The week after I graduated from engineering college in Massachusetts, I loaded up my outdated Jeep Wagoneer with two college buddies, tenting provides, and snacks. Thus started our trek throughout the nation to the famed Silicon Valley, which, for a current grad and proto-geek, appeared just like the Promised Land.
Silicon Valley was the brand new nickname for a area that roughly encompasses San Francisco and Berkeley right down to San Jose and is now the house to tech giants like Apple, Google, Meta, and extra. After I moved there, Apple was only a small startup, and the entrepreneurial tradition was evident all over the place you turned.
Again then, all events become deep discussions of latest tech alternatives. Should you wanted an obscure electronics half, you might get it from someplace that was merely an enormous site visitors jam away. Plus, no matter ability or area experience you had been hiring for, there have been certified candidates residing inside commuting distance. Oh, and different members of your health club had been as more likely to be potential VC traders as companions (or opponents).
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Irrespective of the place I’ve lived since my decade within the Bay Space, whether or not New Jersey, Florida, or right here in Central Oregon, I’ve by no means discovered that deep sense of striving for the longer term — and risk — that you might really feel in each espresso store, cubicle farm, occasion, and manufacturing unit ground in Silicon Valley.
The US has lengthy dreamed of different areas changing into extra like Silicon Valley. What if there might be different regionalized ecosystems of innovation, tech jobs, manufacturing sources, and funding capital? What may that do for American competitiveness and even nationwide safety?
That is what the CHIPS and Science Act means to make occur. It goals to spice up US semiconductor design and manufacturing by investing $52 billion (with a “B”) in subsidies and incentives to strengthen the US semiconductor trade and reduce US reliance on non-US suppliers.
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The US CHIPS and Science Act, signed into regulation in August 2022, supplies $10 billion over 5 years for a Tech Hubs program. The concept of Tech Hubs is to fund 31 “high-potential” areas throughout the US with pre-existing experience in “emergent expertise sectors.”
Part 1 of the Tech Hubs program was introduced in October 2023, when the EDA (the US Financial Improvement Administration, a part of the Commerce Division), chosen 31 Tech Hubs Designees and 29 Tech Hubs Technique Improvement Grants.
“The Tech Hubs Designees exemplify place-based financial improvement methods at their finest: combining federal sources with regional belongings, experience, and coalitions to implement transformational alternatives,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Financial Improvement Alejandra Y. Castillo mentioned in a press release.
Part 1 attracted over 1,000 commitments, together with over $4 billion in funding commitments. These commitments are partnership guarantees from the non-public sector (for funding, infrastructure, and expertise experience), from academia (for analysis partnerships and workforce coaching), from native, state, and federal authorities entities (for coverage assist and funding), and from financial improvement organizations that promote regional financial development (for group engagement and coordination).
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In Part 2, the Tech Hub designees proposed initiatives of their assigned fields of experience. As we speak, the EDA introduced that Part 2 has been accomplished and $504 million in funding has been awarded to 12 of the Tech Hub designees.
“The Division of Commerce is laser centered on increasing financial alternative to each nook of this nation,” Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves mentioned in a press release. “The Tech Hubs program is a dedication to American financial prosperity and success. These 12 awardees embody the innovation and creativity that may be discovered nationwide, boosting US manufacturing and bolstering US international competitiveness.”
Every of those hubs has its personal focus. For instance, the Headwaters Hub (in Montana) was awarded $41 million for work on sensible photonic sensor programs, the IFAB Tech Hub (in Illinois) was awarded $51 million for work on precision fermentation and biomanufacturing, and the Nevada Tech Hub was awarded $21 million for work on lithium batteries and electrical car supplies.
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In Ohio, the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub was awarded $51 million to “sort out the extreme local weather and environmental impacts ensuing from the usage of fossil fuel-derived polymers (rubbers and plastics) by means of accelerating sustainable polymer manufacturing and commercialization in the USA.”
In different phrases, they’re attempting to make plastic (which all of us rely on) much less nasty and extra sustainable.
Again in Silicon Valley, I bear in mind going to events the place everybody was speaking chips and computer systems. As a pc scientist, I actually grooved on these discussions as a result of they had been all talking my language.
Now, in Ohio, espresso store conversations will revolve round making a extra environmentally secure anti-degradent and scaling up a liquid part mixing course of. The new occasion subject will likely be boosting manufacturing of bio-based butadiene.
Different zones awarded funding are in Colorado, New Mexico, Indiana, New York, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
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Assistant Secretary Castillo summed all of it up: “We’re excited to see this preliminary spherical of implementation funding supporting a surge of latest jobs, new applied sciences, and new vitality to bolster America’s competitiveness.”
With these 12 Tech Hubs funded, there will likely be new sizzling occasion matters all throughout the US. Do not chortle. It is these people-bonding experiences that drive innovation and connection, and assist groups type for brand spanking new and thrilling initiatives that might result in improved US competitiveness.
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