August 1998
- On this page:
- Tech Workers for Tomorrow
- High-Tech Training Ground
- Eye on TI
- Vital Science
- Silicon Army
- On Page 1:
- State of Technology
- From the Comptroller: The Knowledge Business
- System Allows On-Line Filing for Some Tax Returns
- Wanted: Technical Pros
- Texas stats -- Fiscal and economic data
Tech Workers for Tomorrow
Widening Texas' pipeline
of technically skilled graduatesStates seek to create and retain jobs in high-tech fields because they contribute importantly to a state's economy and tax base. A vital resource for that mission is a supply of recent college graduates in science and engineering to staff existing high-tech firms and help the state attract new businesses.
Often these graduates act as entrepreneurs, creating their own high-tech enterprises.
Industry leaders have expressed concern that Texas is not producing enough engineering and computer science graduates to meet the growing demand for high-tech professionals. They warn that a shortage of skilled workers could hinder growth not only in the high-tech sector but in the entire state economy, since all types of businesses--and government agencies--depend on computer systems and networks to run their operations.
A long-term solution will require the state, in collaboration with private industry, to increase emphasis on engineering and computer science education at the university level. Community and technical colleges and public schools also must contribute to plugging the talent gap.
High skills, high pay: Starting salaries for computer scientists and engineers with bachelor's degrees are significantly higher than starting salaries for bachelor's degree graduates in many other fields.
In 1998, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, starting salary offers averaged about $41,600 a year for graduates with a bachelor's degree in computer science and $37,400 for degrees in information sciences. Electrical engineering graduates with master's degrees and no work experience averaged $53,000 to start.
Texas graduates are prospering along with others in today's hot job market. For example, starting salaries for electrical engineering graduates of Texas Tech University are breaking into the $40,000 range. December 1997 graduates of the University of Texas' computer science program commanded an average starting salary of $44,800, up $3,800 from the year before.
High-tech jobs require various educational attainment levels. Engineering positions require at least a four-year college degree.
Requirements for software programmers range from knowledge of a programming language to a two- or four-year degree.
Machinist/assembler positions typically require no formal college education, but employers usually prefer specific technical training.
Higher education needs: One of Texas' most immediate educational needs appears to be to increase the number of college graduates with degrees in computer science and engineering.
More than a dozen Texas universities have colleges of engineering, and 31 universities offer programs leading to a bachelor's degree in computer and information sciences. About 20,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs in the state, and 7,000 are enrolled in computer science programs. These programs turn out about 4,500 engineering and 1,600 computer science graduates each year. Post-baccalaureate programs produce another 1,200 graduates.
Thus, in all, Texas schools produce about 7,300 engineering and computer science graduates each year--not enough to meet the growing needs of Texas' technology industries and government, according to industry leaders.
Because space is limited in engineering programs, some state institutions are turning away many qualified students who could enter these fields. For example, in fall 1997, 3,200 students applied for engineering or computer science courses at Texas A&M University, but only 1,800 were enrolled.
Universities contend that they can boost enrollment significantly only if they receive more funding for these programs. C. Roland Haden, dean of the Texas A&M College of Engineering, estimates that the state spends $180 million each year on engineering and information science programs. A funding increase of $20 million, or 11%, for these programs could yield as many as 1,000 additional graduates each year. Although the bulk of the increase in enrollment would come from expanding programs at the larger state universities, several of Texas' smaller engineering programs could absorb some additional students.
High-tech businesses are aggressively courting new graduates with technical degrees, not only on Texas college campuses but nationally and even internationally. In this highly competitive "seller's" market, not all graduates of Texas institutions will remain in the state to pursue their careers.
Industry-academia teamwork: To boost the supply of high-tech professionals ready to enter the workforce, private companies in Texas are working with public universities to tailor programs that meet industry needs.
As an example, Texas Instruments (TI) recently donated $5.1 million to Texas A&M to develop what is billed as one of the nation's premier analog technology programs. Analog technology is used to process information such as the sound of a voice on a wireless telephone call. According to TI, the market for this technology is growing 16% per year.
The TI donation, one of the largest ever made to Texas A&M, will permanently endow two chairs in electrical engineering and will create additional faculty positions over the next five years. The gift also will expand A&M's graduate program by supporting fellowships and research, including funds to develop, operate and maintain laboratories in analog design and engineering.
TI also has teamed with Texas Tech to create a new master's degree program in semiconductor product engineering. Beginning next fall, graduate students will be able to receive specific training and education in working with semiconductors.
TI's donation of $600,000 for the 1998-99 school year will enable the Texas Tech College of Engineering to buy equipment, pay start-up costs for an engineering laboratory and support the first 10 students enrolled in the program. The university will fund ongoing development and renovations. If the program is deemed successful after its first year, TI will contribute another $400,000 to increase the number of students to 20 in 1999-2000.
UT-Austin, UT-Dallas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech have teamed with telecommunications firms--initially TI, Motorola, SBC and AT&T--to build a "world-class" program of telecommunications engineering instruction and research. Goals of the consortium include increasing the quantity and quality of engineering graduates available for employment by Texas-based firms, and ensuring educational and research programs that focus on industry needs.
Each company has committed $100,000 per year for five years; additional companies and universities may join the consortium.
Community and technical colleges: Texas' public community and technical colleges prepare thousands of technicians to work in high-tech businesses. These institutions are also working with local businesses to develop and offer customized training programs.
One of the most prominent collaborative efforts is Austin Community College's Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology program, created in 1995 in partnership with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Applied Materials, Eaton, Motorola, Sematech and other industry sponsors.
The companies provide resources and expertise for the program and scholarships for students. Similarly, the college's Integrated Circuit Mask Design program has benefited from partnerships with Crystal Semiconductor, Sun Microsystems and TI, among others. An industry-supported biotechnology program is scheduled to begin in January 1999.
The state's Skills Development Fund (SDF) pays for customized training at community and technical colleges. With a $25 million appropriation in the 1996-97 biennium, the fund provided grants to 20 colleges and districts to train 22,000 workers for 279 businesses across Texas. Before a college can receive a grant, it must team up with a business and show that the customized training will result in the creation or retention of a specific number of jobs.
In fiscal 1996-97, SDF contracts for high-tech training totaled $5.3 million, resulting in 2,647 new or retained jobs, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The largest contract, nearly $2 million, involved training for 800 computer technicians and other skilled positions in the Dallas area; partners were Collin County Community College, Richland College and the Telecom Corridor Technology Business Council.
The SDF received another $25 million in the current biennium and continues to attract more funding requests than it can fill. SDF appropriations have been contingent on the Comptroller's finding that sufficient revenue was available from the General Revenue Fund.
Public school efforts: To widen the "pipeline" of college graduates in engineering and computer science, Texas' public schools must enhance their math and science programs. Students must be motivated to take the appropriate courses in middle and high school, and these courses must prepare them to score well enough on placement tests to gain admission to higher education programs. The first phase of a statewide plan to strengthen math and science curricula in Texas public schools has been completed.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) contracted in 1996 with the Charles A. Dana Center, a research unit of the University of Texas' College of Natural Sciences, to develop and implement the Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI). The first phase involved developing statewide math and science curriculum guidelines--the so-called Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills--to define the skills that students need to learn in specific courses and grades.
Funding for the SSI, about $4.8 million a year, comes from various sources, including the National Science Foundation, private foundations and state and federal funds through TEA.
Many local colleges, technical and engineering associations and education groups have programs to encourage public school students to take a more rigorous math and science curriculum. The Texas Business and Education Coalition has worked hard to deliver the message that students who do not take certain math and science "gateway" courses will be disadvantaged in the 21st century job market.
Individual companies also have programs to promote development of technical curricula in public schools. For example, Compaq Computer presents cash awards to school districts that implement model staff development programs related to technology in the classroom. This year, Compaq presented a Gold Award to Kennedy Elementary School in the Alief ISD, west of Houston, and a Bronze Award to the Dallas ISD.
In the Fort Worth area, National Semiconductor formed a partnership with Mansfield ISD and Tarrant County Junior College to develop a chipmaking technology program.
In Austin, AMD's Accelerated Careers in Electronics program combines high school and junior college classes with paid internships at the company. It has enrolled more than 160 students since 1995. Motorola works with Austin area schools to promote engineering and computer science awareness among minority students.
Future priorities: Within Texas, the most immediate response to the need for more science and math graduates may be to boost funding for university engineering and computer science programs so that they can admit more students.
Also, the state needs to look at ways to expand enrollment in programs at smaller universities that have space available for educating additional engineers and computer scientists. Incentives may be needed to lure students to these programs and to keep them from leaving Texas to gain degrees elsewhere.
At the community and technical college level, the state could expand the SDF and other customized job training programs. A strong partnership between industry and colleges can help attract new businesses, as well as retain and grow existing technology firms in Texas.
The Smart Jobs program, funded at $107 million in the current biennium and administered by the Texas Department of Economic Development, provides grants to businesses to train workers for new jobs or to teach existing employees new skills. The Legislature could set aside some Smart Jobs money specifically to provide scholarships and on-the-job training for students entering high-tech degree programs.
Finally, Texas' public schools must do more to upgrade math and science education, and the state must strengthen programs to improve teacher education in these fields. Career awareness programs can help by building student interest at an early age. Students' decisions as early as middle school concerning the kind of math and science courses they take are critical to their educational success.
Contributing to this article:
Jeff Cole and Gary PriceAmong the many community college districts in Texas that provide customized job training on behalf of local employers, the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) offers a notable example.
In May 1989, DCCCD opened its workforce training and economic development unit, the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development (BPI). The institute is headquarters for all of the district's programs serving business and industry.
BPI's Business Incubation Center began leasing office space and providing support services to eight small businesses in 1990. Today, the center serves an average of 38 businesses per month. The Technology Assistance Center opened its doors to the small business community in 1992 and has served an average of almost 350 clients annually over the past three years.
The institute's Job Training Center (JTC) offers short-term intensive vocational education to prepare graduates for entry-level jobs with Dallas area employers. All courses are employer-directed to meet local workforce demands. At least 85% of JTC graduates take jobs with local employers.
BPI has received two grants of more than $1 million each from the state's Skills Development Fund. The first was to train entry-level workers for jobs in semiconductor wafer fabrication plants. More than 300 graduates of this 14-week program went to work for about 150 employers in the Dallas area. Texas Instruments, Twin Star Semiconductor, Hitachi Semiconductor, Solar Turbines, Siemens and Fujitsu served as corporate sponsors, each contributing about $15,000.
The second grant is being used to meet the training needs of the North Texas call center and customer service industry.
During 1998-99, BPI and three DCCCD institutions used the funds to recruit and train about 500 workers for entry-level call center jobs that pay at least $8 an hour. The training program is free to participants. BPI has built a state-of-the-art 30-station call center at its facility. More than a dozen area companies have signed partnership agreements, and more will be invited to take part as the program continues.
In many ways, the history of Texas' high-tech industry mirrors the history of one of its founding members, Texas Instruments (TI). The company developed technology used in many of the sectors that have dominated the state's economy in this century.
TI was founded in 1930 as Geophysical Service, an independent contractor specializing in oil and gas exploration technology, headquartered in Dallas. During the 1940s, the company geared its operations toward the national war effort, pioneering the development of radar and sonar systems. The company changed its name to Texas Instruments in 1951.
After TI's Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit in 1958, the firm quickly entered the semiconductor manufacturing business, which accounted for half of all sales only one year later. Other innovations came in terrain-following airborne radar (1958), forward-looking infrared systems (1964) and handheld calculators (1967).
TI grew rapidly throughout the 1970s, focusing on the manufacture and sale of semiconductors, calculators, digital watches and other consumer products. But Texas' economic bust of the 1980s took its toll on TI, forcing the firm to sell or exit most of its consumer electronics businesses.
The company has revived with the recent success of its digital signal processors (DSPs), which are used increasingly in cellular phones, pagers, modems and other communications devices. In the past few years, TI has invested more than $1 billion to build a research center and a fabrication plant for the next generation of DSPs.
TI officials look to the communications industry for the future of their company and of Texas' high-tech industry as a whole. The company has divested 12 businesses in the past 18 months to focus solely on manufacturing DSPs. While personal computer (PC) hardware and software, defense and oil and gas-related technology remain an important part of the state's high-tech mix, TI is betting on communications, a field in which the number of available products using DSPs now outnumbers the number of PCs requiring them.
Contributing to this article:
Greg Mt.Joy
Vital Science
Biotech success depends on more than
unlocking nature's secretsThe earliest use of biotechnology occurred with the first attempts to turn grapes into wine and to crossbreed animals to improve the herd. Recent advances in molecular biology, however, promise to spark an economic boom as companies rush to develop and market treatments for diseases threatening humans, plants and animals.
According to the newsletter Industries in Transition, the market for the use of gene, cell and tissue therapies to cure common illnesses could reach $32 billion within the next 10 years. While only a few of these products have reached the commercial stage, researchers are working on new therapies to combat cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and AIDS.
Many of these products are being developed in Texas universities and health science centers. But while Texans will share in the health benefits of new treatments, economic benefits from the biotech industry may prove more elusive for the state.
The impressive potential of biotech and related businesses in Texas is rooted in the world-class intellectual property of the state's medical research institutions. The state could do more, however, to attract and support biotech entrepreneurs.
In a volatile market in which competition is fierce and mergers common, the number of biotech companies in Texas has nearly doubled in the past few years. Still, Texas ranks well behind other states as a host for the industry. A 1996 survey by Ernst & Young showed that the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles and San Diego each had more biotech company headquarters than the entire state of Texas.
Lab culture: The biotechnology industry has existed for only about 30 years. Within the past decade, as scientists have continued to unlock the mysteries of cell biology, the industry has grown rapidly in Texas and elsewhere as entrepreneurs have rushed to commercialize new drugs and agricultural and food processing methods.
Although biotech companies are diverse in terms of their research methods and end products, they share an emphasis on genetic engineering. Typically they use recombinant DNA technology--transferring genetic fragments from the cells of one organism to those of another--to produce therapeutic substances. They also share the challenge of surviving the first years of operation before realizing any product revenue. These firms initially must spend a large share of their resources--sometimes as much as 90% of their operating budgets--on research and development (R&D).
Apart from California-based Amgen and Genentech and a few other large companies, the industry is dominated by small entrepreneurial firms. Of the more than 1,300 biotech firms in the U.S., nearly two-thirds have fewer than 135 employees and no product revenues, according to Ernst & Young.
Because of ethical and regulatory considerations, the lead time to develop and commercialize a new biotech product can be as long as 10 to 12 years, in contrast to two to three years required to bring a new computer software product to market. During the development period, when total costs can exceed $200-$300 million, the biotech firm survives almost entirely on venture capital.
Biotech investors must have more patience and be willing to assume greater risks than most other venture capitalists. As the mortality rate for biotech companies is high, most firms find it necessary to line up large partners in the pharmaceutical industry or to secure different investors for each stage of development.
Texas presence: Biotech businesses are part of an industry sector that also includes pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and research laboratories. In 1996, Texas firms in this sector delivered products and services worth at least $6.5 billion, according to a study by Texas A&M University for the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute. At the time, these companies were developing nearly 400 new drugs and medical devices.
The A&M study estimated that this broad industry group employs more than 38,000 Texans in private businesses, at an average annual salary of $40,300. Biotech companies account for 4,500 jobs with average wages of $47,600.
The 1996 survey found that Texas firms expected rapid job growth to continue in 1997, ranging from 10% for medical device manufacturers to 24% for biotech firms and 29% for pharmaceutical makers. While many of the current jobs are in laboratories, more manufacturing jobs are expected as more entrepreneurs begin to market their discoveries.
Founts of technology: Biomedical advances generally begin in the research laboratories of academic institutions, and Texas institutions have made impressive investments in this area.
Since 1987, Texas' public universities and health-related institutions have more than doubled their annual outlays for R&D, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In fiscal 1997, these institutions spent $1.3 billion on R&D, of which 54% went for life science studies (medical, biological and agricultural sciences). The federal government provided slightly more than half of all research funds.
Despite these investments--and despite many biomedical breakthroughs due to collaboration between NASA and the Texas Medical Center--Texas lags well behind Maryland, Massachusetts and California in receiving biomedical research funding from public and private entities.
Challenges for Texas: Genetic and other medical advances are expected to play an enormous role in U.S. economic growth over the next century. Yet Texas--unlike competing states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, New York and North Carolina--has not mounted a state-level effort to nurture this industry.
The Texas Technology Summit in September 1996 recommended that the state initiate "mechanisms for a statewide vision and strategy to develop biotech research and commercialization in Texas." To date, this has not occurred.
Cultivating a new industry requires access to capital--the biggest hurdle to biotech development in Texas. According to Coopers & Lybrand, Texas is perceived as an "up and coming market," yet the state has not kept pace in the competition for venture capital funding. In the first quarter of 1998, California captured $1.2 billion or 37% of the nation's venture capital investments in technology--10 times the amount that Texas received. Texas' 4% of the venture capital market also lagged behind Massachusetts (10%), Virginia (7%) and New York (4.5%).
Many factors contribute to this disparity, not the least of which is geography. Texas is located far from the investment banking capitals on either coast, and investors tend to look in their own backyards first. Because commercializing a biomedical discovery can take a decade or more, the current shortfall of investments in Texas virtually ensures that, unless investment patterns change substantially, the state will not be in a position to capture a larger share of potentially lucrative future markets.
Also, while several higher education institutions in Texas have organized biotechnology programs, the state has no academic "centers of excellence" to attract top-flight researchers and greater private-sector involvement.
California, North Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida have created such centers to support basic research and to facilitate technology transfer.
Centers of excellence provide an infrastructure for collaboration by industry, federal labs and other research institutions in the form of shared R&D. The centers, which may include manufacturing and business incubator space, link private firms with the financial, managerial and technical resources they need to succeed. New Jersey has committed $30 million a year to its centers of excellence.
Just as the MCC and Sematech consortia spurred the development of Texas' micro- electronics business in the 1980s, an academic center of excellence could serve as a catalyst for the state's emerging biotech industry.
Tech transfer need: Greater emphasis on technology transfer by state institutions would also help advance Texas' standing in the biotech industry. Many experts point to a direct correlation between the resources available to market intellectual property and the success of commercialization efforts.
An annual survey by the Association of University Technology Managers underscores this link in regard to biotech development. In 1996, the University of California System had more than 100 full-time professionals and staff to facilitate technology transfer, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had 26. In contrast, the Texas A&M System, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Baylor College of Medicine had no more than 11 full-time staff each.
Still, some Texas institutions do a good job of marketing their discoveries. For example, UT's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center actively promotes start-up companies to commercialize its products. One success story is Austin-based Introgen Therapeutics. Formed in partnership with UT, Introgen was incorporated in 1993 to commercialize an anticancer technology developed at M.D. Anderson. Over the past five years, Introgen has become the largest commercial sponsor of research at the cancer center, licensing more than 120 of the center's patents worldwide, and is on the verge of marketing a drug to treat many types of cancer with few or no side effects.
Texas' higher education institutions have begun to examine the prospects of creating their own venture capital funds. Texas A&M has created the AM Fund with the goal of creating new companies to commercialize A&M's discoveries. Dedicated to providing seed capital, the fund enables the university to act as a special limited partner in a private venture capital firm. Other institutions are exploring their options for developing similar funds.
As the U.S. economy grows more reliant on technology-driven industries and as more companies depend on intellectual property for a competitive advantage, the importance of technology transfer will increase.
"The intellectual property of Texas medical institutions is second to none," says David Nance, chief executive officer of Introgen Therapeutics. "Its potential value exceeds the value of the biggest oilfield in the state. But Texas has not found its place in the intellectual property universe."
Healthy, wealthy and wise: Additional measures that Texas could take to support the emerging biotech industry might include a venture capital trust fund for new firms and entrepreneurs. New Jersey has put $60 million in such a fund. Texas also could offer tax incentives, grants and/or loans to help new manufacturers move into full-scale production, or loan guarantees to lower the risk of investing in biotechnology.
The Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute calls biomedical R&D "the prototypical industry of the 21st century." Success in this knowledge-based industry will depend on collaboration between the public and private sectors and between academia and business.
As research yields a better working knowledge of human illnesses, the states positioned to take advantage of the commercial potential of biotechnology will benefit in terms of economic wealth as well as physical health.
Contributing to this article:
Emmett Coleman and
Greg Martin
Silicon Army
Fort Hood area could become a hub
for high-tech researchTexas has proved that the combined resources of private businesses, government and higher education, when focused on a well-defined goal, can bring economic growth and prosperity to a region or city.
Cooperative efforts of this kind have made the Houston suburb of Clear Lake a world leader in aerospace research, San Antonio a hub for biomedical advances and Austin a computer chip Goliath--creating thousands of jobs in the process.
Another opportunity exists in the state for public and private entities to come together and create a vital technology center. Ground zero of that opportunity is the Killeen area, home to Fort Hood, the nation's largest military installation in terms of infrastructure, equipment and personnel.
From 1998 to 2004, the U.S. Army will spend several billion dollars at Fort Hood to develop high-tech weapons and equipment for tomorrow's armed forces. By combining the leverage of this federal spending with an upper-level public university and an influx of high-tech businesses, the Killeen area could transform itself into a high-tech haven like others in Texas.
All it can be: The Army is committed to creating a high-tech fighting force with the most advanced weaponry and equipment available, including digital communications and night-fighting gear. Fort Hood is home to the 4th Infantry Division--prototype for the army of the future, also known as Force XXI--and headquarters for III Corps, which will be the Army's first digital corps. III Corps includes nearly 30% of the Army's combat troops.
Traditionally, the Army has bought the best technology available from private suppliers. However, keeping pace with the leading edge of commercial information technology is a challenge.
For example, because the defense procurement cycle takes about 10 years to move a tank from final design to delivery, the Army is now receiving the M1A2 Abrams tank from the production line. While this tank is the most advanced in the world, its computer processor is the equivalent of an Intel 286 chip, now 10 years old. The Army has changed its business practices to accommodate the accelerated rate of change in computer automation, but this remains a fertile area for innovation.
If high-tech companies could be persuaded to locate in the Killeen area, the military would gain greater access during the design phase of the technology it would eventually use. This could make the systems easier to implement and more cost-effective in the long run, according to Gen. Pete Taylor, former III Corps commander and a current member of the Texas Strategic Military Planning Commission.
High-tech companies will not relocate without good reason--and Fort Hood may soon be able to offer that reason. The addition of an upper-level public university in Killeen could make academic researchers available for research and development (R&D) efforts near the installation.
In April 1998, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board encouraged the Texas A&M University System to develop a plan for establishing a "university system center" in the Killeen area, with Tarleton State University (part of the A&M system) serving as the parent school. Should enrollment at the center reach 5,000 students, the A&M system could consider creating a free-standing university.
Reaching critical mass: In San Antonio, the presence of the Southwest Research Institute, the nation's third largest nonprofit R&D institution, and the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research have helped make the city a leader in biomedical studies. The centers alone, however, could not have generated the "critical mass" needed for the city to attain that status.
The addition of the South Texas Medical Center, the Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base and the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, as well as Brooks Air Force Base's School of Aerospace Medicine and a growing number of private biotechnology companies, has primed the San Antonio area for economic development.
When the federal government designated Clear Lake as home for the nation's manned spaceflight center in 1961, the area held little more than pasture land. Now it is a center for aerospace research and home to a number of related businesses.
In Austin, private companies worked with the University of Texas and the federal government to create two high-tech consortia, MCC and Sematech, with the goal of ensuring U.S. superiority in computer chip manufacturing. At MCC, staff technologists from member companies work with government and university researchers to perform R&D for the semiconductor industry. Sematech has a similar mission, though it dropped federal funding in 1997 and is now funded by its corporate members.
Out-of-state examples: Other states have realized the benefits of the government-higher education-private business cooperative model.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) has set up a $4.5 million one-year partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Westinghouse Electric to run the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. The center will work on techniques allowing simulations of nuclear explosions, to ensure the reliability of the U.S. weapons stockpile.
Scientists also hope to use the computers to provide weather predictions and jet engine tests and to simulate drug interactions within the human body.
The program is designed to take pressure off the Intel ASCI Red unit at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. That computer, the worldıs most powerful, can perform 1.5 trillion operations per second.
Orlando, Fla., has also become a hotbed for military technology development. The University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation and Training (IST) has attracted more than 140 simulation and training companies to the region. The IST is home to more than $6 million worth of high-tech equipment and draws on the expertise of about 160 faculty, staff and students from UCF and other Florida colleges and universities.
The IST receives about $4 million in funding from the federal government each year. Contracts and grants provide nearly $1 million, while private and state funding each contribute about $500,000. The IST estimates a four-to-one return on each dollar received from the state.
The presence of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama has created an aerospace research hub around the University of Alabama at Huntsville. UAH leads the Alabama Space Grant Consortium, a group of 22 colleges and universities in the state. The consortium will receive a five-year, $2.5 million NASA grant to fund the project.
NASA's contribution will be matched by state and university funds, bringing the total to nearly $6 million. Corporate partners include Boeing, Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas and SCI Systems.
Paths to success: To reach critical mass, each research project has brought together resources from federal and state governments, local colleges and universities and the types of high-tech businesses drawn to projects of this scale. Once all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place--whether for microchip design in Austin, biomedical research in San Antonio or space industries in the Houston area--the economic development opportunities grew exponentially.
Fort Hood could provide yet another epicenter for advanced research with implications in many field--not the least of which would be a better prepared, better equipped fighting force to protect the nation's vital interests.
Contributing to this article:
Greg Mt.Joy
