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Bringing silicon to Cache Valley By
Leon D'souza
Two years ago, I read an engaging piece by technology pundit Bob Metcalfe. Metcalfe invented Ethernet in 1973 and founded 3Com in 1979. In his column on www.infoworld.com, a tech website, he described an experience on the Asia-Pacific leg of his ³Internet Futures² speaking tour. Metcalfe is a longtime Silicon Valley resident, however on this trip he pretended to be from Maine. After listening to the other speakers at the symposium, Metcalfe concluded that Silicon Valley was perhaps the only place on Earth not trying to figure out how to become Silicon Valley. The tech guru was onto an emerging trend the global rush to replicate the Silicon Valley phenomenon. History So where and what exactly is "Silicon Valley?" Even the most unenlightened among us probably know that Silicon Valley is somewhere in California. Hereıs a short lesson on the history and geography of "Internet Valley," as it is sometimes called. Silicon Valley is on the San Francisco peninsula and radiates outward from Stanford University. It is a scenic locale girdled by the San Francisco Bay on the east, the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west, and the Coast Range to the southeast. Contrary to popular understanding, Silicon Valley was born long before the microchip revolutionized personal computing. The Internet brought the area into sharp focus as Californiaıs vital economic engine of technological innovation, but Silicon Valley was already a happening place by that time. The New Economy did not create Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is a product of rather unique circumstances. Forty years ago, Stanford University had some financial problems. University authorities tried to solve the problems by leasing part of the university land to high-tech companies for a period of 99 years. Stanford is a huge campus with more than 8,000 acres, so there was plenty of room to spare. The university needed the money to fund its rapid postwar growth. It was decided that the lease would be limited to high-technology companies that might be beneficial to Stanford. Soon, industry heavyweights moved in, starting with Varian Associates in 1953, followed by Eastman Kodak, General Electric, Lockheed and other tech movers and shakers. The Stanford Industrial Park would spawn a revolution that we would later call "Silicon Valley." What makes the Valley tick? The odd thing about Silicon Valley is that no one, including the Valleyıs founding father, Fred Terman, has been able to successfully duplicate it. Several communities all over the world have tried, and failed. Even in my home country, India, where only 52 percent of people can read and sign their name, policy makers have tried to foster a Silicon Valley culture. We thought we had an advantage - our surplus of trained technology workers. All we needed to do was to develop our Venture Capital Funds, and soon our talented technocrats would propel us into the digital age, or so we thought. Some are still singing the same tune, but many Indians have realized that recreating Silicon Valley is easier said than done. The secret of the Valleyıs success is an uncommon mutuality between industry and university researchers two cultures that often clash. Stanford succeeded in creating an environment that made industry more sensitive to its limitations and aspirations. Corporations cooperate with one another, and with the university, to achieve common goals. In the cutthroat world of Corporate America, this collaboration is quite remarkable. In addition, many folks who study the Valley have pointed out that many Valley companies began as small firms that grew large and prosperous during a Cold War era of liberal defense spending a circumstance that is not likely to repeat any time soon. So what about bringing Silicon to Cache Valley? This brings me to why I decided to write this piece in the first place. I read the comments made by our President, Kermit Hall and Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt in a recent edition of the Herald Journal with much interest. The story was entitled ³Hall Pitches Need To Panel.² Hall spoke of a ³technology flood of Lake Bonneville proportions² that will start at USU and spread across Utah. Hereıs the plan. The state will pump money into USU. Hall will use the cash to put USUıs financial house in order, build a new engineering building, give the existing facility a face-lift, and fix USUıs heating plant. Gov. Leavitt, for his part, will lure Silicon Valley businesses to the State and put in place an incentive structure to retain graduates. And thus, Cache Valley will evolve into a new technology center. Companies will flock to Cache Valley, local residents will find gainful employment, and we will all live happily ever after. Believable? Iıll admit, Iım a little skeptical. Let me clarify my perspective. I believe that we can do all of the above and make great strides toward recreating the Silicon Valley phenomenon, but it will take much more than a new facility, more graduates, and fresh incentives to replicate the Californian marvel. Building Relationships Relationships and the entrepreneurial spirit are at the heart of Silicon Valleyıs success. Like Stanford, USU will have to develop a symbiosis with industry. USU and industry will have to see their future through the same lenses. One of the ways in which this can be accomplished is by networking with various industry organizations and establishing working relationships with them. In addition, corporations will have to cooperate with one another. We will need to create a western variant of the Japanese ³kieretsu,² an entrepreneurial, loosely coupled partnership of companies. The State will have to play an important role in fostering this culture. Entrepreneurship must be encouraged. USU will have to build bridges between students, mentors, and venture capitalists/angel investors. Engineers must be encouraged to turn their technical innovations into successful business ventures. This can be made possible through entrepreneurship education. For instance, the Business Association of Stanford Engineering Students is a vibrant organization that was founded on the Stanford campus in 1995. It is today the nationıs premier student entrepreneur organization. In addition to entrepreneurship education, which is the core objective of the organization, BASES provides a forum by which members, student groups, faculty, and professionals from all industries can exchange entrepreneurial ideas and develop new business ventures. An organization such as this on our own campus will be of vital importance. In the final analysis While I donıt believe that recreating the Silicon Valley phenomenon is an easy endeavor, I do believe that it is possible for us to at least come close. However, merely addressing infrastructure and labor needs isnıt good enough. We must also focus on relationships. Cooperation between USU, the State Government, and industry is absolutely critical. It is this sort of cooperation that enabled South Korea to create the Taedok Science Town the closest Asia has ever come to replicating Silicon Valley. This is no easy task, as it usually means strong governmental intervention in affairs of industry. Even so, it is not unworkable.
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