Sematech Inc., an international consortium for the global semiconductor industry, and the state of Texas are launching a research center expected to generate more than 4,000 high-tech jobs in Texas over the next 10 years.
Plans to open the Advanced Materials Research Center were announced Monday. Sematech received a $40 million state grant to encourage the company to keep its operations in Texas, following a scare when it set up a research facility at the University at Albany in New York. UT Austin will receive $10 million of the grant money.
"Keeping Sematech in Texas means keeping Texas on the leading edge of innovation in rapidly advancing fields like nanotechnology, biotechnology, micro-electro-mechanical systems and other critical future technologies," Gov. Rick Perry said in a news release.
Dan McGowan, Sematech spokesman, said the AMRC would consist of multiple facilities run principally by the UT Department of Engineering, pooling existing resources within UT, Sematech and eventually other schools in Texas. The collaboration is expected to help accelerate the commercialization of critical-advancement technology research.
"Students involved in the College of Engineering will have a number of opportunities to work in the materials program," McGowan said.
The new facility is expected to draw high-paying jobs and opportunities in related technology fields to the state.
"Anytime you start a project that develops basic technology, corollary jobs follow," McGowan said.
Sanjay Bannerjee, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UT, has been working closely with Sematech on the development and implementation of the research center.
"The vast majority of the funding is going to go towards graduate student support in the form of research assistantships," Bannerjee said, adding that Sematech will receive an additional $160 million over the next four years to further the joint effort.
Bannerjee said that even though Texas has historically been a leader in technology, economic downturns have put the state at risk of losing out to national and international competitors. He called the grant timely, saying it would help stem the tide.
Citing a study by the Perryman group, a Waco-based economic research firm, Bannerjee said the state can expect an annual benefit of $340 million in high-tech jobs, technology spin-offs and direct employment as a result of the $40 million investment. The AMRC is expected to help the state tap into the $150 billion semiconductor market.
Pike Powers, chairman of the Texas Technology Initiative, said the AMRC is "critical to keeping Texas in the running for high technology."
In 1988, Sematech's presence helped expand the state's economy, Powers said. Subsequent waves brought vendors, suppliers, goods and services, which sustained and propelled the economy.
State leaders are now trying to repeat that effect for the future. Sematech has been in Austin since 1988 and employs 500 Austin residents in an office located on Montopolis Drive.
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