By PR and Business Wire News, 9/12/2005 03:36:02 PM MT
Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., has appointed Gregory M. Jones, PhD as the new State Science Advisor. The position is part of the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) and oversees the state's economic clusters to create jobs.
Before joining state government, Dr. Jones was the associate director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute in Salt Lake City and an adjunct assistant professor of Radiology at the University of Utah. He was also president and chief operations officer of Visual Influence Inc., a spin-off company of SCI.
"Dr. Jones brings a wealth of academic knowledge and business acumen and will be a significant addition to our economic development team," said Governor Huntsman. "We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber; who is willing to serve in the public sector."
Dr. Jones received his bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of New Mexico in 1988. He also earned his doctoral degree from the University of New Mexico in Biomedical Science. Between degrees, Jones was an optical engineer with CVI Laser Co. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, specializing in optical testing and optical instrument design. Jones also managed the optical fabrication department of CVI. From 1997 to 1999, he was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Utah in the Department of Radiology where he was a member of the Functional Brain Imaging Group. Jones later joined Storage Technology Inc. (StorageTek) as a principal consultant in the Medical Group. In April of 2000, he became associate director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute.
The governor announced his economic clusters for job creation in June. The clusters include: Life Sciences, Software Development & Information Technology, Aerospace, Defense & Homeland Security, Financial Services, Energy and Natural Resources, and Competitive Accelerators such as nanotechnology, advanced manufacturing, logistics and distribution centers, and quality of life.