New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy revives science and technology commission, adds innovation to the name
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation this week that re-establishes a deactivated commission designed to help bootstrap science and technology startups in the state.
“A stronger New Jersey will be built on the back on innovation,” Murphy said at a ceremony Tuesday.
The Commission on Science and Technology was first created in 1985, by then-Gov. Thomas Kean. It lasted until 2010, when it was defunded by Murphy’s predecessor, Chris Christie.
The revived body, now called the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology, will receive a budget of $1 million and be comprised of appointees who are involved in science and technology or run businesses in those fields.
“Today, we’re getting back to our core mission of making New Jersey the home for cutting-edge research and innovation that improves and saves lives, creates good jobs, and changes our world for the better,” Murphy said. “The re-established New Jersey Commission on Science, Technology and Innovation will be one of the key drivers for this mission.”
The board will be overseen by the state’s Economic Development Authority and Chief Innovation Officer Beth Noveck, a professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering whose appointment was announced Monday .
“To reclaim our innovation economy, we must have fresh, cutting-edge ideas,” Murphy said upon Noveck’s hire.
The legislation that reestablishes the commission was sponsored by Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, a physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and Sen. Paul Sarlo, a civil engineer who formerly worked as a construction industry executive.
