems. In Florida, 49 hospitals have 67 high-tech robots performing surgeries. (Read more)

The Innovation Monthly is your source for the latest news and insights on Florida's Innovation Economy.       

March 2010 Highlights:

• Okeechobee Attract's World's Largest Advanced Biodiesel Demonstration Plant
• Lake Nona Scores VA's National Simulation Center for Excellence
• Florida Home to 2 of the Top 10 U.S. High-Tech Manufacturing Hotspots
• Free Whitepaper:  Emerging Trends in the U.S. Solar Market

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