florida high tech magazine

florida.HigH.TecHThe guide to Florida’s High Tech corridor www.floridahightech.com

2011

Ripples of

ReseaRchThe Impact of Innovation in Florida’s High Tech Corridor

Faces oF Technology

Meet 17 corridor Pioneers

florida.HigH.TecH 2011

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Features

Ten Years oF Tech | 10A look at six leading companies featured in florida.HigH.TecH that have flourished over the years

ripples oF research | 30FHTcc’s applied-research program has funded collaborations between corporate partners and corridor universities that have created a $1.3 billion ripple of economic impact.

The corridor bY The numbers | 48How Florida’s High Tech corridor stacks up against the country’s other top regions for innovative industry

departments

From The presidenT | 7A Vibrant Region

pillars oF research | 15An inside look at innovative collaborations between the corridor’s three premier institutions and high tech companies

University of central Florida 16University of South Florida 20University of Florida 24

Faces oF TechnologY | 37These 17 industry leaders are revolutionizing their fields.

secTor sTaTisTics | 52The latest facts and figures from the corridor’s high tech industries

economic developmenT organiZaTions | 57A list of corridor partner eDOs

indusTrY organiZaTions & Trade associaTions | 58contact information for the corridor’s high tech groups

FhTcc 2009-2010 annual reporT | 61

florida.HigH.TecHFlorida high Tech corridor council

PresidentRandy Berridge

University Partners Dr. Tom O’Neal

Associate Vice President for the Office of Research and Commercialization

University of Central Florida

Rod CastoAssociate Vice President for Research & Innovation

University of South Florida

Erik SanderDirector of Industry Programs

University of Florida

Strategic PartnersRoger Pynn

President, Curley & Pynn

Kerry MartinCommunications Strategist, Curley & Pynn

Contributing WritersJohn Marini, Kerry Martin,

Julie Primrose, Roger Pynn and Dan Ward

visiT orlando

PublisherDeborah Kicklighter Henrichs

Managing EditorJessica Chapman

Graphic DesignerMichele Mitchell

Production CoordinatorsShelley Hampton and Stacey Smith

Associate Vice President, Partner DevelopmentSheryl Taylor

Senior Managers, Partner DevelopmentSandi Daugherty, Terri Dougherty

and Dottie Healy

Managers, Partner DevelopmentLaura Bonniville and Timothie Tinsley

florida.HIGH.TECH is produced by everything ink, a division of Visit Orlando®, for the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. Visit Orlando: 6700 Forum Drive, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32821; Phone: 407.363.5800; Fax: 407.370.5000. Florida High Tech Corridor Council: 1055 AAA Drive, Suite 140, Heathrow, FL 32746; Phone: 407.708.4630; Fax: 407.708.4635. Advertis-ing information: 407.354.5568. florida.HIGH.TECH assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, negatives or transparencies. Copyright 2011 Florida High Tech Corridor Council. All rights reserved. Any reproduction in whole or in part without the express written consent of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council is strictly prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A.

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t’s amazing to look back on the first nine issues of florida.HigH.TecH and see the transformation that this magazine has undergone.

More amazing is the growth of the corridor region into a nationally recognized technology cluster led by the strengths of three renowned research universities.

At its annual meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in September 2010, the State Science and Technology institute (SSTi) named the Florida High Tech corridor council (FHTcc) one of only four winners in its 2010 excellence in Technology-Based economic Development Awards. Recognizing the council’s Matching grants Research Program, SSTi President Dan Berglund said, “The Florida High Tech corridor council has a long-standing, impressive track record of commercialization by leveraging university resources.”

in this 10th issue, you’ll read about the numerous research projects in the council’s 15-year history that have come to represent a significant impact down the road, such as a USF professor’s accidental discovery of a new anti-depression drug which originally started as an FHTcc-funded project to research an effective treatment for Tourette syndrome; or the 25 projects with Harris corporation that have leveraged a corridor investment of $1.5 million spanning 12 years into a departmental impact valued at $100 million; or researchers who are “swimming with sharks” to explore cures for cancer.

Our Faces of Technology section, which began three years ago, has grown into an exciting feature in each issue, and this year’s class of tech leaders is as diverse and fascinating as ever. it includes:

• 46-year-old University of Florida alumnus Neil euliano ii, Ph.D., who is developing a system that allows pills to send out messages after they have been swallowed

• Sarasota’s 32-year-old microbiologist christopher Reuter, who applies his fascination with the complexity of microorganisms to develop beneficial “super cultures”

• 61-year-old entrepreneur Nat Quick, whose company, Applicote, seeks “to make the world cleaner by eliminating all toxins from the fabrication of electronic materials and devices”

These technology leaders are the fabric and the future of a vibrant region, demonstrating daily why the Florida High Tech corridor is home to the greatest concentration of high tech companies and employment in America’s fourth-largest state.

Best regards,

Randy BerridgePresidentFlorida High Tech corridor council

FroM thE PrESiDEnt

“The Florida High Tech Corridor Council has a long-standing, impressive track record of commer-cialization by leveraging university resources.” —SSTi President Dan Berglund

A vibranT region

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10 Years of Tech

ness for fostering high tech growth better than Rini Technologies.

The 10-year-old company, located in an industrial park just a mile from the University of central Florida (UcF), graduated from the UcF Technology incubator program and now maintains a 12,000-square-foot research and manufacturing facility of its own. Rini Technologies got its start winning competitive contracts through the Small Business in-novation Research (SBiR) program and has parlayed that success into several marketable products. in order to meet increasing demand,

the company is expected to double in size to 40 employees in the near future.

“The combination of a partner-ship with UcF and support from the corridor council really helped to launch the company in a way that ultimately has been a suc-cess,” says President Dan Rini. “i don’t know if we would have been as successful, or could have even kept up with our pace if it wasn’t for the corridor council.”

Rini Technologies produces thermal management products for military and other applications, the ideas for which can be traced to

A look at six leading high tech companiesthat have flourished in the past 10 years.

n the 10 years since florida. HigH.TecH was first published,

the success stories of many Florida High Tech corridor com-panies have appeared in its pages. This 10th anniversary issue looks back at some of those companies and the continuing success they have achieved.

rini TechnologiesThere are countless success stories throughout the 23 counties of the Florida High Tech corridor, but perhaps no company succinctly demonstrates the comprehensive nature of the corridor’s effective-

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Rini’s research work as a graduate student at UcF. Rini says that he heavily leveraged corridor council programs, especially in the first five years, by doing a lot of collab-orative research with UcF. And now that his company is transitioning

into product manufactur-ing, he is starting to forge partnerships with other corridor compa-

nies to bring those products to market.

“We still have some work going on with UcF, but

now we’re starting to interact more with the local marketplace to help us put things into production,” Rini explains. “The match-ing grants programs have been great and,

of course, the network-ing and leveraging of

other companies in the area is now a huge asset as well.”

pasteuria bioscienceAlso featured in 2006, Pasteuria Bioscience is part of the University of Florida’s (UF) Sid Martin Biotechnology Development incubator. The company was founded in 2003 to commercialize its revolutionary technology for nematode-control products.

Nematodes (parasitic worms) are estimated to cause $100 billion in crop losses globally each year, making it agriculture’s largest unmet pest control need. Pasteuria Bioscience was recently given environmental Protection Agency (ePA) registration for the use of Pasteuria usgae liquid formulation against sting nematodes on both turf and strawberries. That came on the heels of ePA approval of Pasteuria’s product, econem, for turf grass.

The timing is good for Pasteuria Bioscience, as farmers and landscapers have been looking for a weapon with which to fight nematodes since the ePA called for the halt of production of the highly toxic broad-spectrum pesticide methyl bromide a few

years ago. The company also has products in development for nematode control in agronomic crops, such as soybean and cotton, as well as in select vegetables and bananas.

authenTecFeatured in florida.HigH.TecH in 2006, AuthenTec is the world’s number one provider of fingerprint sensors and identity management software. The microelectronics and nanotechnology company based in Melbourne was founded in 1998 with a single prototype and has since shipped more than 100 mil-lion sensors worldwide.

AuthenTec biometric sensors can be found in Pcs, hand-held mobile devices, cloud servers and other electronic devices. The com-pany recently merged with another industry giant, UPeK, to solidify its position as the industry leader with an increased customer footprint and broader market diversity. AuthenTec’s patented TruePrint and TrueMatch systems allow fingerprints to be read below the surface of the skin to the live layer,

making them the only technologies capable of acquiring a fingerprint under virtually any condition.

The company manufactures its products in china and has sales offices in several countries, but still manages its operation from Florida, where the technology was first invented.

dnaprint genomicsDNAPrint genomics in Sarasota is a cutting-edge company in a cutting-edge industry. it has grown rapidly since its founding in 1999 into one of the world’s leading genomic-based technology com-panies. Originally featured in 2003, DNAPrint genomics focuses on the development of novel products in the areas of pharmacogenomics, forensics, and genotyping, three vastly different applications of one important technology.

The company’s DNAWitness line of products and services is at the forefront of forensic tech-nologies utilizing DNA for iden-tification. its flagship genealogy product, AncestryByDNA, allows people to use DNA to track family

Dr. Kelly Smith is chief technical officer and founder of Pasteuria Bioscience, a leader in ePA-approved products to control nematodes, parasitic worms that cause billions of dollars in crop losses each year.

Rini Technologies specializes in thermal management products. its personal cool-ing system is the most advanced of its kind and is used widely by the military.

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history. The company is also developing ways to use DNA to predict how patients will respond to specific drugs, which has the potential to dramatically reduce the time and money normally needed to bring a new drug to market.

productivity apexWhile many in the modeling, simulation and training industry set their sights on military or gaming applications, UcF engi-neering professor Dr. Mansooreh Mollaghasemi draws on her work as a researcher to focus on event and business-process simulation. Her company, Productivity Apex, was first covered in this magazine in 2005.

in 1999, Mollaghasemi was asked by NASA to study how it processes a space shuttle leading up to launch, which led her to develop a process simulation of the shuttle’s ground operations. in 2001, she founded Productivity Apex as a way to help commercial enterprises and government agencies improve their productivity and maximize their efficiencies. Her company provides consulting services and has developed proprietary software to help in the areas of simulation modeling and analysis, supply-chain management, data mining and artificial intelligence, and process optimization.

in addition to her work with NASA, Mollaghasemi and her team have helped clients—includ-ing major airports, hotel chains and some of the biggest names in the theme-park industry—measure and increase capacity and manage traffic flow.

ocean opticsFirst featured in 2004, Ocean Optics has grown from a garage in Dunedin to six locations with distributors worldwide. The company can trace its roots to a 1989 project by University of South Florida (USF) researchers who developed a fiber-optic pH sensor as part of an instrument designed to study the role that oceans play in global warming.

Ocean Optics is one of the pioneers in the optics and photon-ics industry and gained acclaim for becoming the first to manufacture a miniature spectrometer, which

is used to measure wavelengths of light. Since that breakthrough product hit the market in 1992, Ocean Optics has sold more than 150,000 spectrometers worldwide. The company recently released its next generation of miniature spectrometers.

Long known for recruiting engineers from USF, when it came time to expand its manufacturing capabilities, Ocean Optics opened a facility in Winter Park to capital-ize on another corridor institu-tion’s graduates. The company was attracted to the Orlando area by the pool of laser and optics technicians from UcF’s center for Research and education in Optics and Lasers (cReOL).

“We work with cReOL exten-sively, so being close to UcF has been a tremendous help,” explains chief Technology Officer Jason eichenholz. “The resources available at both UcF and USF have been very useful at times as we’ve developed new products and experimented with new ways of doing things.”

These companies and thousands of others combine to make up the Florida High Tech corridor. And if the 15-year history of FHTcc is any indicator, that fertile ground will continue to be a place of great growth and innovation for the high tech industry in the state of Florida.

A researcher uses an Ocean Optics spectrometer to measure the bill color of penguins that are native to the Falkland islands. The company is a pioneer in the optics and photonics industry.

Ocean O

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hree of the country’s largest universities, the University of

central Florida (UcF), the Univer-sity of South Florida (USF) and the University of Florida (UF), are more than living up to their reputations as premier research institutions. The scientific breakthroughs emerging from their labs have resulted in life-saving technolo-gies, new business start-ups and more than $1 billion in sponsored research annually.

Faculty at these three universities, which anchor the Florida High Tech corridor, are leading the way in numerous disciplines, from simulation to marine science to sustainable energy—and they’re not working alone. High tech companies throughout the region have recognized the power of applied- research collaborations with university partners, thanks to an

innovative 15-year-old initiative: the Florida High Tech corridor council’s Matching grants Research Program.

Not only does the Matching grants Research Program provide small and large companies alike with extra funding to solve their commercialization problems, it also allows companies to work side by side with top academic minds at three leading research universities.

Over the years, this program has resulted in scientific achieve-ments that only could be accom-plished through collaboration. in these pages, you’ll see a glimpse of the challenges that researchers are addressing, from creating smaller and more efficient power sources, to developing detection devices for biological threats, to testing medical tools with sterilized surfaces.

UcF’s college of Optics and Photonics is at the forefront of industry innovations.

Matching grants offered by FHTcc support collaborative projects between USF and corporate technology leaders, such as Draper Labs.

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Researchers at UF are developing a pill that transmits a signal after being taken.

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inside lookUniversity collaborationat


From the presidentOne of the many benefits of the Florida High Tech corridor council is the col-laboration it has fostered among three state universities, 14 state and community colleges, 20 regional economic develop-ment organizations, and hundreds of high tech industries. The partnerships nurtured by the council for the common good have created a spirit of cooperation that has served our region very well. This spirit of cooperation has been an important factor in the success that we’ve had in

expanding central Florida’s economy. One very tangible example of this collaborative spirit has been the

development of the UcF college of Medicine and the medical city at Lake Nona. The approval of the medical college resulted from the concerted efforts of hundreds of regional governmental units, non profit organizations, businesses and individuals. The $2 billion in construc-tion at Lake Nona and the $7.6 billion annual economic impact that is projected from the medical city derive from partnerships that have benefited from the trust that originated in the work of the council.

i am pleased by the numerous direct and indirect accomplishments of the Florida High Tech corridor council. Many of you played signifi-cant roles in these achievements and for that we thank you. But i am also excited by the possibility of still greater accomplishments in the future because of the spirit of cooperation that the Florida High Tech corridor council has created. i believe our greatest successes are still to come, so let’s keep up the good work.

John HittPresident, University of central Florida

ucF at a glanceThe University of central Florida (UcF), the nation’s second-largest uni-versity, is an entrepreneurial institution offering more than 200 degree programs. UcF is an academic and research leader in optics, modeling and simulation, engineering and computer science, and digital media. it is ranked among the nation’s top 10 up-and-coming institutions by U.S. News & World Report.

The carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recog-nizes UcF’s substantial commitments in curricular engagement and Outreach & Partnership through its mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices.

UcF offers classes at its east Orlando campus, the downtown center for emerging Media, the Rosen college of Hospitality Manage-ment, and 10 regional campuses. its new college of Medicine is the centerpiece of a growing medical city at Lake Nona.

UcF received $133.3 million in research funding in 2009-10, topping $100 million for the sixth consecutive year. it also ranks third among all United States universities for the strength and impact of its patents, according to the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (ieee).

collegesBurnett Honors CollegeCollege of Arts and HumanitiesCollege of Business AdministrationCollege of EducationCollege of Engineering and Computer ScienceCollege of Graduate StudiesCollege of Health and Public AffairsCollege of MedicineCollege of NursingCollege of Optics and PhotonicsCollege of SciencesRosen College of Hospitality Management

academic degree programs (2009-2010)Baccalaureate Programs 91Master’s Programs 92Specialist Programs 3Doctoral Programs 29Professional (Medicine) 1

number of degrees awarded (through summer 2010)Baccalaureate Degrees 170,012Master’s Degrees 34,286Specialist Degrees 499Doctoral Degrees 2,445

personnel (2009-2010)Teaching Faculty and Adjuncts 1,727Graduate Assistants 1,244Executive/Administrative/ Managerial 278Other Professionals 1,198Support Personnel 1,545

enrollment Total 56,235


high efficiency in a small package Used to create immersive virtual-reality and 3-D environments, head-mounted displays are being integrated into more and more applications, from military and medical to entertainment and education. With advancements in the sophistication and capabilities of these units, the power needed to run them generally increases as well.

That’s why Dr. Sabine Freisem from the College of optics and Photonics is looking to curb that trend with new semiconductor chips that operate on less power.

High efficiency, low-voltage microdisplays have the potential to improve the quality of life and workplace productivity as the displays get smaller and lighter, and Freisem believes she is on the right track with her chip research. in toning down the power needed, she just may rev up the simulation industry in Florida, which is already an important part of the High Tech corridor.

in her pursuit of a more efficient semiconductor, Freisem is experimenting with gallium arsenide (gaAs) and other ele-ments from groups iii and V on the Periodic Table, instead of traditional silicon.

“We are developing a new kind of semiconductor chip for these displays,” says Freisem, the prin-cipal investigator on this project. “in making the chips, we grow the crystals, first designing how the crystals have to be grown. There seems to be a lot of advantages of the iii-V. We’ve had interesting results so far.”

Orlando start-up bdDisplays engaged Freisem through the Florida High Tech corridor council’s Matching grants

Research Program (MgRP). She has been working on the project since fall 2008, and currently there is funding in place to keep it moving forward until September 2011.

Freisem’s work is now targeted toward commercialization, with the hope of having a marketable product in hand. “it’s a more involved process than getting a single device working,” she says. “it’s a challenge to work with a company whose actual goal is not the research itself, it is really in the end to have something that works—that you potentially could sell.”

Unlike some research projects that evolve over time into different areas, this one has stayed pretty much true to its original intent. But the unintended consequences could be just as important. Only time will tell, but fewer batteries could end up being discarded and there is potential for these microchips to be used in other applications because of their low power drain.

While that is exciting news, Freisem knows to take one step at a time. “You have to look at areas in which you can compete

in the market,” she says. “The goal right now is to focus on head-mounted displays.”

up, up and away gravity is one force of nature that has always kept the aviation field down. That’s why Dr. Donald Malocha, a professor at ucF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, is working to reduce the weight of standard aircraft: by eliminating wires.

Sensors that measure tempera-ture, pressure, or strain have tradi-tionally relied on wires that have to be connected to a power source, which contributes to the weight of wire bundles prevalent onboard aircraft and space vehicles.

Not anymore. “The idea is to have a system

that can be used to interrogate sensors that have imbedded in them an RFiD (radio frequency identification) tag at a fairly long distance,” Malocha says. “Why it’s so important to space and avionics is that the wire bundles for all of these systems are extremely heavy. They have to be maintained and they have a problem in that they

research in action

The massive system in Dr. Sabine Freisem’s lab at UcF’s college of Optics and Photonics grows and loads gallium arsenide crystals onto a semiconductor wafer.

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get broken, so they are unreliable in the long term.”

The sensors Malocha is devel-oping are totally passive, which means they have no batteries and no external power source at all. it’s the interrogation signal that activates the device, encodes the data and transmits it back to the receiver.

“The energy that powers it is the actual RF (radio frequency) interrogation signal we send to it,” Malocha says. “There is no energy scavenging—if we can commu-nicate with it we can get all the information back.”

For space applications the sensors have stringent require-ments in that they have to work under some unusual conditions and they have to operate over a fairly broad temperature range. Malocha began working on this NASA-supported initiative about five years ago and he is currently collaborating with Melbourne-based Mnemonics inc. through the Florida High Tech corridor council’s MgRP.

“When you look at all of the requirements in terms of what you want and what is available, there really has been no large deployment of any type of wireless sensors because there really wasn’t a technology that could meet all of the goals at one time,” Malocha explains.

in his research, he has been able to retrieve data from a single sensor up to 60 meters away, and when he has grouped multiple sensors together he has been able to send and receive more data from a distance of up to 10 meters. He is now looking for ways to increase range and increase the number of sensors.

“There is a huge need for these sensors for airplanes for some of the same reasons as for space use,” Malocha says. “They are wireless and passive and since they work with a fairly broad temperature range, they could be deployed in all kinds of sensor monitoring conditions.”

Malocha says the matching grant is a huge boost. “it’s really great because the High Tech council funding does two things: it provides more money for us to support students, which is great, and the second thing it does, in my case, is it gives us the flexibility to buy some medium-cost pieces of equipment that allow us to upgrade our measurement and test capabilities.

“We’ve actually had a very good response as people are learning about the technology in all areas,” he says. “There is huge potential application because there is really no other device that can do what it does. There were some really tough problems to overcome and we have overcome most of them.”

ampac: making a big deal of small ThingsAt ucF’s Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC), scientists are demon-strating how the smallest particles can make a big difference. case in point: the tiny nanoparticles of fly ash, the waste product of power plants, now can be made into cement in an environmentally friendly process that emits no carbon dioxide.

it’s discoveries like these and others that have set AMPAc apart as one of the nation’s leading interdisciplinary research and education centers. it’s also what makes it such a driving force in

the high tech economic growth of the region.

“This facility is unique in the state of Florida in that university researchers and industry people can come and look at how materi-als behave in various domains,” says Dr. Sudipta Seal, director of AMPAc and the NanoScience Technology center at UcF and professor of mechanical materials aerospace engineering.

AMPAc benefits from fund-ing of $500,000 per year from the Florida High Tech corridor council in support of its primary goals of research, education, partnership, and operations. Between faculty, graduate students, engineers and staff, it has more than 60 people working in its facility, and their efforts have resulted in numerous spin-off companies to commercial-ize their findings.

“We have faculty from all disciplines that cover the broad spectrum of materials and we have very high-end, state-of-the-art equipment in our Materials Characterization Facility and Advanced Microfabrication Facility to help us understand physics, chemistry and other material properties,” Seal says.

Seal says that the work of his colleagues Drs. Yong-ho Sohn, Kevin coffey, Helge Heinrich and Linan An in developing next-generation advanced materials is noteworthy and cutting-edge. These researchers and others are studying nano-tubes for drug delivery, shaping memory materials for switches

Behind every instrument panel are heavy power sources that help electronics communicate. Dr. Donald Malocha is seeking ways to lighten that load.

for the space industry, looking for lightweight, high-strength poly-mers and composites for national defense, as well as investigating applications of energy develop-ment and thin-film technology.

AMPAc works with some of the biggest names in their industry, such as Siemens, GE, U.S. Army, and nASA on the smallest subset of materials. “Our center is geared toward research oriented to energy, oriented to medical, and oriented to materials for national strategic interests,” Seal says. “And the final goal is to not only train and teach engi-neering students, but also to partner with companies for economic development.”

A prime example of how AMPAc’s interdisciplinary approach encourages collaborative research can be seen with Drs. Raj Vaidyana-than of AMPAc and Aravinda Kar of the Center for research and Education in optics and lasers (CrEol), who are jointly develop-ing MRi contrast biomedical materials with Medtronic inc. through the council’s MgRP.

Seal and his team are also working on another MgRP project with novaBone Products. They are studying nanoparticles con-taining bioactive scaffolds for enhanced bone regeneration, with the objective of developing functional nanoactive platforms for tissue engineering.

“We work with sponsored research very closely and the Matching grants Research Pro-gram has tremendously helped us,” says Seal. “We are in research, we are in education and we are in economic development.”

County—a community eager to continue the diversification of its economy in the wake of a downsizing aerospace industry.

Intersil recently streamlined its operations and consolidated offices, which made the building available for other uses. That’s when the decision was made to donate it to UCF.

“This donation will further position UCF and the surrounding area as a major center for high technology and business development,” says M.J. Soileau, Ph.D., vice president for research and commercialization at UCF. “We have a long history of

helping develop technology business through research, and Intersil’s generosity will increase our ability to serve as an economic catalyst.”

UCF plans to use the building for a variety of purposes centered around education, training and research, particularly in sustain-able energy, and business devel-opment. The donation will greatly aid UCF’s efforts to spur regional growth in the high tech sector.

The facility was built by Harris Semiconductor in 1977, and served as part of Intersil’s semiconductor wafer fabrication operations until last year when they consolidated into a single location. Known as “Fab 54,” the building has been used to make integrated circuits for major government, defense and aerospace programs. It is also where analog and mixed signal products were made for consumer elec tronics as well as telecommunications equipment.

Intersil continues to make ad-vanced semiconductor products in Palm Bay, one of the company’s major manufacturing locations, where it has approximately 550 employees.

intersil’s lasting impact

Intersil Corporation donated a 100,000-square-foot semiconductor manufacturing facility to UCF, which plans to use the building for education, training and research.

Dr. Sudipta Seal, director of UcF’s Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis center.

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t isn’t every day that a 100,000- square-foot semiconductor

manufacturing facility becomes a gift, but in the case of UCF, the generosity of intersil corporation represents enormous potential.

Intersil specializes in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors. In late 2010, it turned over to UCF not only the building and accompanying land valued at $13 million, but also a cash contribution intended to help transform the facility into an innovative campus expected to have a lasting impact in Brevard

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From the presidentResearch that impacts everyday life is a source of great pride for the University of South Florida. A prime example is the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico that captivated America’s attention and impacted the lives and livelihoods of everyone along the gulf coast last year.

Researchers and students from our college of Marine Science were involved from the outset in examining the spill, its flow patterns and its impact on the

environment. We launched our research vessels on several missions and our scientists were frequently called upon by the media and by members of congress for their expert analysis.

i see companies along the Florida High Tech corridor conducting such life-impacting work on a daily basis. That is why we are so proud of our role in the corridor council. its growth has been incredible. New products and new methods across a broad spectrum of technol-ogy sectors are shaping the lives of our fellow Floridians, of people across the nation and around the world. i am excited to see what the future holds for the corridor and its companies.

Dr. Judy genshaftPresident, University of South Florida

usF at a glanceThe University of South Florida (USF) is a young and emerging system formed to bring its member institutions together to collectively serve the Tampa Bay region and beyond, resulting in a stronger presence and a distinctiveness that provides an unstoppable competitive differentiation.

The USF System is tasked with finding ways to capitalize on syner-gies and economies of scales among its institutions that are of benefit to students, faculty, staff, alumni and communities. As a solution for a metropolitan region of multiple major cities, the USF System is comprised of four members embodying distinct and differentiated missions: USF Tampa, the doctoral-granting, research-intensive member institution, and three master’s-level institutions—USF St. Petersburg, USF Sarasota-Manatee and USF Polytechnic. The first two institutions are separately accredited, while the other two are in the process of becoming so.

The USF System offers 234 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. With $394.1 million in research contracts and grants awarded in fiscal year 2009/2010, the USF System has a $1.5 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 47,000 students. The USF System is a member of the Big east Athletic conference.

colleges and schools (usF Tampa only)Arts & SciencesBehavioral & Community SciencesBusinessEducationEngineeringGraduate SchoolHonors College Marine ScienceMedicineNursingPharmacy Public HealthThe Arts

academic degree programs Bachelors 92Master’s 98Education Specialist (EdS) 2Research Doctoral 38Professional Doctoral 4 TOTAL 234

number of degrees awarded (through august 2010)Bachelors 192,178Master’s 55,422Education Specialist (EdS) 721Research Doctoral 3,720First Professional (MD) 3,144

personnel (september 2010)Full-time Faculty 2,138Part-time Faculty 162Graduate Teaching Assistants 1,896Administrative & Professional 1,833Other Professionals 2,012

enrollment (as of Fall 2010) 47,697


Taking a bite out of cancer in the ocean, sharks are consid-ered the ultimate killing machine, but on land they are just another fish out of water. if the research being conducted at USF continues to yield promising results, those same sharks could end up killing one of the most destructive forces on land as well—cancer.

carl Luer, Ph.D., senior scien-tist and manager of the marine biomedical research program at the Mote Marine laboratory in Sarasota, is working in conjunction with USF to study shark cells with the goal of finding a cure for that dreaded disease.

Luer has been studying sharks for years. He is especially intrigued by their low rates of cancer. “it’s not really accurate to state that they don’t get cancer, but the incidence is incredibly low,” Luer says. “This is based on data that are available on lots of different animal groups and they stick out as being very rare.”

His attempt to understand that fact has led to some interesting results and keeps him in search of more truths. “We tried to induce cancer in these animals experi-mentally for about 10 years and were not able to do that, but we could with aquarium fish of a bony nature,” he explains. “We decided we wanted to move into under-standing what was happening, rather than keep on trying carcino-gen after carcinogen and getting the same result.”

That’s when Luer and his col-leagues started looking into the immune function of sharks and its connection to their low incidence of disease. “There wasn’t a whole lot known about immune function in sharks and their relatives, skates and rays,” he says, “so we pretty

much had to start at ground zero. We’ve contributed a lot to the literature in this area.”

They were able to identify discreet organs in sharks and their relatives that are essentially organs or tissues that are equivalent to bone marrow. They are a source of immune cells and serve much the same function as marrow would in animals that have a bony skeleton. Luer then set out to culture those immune cells in a laboratory for further testing.

He has studied 15 different hu-man tumor cell lines and has been able to inhibit all of them; dem-onstrating that the killing of the tumor cells was done through a process called apoptosis, which is programmed cell death. it’s similar to how leaves grow on trees for a period of time, but when it gets cold they are programmed to die and fall from the branches. That is what happens in programmed cell death, as opposed to non-specific necrosis or just cell killing.

“ideally, drugs or agents that are developed into specific anti-tumor compounds are ones that work through a directed mecha-nism, and apoptosis is the most desirable mechanism for these to work,” Luer explains. “On top of that, it’s also desirable that the mechanism targets transformed cells, or cancer cells, and does not target normal cells.

“We have seen there is a pathway that does just that; it targets receptors on tumor cells that trigger a cascade of enzyme activations ending up in this pro-grammed cell death,” Luer adds. “Normal cells are not affected as much because there is a differ-ence in the receptor. The receptor will bind the compound, but it will not trigger the sequence of the cascading enzymes leading to programmed cell death.”

The cascading process is simi-lar to the clotting process in blood cells in which proteins go from an inactive to an active state, and one activation cycle triggers others until a clot is formed. Through the Florida High Tech corridor council’s (FHTcc) Matching grant Research Program (MgRP), Luer and his team are looking at continued studies to characterize the cellular pathway in tumor cells that are activated with the condi-tioned medium. They are focused specifically on one of the enzymes involved in this cascading mechan-ism, caspase-9.

“We are still trying to identify the active compound or com-pounds that are in the conditioned medium,” Luer says. “At the same time we need to understand the mechanism by which it kills tumor cells. That portion of the overall picture is what we’re focusing on with the Florida High Tech corri-dor council funding.

“We’d like to identify what the compound is and generate enough of it so we can move into

Dr. carl Luer prepares the immune cells of sharks for further study.

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animal studies,” he adds. “Right now we are working with tumor cell lines, but this is the way all cancer research begins. The ulti-mate goal beyond that is to work with a pharmaceutical company down the road to develop it into a novel therapeutic agent for cancer. You have to reproduce things many times, not just do things once, and funding is always tough for us to obtain. That’s why we are very thankful to be funded through the Florida High Tech corridor council process through USF.”

Windows of opportunity Tiny new technology coming out of USF has had a huge impact on the field of sustainable energy.Xiaomei Jiang, an assistant profes-sor in usF’s Physics Department, has developed the world’s smallest organic solar cells, with the help of funding from FHTcc.

Jiang’s team of researchers have developed flexible solar cells that are less than a quarter of the size of a grain of rice. The cells convert solar energy into electrical power and can be sprayed onto surfaces. The cells are made of an organic polymer that has the same electric properties as silicon. What makes the photoactive solar coating material so revolutionary in the industry is its transparency: The material can be sprayed or painted onto windows, something that was never an option with earlier opaque materials.

“The coating we’ve developed has similar properties to silicon, but the optical properties are superior,” Jiang says. “This allows the coating to be made much thinner. its transparency is key, however, because it allows us to apply the material to windows.”

She explains that windows are a much more attractive source of solar-generating real estate. “Most commercial buildings have more windows than they do roof surface area. By developing solar

panels that work over windows, we can increase the impact of our technology.”

The USF Research Founda-tion licensed the technology to New energy Solar corporation, a subsidiary of Maryland-based new Energy technologies and the funding partner on the FHTcc MgRP project.

Jiang and New energy Tech-nologies unveiled a 4-inch proto-type of a semitransparent solar energy-generating window using the newly developed cells. The aptly named SolarWindowTM is the first of its kind to generate electri-city. Jiang’s development not only paves the way for the miniaturiza-tion of solar cells, but also makes them more inexpensive, as well. She says that there is no limit to the degree to which these tech-nologies can be upscaled.

Jiang’s work was partially funded by MgRP. As a result of the grant, Jiang was able to purchase a large-area solar simulator, a ma-chine that was essential in creating the solar cells. “i am so grateful for the Florida High Tech corridor council’s support,” she says. “The funds have helped us purchase necessary equipment and hire researchers. We wouldn’t have been able to complete the project without that help.”

Jiang is looking beyond the attention that her solar cells are receiving from leaders in the photovoltaics industry, and envi-sions her technology eventually being accessible to people in

developing countries. “By making solar-cell technology more afford-able, we can make it available to people in Africa and Southern Asia. This could have a significant impact on their lives.”

porphyrins to the rescue Thanks to the work of a USF-based researcher, porphyrins—organic pigment compounds similar to those that give blood its color—might one day provide a new level of protection against chemical and biological weapons.

Dr. Randy Larsen, chair of usF’s Chemistry Department, is working with a team of re searchers on a Department of Defense (DoD) project that is using porphyrin-based threat sensors for chemical nerve agents, blister agents and choking agents.

“The same principles we are using to design sensors are also being used to design decontami-nation materials. We want to be able to design a material that can not only sense that a threat has been deployed, but also begin decontamination of that threat,” Larsen explains. “The reason we are interested in porphyrin molecules is that they are highly florescent, so they make very good optical detectors.”

Larsen is taking a tri-fold approach to the work: He heads up a photophysics and photo-chemistry group, and is being

Scientists at USF developed technology to create the world’s smallest solar cells.

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ings were cited by a multitude of media outlets, and experts from USF were even called to Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress on the situation.

That was then. Now the story is no longer front-page news, but researchers from USF are still hard at work monitoring, predicting, educating, and helping lessen the long-term effects of the spill. The university is continuing its efforts through research expeditions and by conducting conferences and seminars, and it even maintains a dedicated website, www.marine.usf.edu/oilspill, which serves as a clearinghouse for information.

According to College of Marine Science Dean William Hogarth, there is still enough work to be done to keep his team of researchers busy for the next five to 10 years. To that end, USF has secured funding to keep its

operation in the Gulf for two more years, and is actively looking for additional backing. Hogarth and his team don’t want the oil spill to be forgotten until all of its repercussions are actually history.

slick research: The history of an oil spill

USF researchers deploy a glider during a cruise to Deepwater Horizon's spill zone.

USF

assisted by one team focusing on computation/theory and another that’s addressing porphyrin synthesis. All three groups are tied closely to the project.

“The idea is to look at the kind of threat molecule we want to target and then design receptors, a lot like the kind of receptor you would have in a biological mol-ecule,” Larsen says. “The synthesis group then makes that molecule, and we use our spectroscopy tools to see whether that molecule actually binds to the specific target we want. The unique aspect of the project is that we can design biological-like receptor groups and then attach those onto the porphyrins.”

Much of the research team’s work was done through an MgRP agreement with Draper laboratory.

“We learned a lot during that year of funding from Draper,”

Larsen says. “We developed several molecules that are very good potential sensors, and we’re continuing to explore those with DOD. Now that we have learned how to design the receptors and the sensor elements, we are using that technology to encapsulate them into porous, solid-based materials.”

Larsen says that’s necessary to give the porphyrins some kind of solid support in order for a sensing device to be made. He is looking to put them in a polymer, thin film or some kind of porous material. To do that he is partnering with colleagues at USF who specialize in metal-organic materials—high surface area, extremely porous, and lightweight materials that can entrap a lot of small molecules.

“We want to put the sensors into a material that we can attach to a physical device for making


t was called the largest envi-ronmental disaster in American

history; now it is just referred to as history. Reports of the deluge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico after an explosion crippled the Deep-water Horizon drilling rig in April 2010 dominated the news cycle for months. But since the well has been capped and all visible oil has been cleaned up, the incident is rapidly becoming a distant memo ry for all except those clos-est to it—including researchers from usF’s college of marine science.

USF was on the front lines from the outset, as research vessels outfitted with advanced tracking equipment made fre-quent voyages into the Gulf to study the size of the spill, the flow patterns of oil, and ultimately its impact on the environment and our food supply. The find-

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sensing measurements,” Larsen explains. “That is of interest both to DOD and Homeland Security.

“We did an encapsulation of one of these sensors into a metal-organic material, which has really made something very novel,” he adds. “it’s a kind of material we have not been able to make before in metal-organic materials, so it’s a pretty exciting break-through. This will be the platform from which we develop the rest of our materials.”

Scientists at USF developed technology to create the world’s smallest solar cells.

USF chemists are working with the DOD to combat chemical and biological weapons.

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colleges and schools 16 colleges and more than 150 research, service and education institutes/centers/bureaus.

academic degree programs (2010-2011)

Bachelors 98

Engineer 10

Master’s 121

Professional Doctorate 10

Research Doctorate 82

Specialist 10

number of degrees awarded (as of January 2011)

Bachelors 290,904

Master’s 81,573

Specialist 2,850

Engineer 104

Ph.D. 18,240

MD 4,865

DVM 2,360

EDD 1,459

DMD 2,365

JD 16,588

DPH 4,600

personnel (as of Fall 2010)

Full-time 4,467

Part-time 255

Graduate Assistants 4,286

Other Professionals 8,166

enrollment (as of Fall 2010) 48,784

From the presidentThe merger of the tech community and the university community in a mutually beneficial manner is one of the main tenets of the Florida High Tech corridor council. That’s why we are extremely excited about the new Florida innovation Hub currently under construction next to our campus. This “super incubator” is a microcosm of what is happening across the corridor, and will serve as the anchor of our innovation Square.

Research shows that new companies in incubators are four times more likely to succeed than those without support. Those findings in and of themselves make this a worthwhile venture. But what makes it unique is that, in addition to providing lab space, offices and shared equipment areas for high tech start-ups, it will house our main commercialization offices, the Office of Technology Licensing and UF Tech connect.

After it is completed in fall 2011, we see the Florida innovation Hub being a place where entrepreneurs, scientists, investors and students can gather and share ideas that lead to opportunities. This takes the incubator concept a step further and brings together all the elements needed for commercialization success. it makes it a win-win situation for all involved, just like the rest of the Florida High Tech corridor.

J. Bernard MachenPresident, University of Florida

uF at a glanceThe University of Florida (UF) is one of the largest research universities in the nation. With an enrollment of about 50,000 in the 2010-2011 school year, it is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. Since 1985, UF has been a member of the Association of American Universities, the prestigious higher education organization comprised of the top 63 public and private institutions in North America.

UF was awarded $678 million in sponsored research in 2009-2010. Research spans health care, agriculture, energy, natural resources and other diverse areas. UF contributes nearly $6 billion annually to Florida’s economy and is responsible for nearly 75,000 jobs.

in November 2010, UF unveiled plans for innovation Square, de-scribed as a 24/7 live/work/play urban research park environment that will bring together science and technology, business opportunities, and retail and residential space in one 40-acre location between the UF cam-pus and downtown gainesville. The first building at innovation Square, Florida innovation Hub, is expected to open in fall 2011.

construction is also under way on the UF’s Research and Academic center at Lake Nona, a major research facility in Orlando. The $44 million, 100,000-square-foot facility will house a clinical research unit from UF’s institute on Aging, expansion of the college of Pharmacy’s Ph.D. program in the emerging field of pharmacometrics, and the Orlando campus of the college of Pharmacy’s entry-level professional degree program.


a clean sweep The need to sterilize equipment and surface areas is not confined to hospital settings, so neither should the technology be restricted. That’s the mindset of Sestar technologies, a UF spin-off that engaged Florida High Tech corridor entities as far apart as gainesville and Sarasota in a collaborative research effort to utilize the latest techniques in sterilization.

“There are so many potential applications for this,” says Dr. Judith Johnson, professor of pathology, immunology and lab medicine at UF’s Emerging Pathogens institute and lead researcher on the Matching grants Research Program (MgRP) project. “What we are working on is using plasma, and in this case plasma is the fourth state of matter—ionized atoms—to sterilize and disinfect surgical equipment, medical devices and surfaces.”

Johnson cites recent stories of medical personnel unknowingly spreading disease through the use of equipment, such as endo-scopes, that wasn’t thoroughly sterilized. “it’s very difficult to properly disinfect those,” she says, “because they are damaged by autoclaving. There are issues with many of the current methods that either involve very toxic processes and may leave a residue, or damage very expensive and delicate equipment. The plasma method may avoid some of these problems.”

Johnson says the beauty of this technology is how fast it works and the potential to create portable applications for military field use or in places without electricity, such as post-earthquake Haiti. She is working at UF with Dr. Subrata Roy, professor of mechanical and

aerospace engineering. it’s his job to engineer the device, while Johnson studies its effectiveness.

“The very basic line of how you generate plasma on a surface has been developed, but there is a lot of research still going on in terms of how you make the process more efficient, how you miniaturize it so it can be portable, and how you work with surfaces that are complicated or potentially flex-ible,” Johnson says.

Johnson and Roy are looking to do more than just improve the process. “We are working with some industry partners to try and develop products as we go along. it’s a combination of getting a lot of people from the research end and also industry to tell us where the potential markets are because academics aren’t always very good at that sort of thing.”

enter Robert Brady, ceO and design director at roBrADY design in Sarasota. Sestar Technologies called him in on this MgRP project to assist in that process. While Roy’s job is the design of the products in terms of how they function, Brady’s is in how they look.

“By creating the ‘eye candy’ it begins to tell a story of where the technology could land from a commercialization standpoint,” Brady says. “We call it research to reality. Our specialization is looking to humanize technology, and that leaves the technology generation to those who are best suited for it and can focus on that, whereas they’re typically not best suited for the commercialization or the humanization of the technology to the markets at large. it makes for a nice relationship.

smart pill One day, you won’t have to remember whether or not you took your medicine—it will be able to tell you. The technology needed to support that scenario is closer than a tiny microchip and digestible antenna developed by Rizwan Bashirullah, an assistant professor in UF’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“it’s a way to time stamp when the person has taken their medication,” Bashirullah

research in action

Sestar Technologies and ROBRADY design created a compact unit for sterilizing medical equipment in a matter of seconds.

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says. “The way we envisioned this working is that the person would carry some sort of device that, once they take the pill, it activates the tag on the pill and the tag replies back to the external device.”

The external device, which can be in the form of a cell phone, watch, or an armband, can be interconnected to a database so that a doctor can monitor prescription adherence. This is expected to be a big hit among pharmaceutical companies, where manufacturers invest millions of dollars and countless hours in the development and testing of experimental drugs. All that capital can be rendered meaningless if participants in clinical trials forget or neglect to take their medication. Up until now there has been almost no way to track that.

“if you don’t know for sure the patient is taking the medica-tion, you can’t properly know whether the outcome of the study is correct,” Bashirullah says. “Knowing with a high degree of certainty whether a patient has taken their medication is also important in areas like geriatrics and mental health.”

The idea was to have a chip encapsulated in a bio-compatible coating with an antenna that is completely biodegradable. The chip passes through the body intact while the antenna dissolves. The size of the chip, less than 1 mm squared, prohi-bits the use of a traditional power source, so Bashirullah came up with a signaling method that com-municates with and powers the device. it’s a slight modification of the traditional radio-frequency identification (RFiD) method, but it’s a known commodity for Bashirullah, who specializes in working with very low-power im-plantable electronics for a variety of applications.

Bashirullah worked extensively on the chip’s development for

gainesville-based Convergent Engineering, which utilized two Matching grants Research Pro-gram (MgRP) projects to fund the research. His work has led to the creation of a spin-off company in gainesville called etect, whose mission is to commercialize the re-search that has been done around this e-pill, now known as iD-cap.

“The research that was done between convergent engineering and UF basically got the underly-ing technologies to the point we could take them out of the lab and put them in the hands of the engineers to start doing commer-cial product development,” says eric Buffkin Jr., president of eTect. “We have a team of chip design-ers in Melbourne, and we’ve got a team here working on some of the biomedical and material elements of the system.”

Buffkin, who has a background in semiconductor chips, puts the potential of the concept in perspective. He says the entire global semiconductor business is about $290 billion annually. He compared that to a recent report by the New england Health insti-tute, which said that the amount of avoidable cost in the United States health care system attributable to poor drug adherence—including everything from lost prescription revenue to extra doctor visits and lost productivity—is also $290 billion. “We think we can have some pretty significant impact on that.”

breathing easier UF researchers have invented a hand-held device that strengthens respiratory muscles and has been shown to mitigate one of the more troublesome symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. This breakthrough apparatus is expected to not only improve the quality of life for Parkinson’s sufferers, but extend it. One of the most common causes of death for those with the disease is pneumonia caused by inhaling

foreign material, such as food, during swallowing.

christine Sapienza, chair of UF’s Department of Speech, language and hearing Sciences, developed the device along with help from Paul Davenport, interim chair of the Department of Physiological Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and A. Daniel Martin, a professor in the Department of Physical therapy. The effectiveness of the eMST 150 (expiratory Muscle Strength Training) device was proven in a comprehensive study that showed significant improvement in the swallowing function of participants.

“The study on eMST for Parkinson’s disease is a landmark, as rehabilitation of aspiration pneumonia risk has been an untouched area of research,” says Dr. Michael S. Okun, co-director of the UF Movement Disorders Center and national medical director of the national Parkinson Foundation. “Hopefully this device and future iterations of this device will help to lessen one of the most common causes of death in Parkinson’s disease.”

According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, nearly 1 million Americans have the disease. As time passes, the many muscles involved in swallowing progressively weaken and become uncoordinated in the same way that Parkinson’s sufferers lose coordination and strength in their arms and legs. This device is designed to strengthen the muscles used for swallowing and breathing in the same fashion

Bashirullah holds a pill capsule designed to signal when a patient has swallowed it.

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university and a grant by the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA). It will be the cornerstone of a proposed research park adjacent to the uni-versity called Innovation Square that will connect the university with Downtown Gainesville.

The Innovation Hub is envi-sioned as a place where scien-tists, students, entrepreneurs and investors can collaborate in an environment where their syn-ergy can accelerate the creation of companies. The university’s main commercialization offices, UF Tech Connect and the Office of Technology Licensing, will be housed in the same complex, pro-viding high-tech start-ups access to advanced equipment, as well as to much-needed laboratory and office space.

This under-one-roof concept has drawn praise from John Fernandez, assistant secretary for economic development in the

U.S. Department of Commerce, who said that it was the kind of regional approach to economic development the EDA is looking to advance. It’s also the kind of groundbreaking concept from UF that has enabled Gainesville to grow its reputation as a hub for high tech industry.

a “groundbreaking” hub

UF’s state-of-the-art Innovation Hub will function as a high tech research center for collaborative projects.

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that lifting weights augments limb muscles.

The user blows into the eMST 150, which capitalizes on the concept of overload with a pressure-release valve that won’t open until enough lung pressure is generated. The amount of pressure needed to open the valve can be adjusted to increase or decrease resistance. The greater the resistance, the stronger the muscles have to be.

Sapienza says that the device has the potential to help people with other neuromuscular diseases or who have suffered head trauma. in addition, it can be used to wean peo ple off of ventilators who have become dependent on them while undergoing treatment for various conditions.

“Strength training is applicable to many populations, even healthy people,” she says. “Whether it’s the healthy young or healthy

elderly, everybody can benefit from exercise-based training of skeletal muscles.”

The eMST 150 is currently being marketed by gainesville-based manufacturer Aspire Products llC, but Sapienza is not stopping there. She hopes to further validate her Parkinson’s study findings with multi-site testing, and wants to conduct randomized clinical trials for other groups. She also hopes to look at dosage to determine how many days a week would

be optimal. The study with Parkin son’s patients included five days of training a week for a period of four weeks.

“it would be interesting to know if the same results could be accomplished with less frequency, like two or three days a week,” Sapienza says. “By manipulating the dosage as well as the amplitude of the training, you might yield better or worse results, and those things have to be studied so they can be adequately prescribed.”


he word groundbreaking conjures up different images,

from the traditional photo-op with shovels and hard hats to commemorate the commence-ment of a building project, to high tech research in untapped areas leading to a remarkable discovery. In the instance of uF’s innovation hub, both actually apply. The former took place in June 2010, and the latter is expected to begin in fall 2011.

The Innovation Hub is also groundbreaking in its approach. It is being billed as a “super incubator” designed to promote the development of high tech companies, based on research conducted at UF. It takes the incubator concept a step further and incorporates the elements needed for commercialization of an idea or finding.

The 45,000-square-foot facility is being funded jointly by the

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Speech pathologist christine Sapienza (right) helps Lou DeLaney use an expiratory Muscle Strength Training device at the UF Speech and Hearing center.

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ripples of research

Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s applied-research program has funded collaborations between more than 300 corporate partners and participating universities, resulting in a $1.3 billion ripple effect of economic impact in the 23-county region.


Florida High Tech corridor university researchers partnered with Harris corporation on more than 25 research projects to develop advanced radio and telecommunications systems.

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of Florida (UF). Faculty members and graduate students work side-by-side with industry re-searchers to solve problems that can facilitate process and lead to commercialization.

“This program has created a ripple effect of job creation, company start-ups and attracted revenue that comprises a sig-nificant portion of our state’s economy,” says FHTcc President Randy Berridge. “it’s staggering to think about what our economy would look like were it not for this investment in applied-research partnerships.”

The study concluded that the state-funded research program has leveraged $54 million over 14 years to create a direct and indirect economic impact of $1.3 billion in the 23 counties that make up the corridor, in addition to generating an equivalent im-pact of 3,276 jobs downstream.

innovation insight President guy Hagen says, “Proportionately, the MgRP is shown to create one job in the Florida economy for every $16,189 invested in the program. in 2009 alone, the

program had an impact of more than $77 million in state economic output and 187 direct, indirect, and induced jobs.”

The study utilized subtractive analysis, which removes the pro-gram’s investments and outcomes from the Florida economy. This is the most common and widely accepted method for document-ing the impact of an existing economic program, company, or activity (see chart on page 33).

ike the proverbial stone tossed into a pond, Florida’s focus on job creation and on

rebuilding its innovation economy is being aided by the ripple effect of a unique applied-research pro-gram that for nearly 15 years has brought high tech industry into partnerships with three of the na-tion’s largest research universities.

According to a study by in-novation insight inc., applied research partnerships with univer-sities are playing a substantial role in Florida’s economic recovery as companies large and small report jobs, new product lines, research funding and profitable contracts—all as the result of their working relationships with the Florida High Tech corridor council’s (FHTcc) three partner institutions.

The council’s Matching grants Research Program (MgRP) has been recognized nationally and internationally for its impact on competitiveness by providing matching dollars to fund applied research on the campuses of the University of central Florida (UcF), the University of South Florida (USF) and the University

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Harris corporation, a leading provider of satellite communications, has developed dozens of new technologies thanks to collaborations with FHTcc.


UcF Professor Leon glebov (left) founded Optigrate in 1999. The photonics company is now led by President and ceO Alexei glebov (right).

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in a presentation to Florida’s new governor Rick Scott, UcF President John Hitt, a co-founder of the Florida High Tech corridor council, said, “i’d suggest that any savvy investor would want to invest in a program that for $54 million has drawn nearly $900 million in additional business and returned more than half the original state investment in tax receipts.”

The study utilizes reports from many of the 300 corporate partners who have participated in the MgRP and have documented direct outcomes that have made a substantial financial impact on their business.

One such partner, Harris cor-poration, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Melbourne, has partnered with FHTcc on more than 25 research projects since 1998, totaling $4.4 million in corridor and corporate funds and in-kind investments. Those collaborations produced technolo-gies and innovations that were connected with at least 18 differ-ent Harris projects and technology areas valued at approximately $101 million.

“Our 12-plus-year partnership with FHTcc has reaped far more benefits than we imagined,” says Kent Buchanan, chief technology officer and vice president of en-gineering for Harris corporation. “The Matching grants Research

Program has supplemented our R&D efforts with not only signifi-cant financial investment—it has also provided our research teams with ready access to leading scien-tific experts and outstanding high tech students at partner universi-ties right here in Florida.”

Small research firms have utilized the MgRP for similar return on investment. Photonics start-up Optigrate in Orlando has leveraged the corridor council’s investment of more than $600,000 in 20 projects to attract $8.6 million in contracts and grants down-stream. The company’s success in securing Small Business innovation Research (SBiR) grants equates to a 14:1 return on investment.

“Advanced research is vital for the growth and competitiveness of

small high tech companies such as Optigrate,” says Dr. Alexei glebov, ceO of Optigrate corp. “The MgRP funding helped to leverage the U.S. government investments in technology development and was invaluable for successful conversion of lab technologies into marketable products.”

FHTcc’s MgRP reaps ben-efits not only for participating companies, but also for the State of Florida, which provides fund-ing for the council. According to the study, the direct and indirect creation of jobs and companies generated a return of $34.3 million in state tax receipts.

As Harris corporation’s experi-ence suggests, the creation of new technologies is at the heart of job creation.

A USF research project that began with Layton Bioscience’s search for a drug to treat Tourette syndrome has resulted in a mega deal involving pharma giant AstraZeneca PLc and Targacept inc. The initial $250,000 council investment in the research created a new treatment for depression, and could mean a nearly three-quarters of a billion dollar invest-ment by the two companies and a long-term source of revenue to the USF Foundation.

“This is what everybody waits for when a university is engaged in technology transfer, to get some-thing that really makes a difference to society,” says Karen Holbrook, USF’s vice president for research and innovation. “it isn’t about do-ing research because it’s exciting, but because it makes a difference. Particularly in a public institution, everything we do is for some pur-pose. This is just dynamite.”

Yet another example at USF is the development of the world’s first-ever window capable of generating electricity. in effect, USF physics professor Xiaomei Jiang’s research resulted in the use of the world’s smallest working organic solar cells to turn windows into power plants. Unlike tradition-al solar systems, cells developed

The matching grants research program has leveraged $54 million over 14 years to create a direct and indirect economic impact of $1.3 billion in the 23 counties that make up the corridor.


by New energy Technologies inc. allow their application to windows without restricting the passage of light through glass surfaces.

“We’re always keen to see innovations in our laboratories turn into meaningful commercial products,” says Valerie McDevitt, assistant vice president for re-search at USF’s Division of Patents and Licensing. “We very much look forward to the commercial development of New energy’s SolarWindow technology, which, if successful, could transform the way in which we view the use of solar energy for our homes, offices and commercial buildings.”

St. Petersburg-based energy giant Progress energy points to three MgRP projects within the energy efficiency, alternative energy and energy storage arenas, saying that they are directly linked to the sustainable development of electric transportation. corridor funding of under $250,000 directly contributed to new jobs that included eight full-time posi-tions and research positions for four graduate students, and also contributed to the education of a minimum of 30 undergraduate students who have used the infra-structure within design projects.

Seminole county-based .decimal inc., which makes custom radiation therapy products, added three employees to its Research and Development department.

One was a graduate student who worked on the company’s MgRP project while earning Master’s and Doctoral degrees at UcF. expos-ing employers to potential future hires is one of the goals of the program, says corridor council President Randy Berridge. “We’re demonstrating the incredible potential of the students coming out of our universities, and employers are getting to see them in action ... almost as if it was an audition.”

Richard Sweat, president of .decimal, added that, despite the impact of automation, “i believe this research was critical to maintaining our manufacturing competitiveness, thereby help-ing us keep current jobs. Also, we purchased the building across

the street to help us grow into the precision-machining market, so i plan to add jobs in 2011 to help support that initiative.”

Science Applications interna-tional corporation (SAic), a main-stay of central Florida’s massive modeling, simulation and training community, has partnered on five MgRP projects it credits with job creation and job retention. “We estimate that the results of the five projects have generated an additional 10 jobs to date,” says SAic group Senior Vice President Beverly Seay, adding that the company protected another five positions and anticipates adding more in the coming two years.

For more information on the MgRP, visit www.floridahightech.com/research.php.

Phelan eb

enhack

Richard Sweat, president of .decimal, attributes much of the custom radiation therapy company’s growth to a project funded by FHTcc’s Matching grants Research Program.

mgrp impacT deTails impact output employment labor income Total value added

Direct Effect -$822,353,792 167 $11,721,596 -$23,765,568

Indirect Effect -$408,534,464 -2,516 -$124,552,112 -$221,514,752

Induced Effect -$117,929,704 -927 -$37,176,948 -$68,657,664

Total Effect -$1,348,817,920 -3,276 -$150,007,456 -$313,937,920


he Florida High Tech Corridor is home to hundreds of scientists, businessmen, medical specialists and communications professionals

who are dedicated to pushing the envelope in fields that range from aviation to microelectronics and everything in between. Whether revolutionizing the medical education industry, creating custom security solutions for aerospace partners, or developing

microbes to produce biofuels, these 17 industry leaders are at the forefront of today’s technological advancements.

Many of their stories are also available online at www.facesoftechnology.com, where short videos feature them speaking firsthand about how they’re using today’s technology to create tomorrow’s breakthroughs.

T

FACES oF tEChnoloGY

PrinCiPAlS of science

Behind the innovative products and services offered by the Corridor’s high tech companies are the scientific minds that devised and developed them.

38

education: Ph.D. in computing Technology, Nova Southeastern University

First Job: Second Lieutenant, Aviation, U.S. Army

The Future: Simulations for train-ing will increase exponentially in the coming decades—huge opportunities for all.

goal: To make flight simula-tions less expensive and more pervasively used throughout all segments of pilot training.

advice: it is easier to succeed than to fail. if you fail, then you have to do it twice.

choice of Field: Academia offers an opportunity to mentor stu-dents while meeting the needs of the community.

education: BS in Aerospace engineering Technology, Kent State University

First Job: Design engineer at Morse controls in Hudson, Ohio

best read: Manufacturing engineering by Jack Walker

The Future: Medical education will begin to push the technology envelope, demanding better

simulation and training tools that will allow surgeons to practice prior to actual surgery.

goal: Develop a technology to replace live-tissue training that provides a positive experience.

“a-ha” moment: even though i am not a medical provider, i can provide tools to improve our healthcare system.

dan macchiarellaChair, Department of Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (www.erau.edu) in Daytona Beach is the world’s foremost university dedicated to teaching the science, practice and business of the world of aviation and aerospace. curricula and research cover the operation, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and management of modern aircraft and the systems that support them.

catherine strayhornCEO, IVIR Inc.

Sarasota-based information Visualization and innovative Research (iViR) inc. (www.ivirinc.com) is a medical education company that makes the invisible, visible. it utilizes innovative technology that is developed through educational objectives and provides training that can be measured and evaluated objectively.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” —Thomas Alva edison

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” —george Santayana

FACES oF tEChnoloGY


639

education: BSc in Polymer Science and engineering, Univer-sity of Science and Technology of china; MS in chemistry, Sun Yatsen University, china; Ph.D. in chemistry, University of Miami

First Job: Assistant Professor

The Future: Nanotechnology will revolutionize the medical field in the near future.

goal: To successfully commercial-ize a nanotechnology product that can be used for early cancer detection.

choice of Field: We need better technology and products to battle malignant diseases, such as cancer, that greatly affect the quality of human life.

education: BS in Mechanical engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; MS in Material Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; MBA, University of Florida

best read: execution by Bossidy and charan.

The Future: Semiconductor tech-nology will continue to penetrate more aspects of our lives and will significantly improve our quality of life. it will become a thing of the past to be surprised when you reach for the milk carton and find it empty. Your refrigerator

will know exactly what is running low and place an order to the store that automatically delivers it. Health monitoring will be done online in an unintrusive manner in which the patient does not have to put his life on hold to go to the doctor’s office for diagnostic tests. Tests will be integrated into our routine daily activities and results automatically sent to your doctor. Rather than spot checks for health, the concept of continuous monitoring will become real.

advice: Do not let life‘s unex-pected events set you back.

Qun huoFounder and President, Nano Discovery

Orlando‘s Nano Discovery (www.nanodiscoveryinc.com) develops new technologies and products for biomedical research and diagnosis using gold nanotechnology.

abdul lateefCEO, Plasma-Therm

With more than 35 years experience focusing on customer support, innovation, reliability, and low cost of ownership, Plasma-Therm (www.plasmatherm.com) in St. Petersburg is a leading provider of advanced plasma processing equipment to specialty compound semiconductor markets.

“You are who you believe you are.” —college friend

FACES oF tEChnoloGY


40

education: BA in chemistry, Middlebury college; Ph.D. in chemistry, University of califor-nia, Los Angeles; post-doctoral training in genetics and Molecu-lar Biology, University of Missouri, columbia

First Job: Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, University of Florida

The Future: industrial-strain development is a central limita-tion for improving the economics

of biofuel production. BioTork advocates that the best approach is to custom design microbes that can perform optimally under the conditions of the cheap-est industrial process, rather than engineering an expensive process around the limitations of a particular microbe. BioTork has access to proprietary technology that allows the rapid and effi-cient development of microbes through experimental evolution.

Thomas lyonsPrincipal Research Scientist, BioTork

BioTork LLc (www.biotork.com) in gainesville uses experimental evolution to develop microbial strains for the purpose of making bio-fuels. These strains will improve the economics of biofuel production in such a way that biofuels can finally compete with and begin displacing fossil fuels.

FACES oF tEChnoloGY


education: BSe, MSee, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering, University of Florida

First Job: AT&T Bell Labs

The Future: A tremendous growth in personalized medicine, including: smart pills that can dynamically monitor their environment to help improve their effectiveness; in-body systems that can both monitor and improve patient care (e.g., true closed-loop insulin delivery

for diabetics); and medicine and devices that can be tailored to individuals or tailor themselves to the individual patient.

goal: in the short term, a smart phone that works right. in the long term, a way to enter data into a portable device that is as fast as a keyboard.

advice: No matter how lucrative, do not work with people you don’t get along with.

neil r. euliano iiCEO, eTect

gainseville’s eTect (www.etectbio.com) develops a novel communication system that allows for battery-less communication from inside the body to outside the body. Our first product is a medication compliance system that allows pills to send out messages when they have been swallowed.

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.” —Ben Franklin


education: BS in engineering, University of central Florida

First Job: gas station attendant

best read: good to great by Jim collins

The Future: Today we are seeing a shift from conventional power to alternative power, inspired by the awareness of the need to change for the future of our environment and fueled by the

renewable energy initiatives of our governments. Power elec-tronics need to be more efficient to reduce wasted energy, have greater performance so we can push the boundaries of their capabilities, and cheaper to make new renewable systems more affordable for everyone. This is all causing the power electronics field to shift from what used to be a supportive role to an enabling technology and a field of its own.

education: BSAAe, Purdue University; eMBA, St. Joseph’s University

First Job: Systems engineer at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, cA

best read: The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Future: We see a continu-ous and elevated need for cyber security—securing government, industry and private/individual interests. There is a need to persistently protect information

systems, networks and the confi-dential and personal information that lies within these systems. The WikiLeaks incident has re-emphasized the recognition that all information has to be protected.

goal: To establish a series of technology platforms that will act/enable security boundaries using encryption, key manage-ment, trusted architecture, and other leading technologies that will be cornerstones in protecting our critical infrastructure, national and personal interests.

antoine KhouryPresident, ApECOR

ApecOR (www.apecor.com) is a research and development company in Orlando that specializes in cutting-edge power electronics. it transforms power from all types of sources, such as battery, solar, and fuel cells into power that can be utilized by many different types of systems.

John WalshPresident, Sypris Electronics LLC

Tampa‘s Sypris electronics (www.sypris.com) is a leading supplier of high-assurance security solutions and custom electronic products to the United States and to international governments, as well as to global aerospace and defense prime contractors.

“You work for yourself and not for your employ-er, so whatever you do, be the best at it.” —Khoury’s father

FACES oF tEChnoloGY

42

education: Ph.D. in Materials Science and engineering, cornell University

First Job: eastman Kodak Research Labs

best read: creativity Revealed by Scott Jeffrey and How Successful People Think by John c. Maxwell

goal: Make it easy for our clients and partners to abandon dirty, expensive and inefficient manufacturing practices.

The Future: What’s very exciting is that we are creating a real platform for green manufacturing, cradle-to-cradle. The product being manufactured, itself, is not the only thing that needs to be green, but also the processes used to make it. We are using light (lasers) as a materials-processing tool. This gives us the capability of starting with very mundane and ordinary materials and turning them into very smart materials.

education: MS in Physics of Nuclear Dosimetry and Protection, Leningrad Polytechnic institute; Ph.D. in Optics, State Optical institute

First Job: Research scientist at a government laboratory in the USSR

The Future: Holographic optical elements will become one of the main components in the optical industry.

goal: To make complex holograms in glass and move our technology to imaging optics and data storage.

advice: After getting my MS degree, i wanted an engineering job. My dad told me that education must be first, so i entered the Ph.D. program. This was the basis of further success.

choice of Field: The invention of lasers in the ‘60s inspired me to change my field to optics.

nathaniel QuickPresident, AppliCote Associates

Lake Mary‘s Applicote Associates (http://applicote.com) is a materials and process technology development company that makes the world a cleaner place by eliminating all toxins from the fabrication of electronic materials and devices.

leon glebovVice President R&D, OptiGrate

Optigrate corp. (www.optigrate.com) in Orlando produces holographic optical elements inscribed inside of a glass plate that are used for pre-cise laser beam control and fine spectroscopy. They enable a dramatic increase of power of laser systems and resolution of spectral analyzers.

“Be ashamed to die until you’ve won some victory for humanity.” —Horace Mann

FACES oF tEChnoloGY



education: BS in electrical engineering, University of South Florida

First Job: Delivering newspapers for the Stars and Stripes in germany at age 11

best read: goedel, escher and Bach by Douglas Hofstadter and Blink by Malcolm gladwell

The Future: everything is converging to two panes of glass. Fixed and mobile glass powered

by information, applications, streaming video, and data distributed from data centers all over the world. The pane of glass is just your digital window to the world.

goal: Never stop learning and growing; technology fuels this for me.

advice: My father and uncle convinced me that i should start my own business while in college.

education: MS in Mechanical engineering, University of Brasilia; MS in computer Science, University of West Florida; Ph.D. in computer Science, Tulane University

First Job: Research engineer, Federal University of Brasilia

The Future: i believe that we will see a growing attention to teamwork and mixed-initiative systems, where humans

seamlessly collaborate with automated software systems that are capable to adapt and evolve.

goal: Develop new approaches to cyber defense and critical infrastructure protection. We have made great progress in mixed-initiative systems combining humans and automation, building systems that are self-defending, capable to learn and capable to work with humans as team members.

david robinsonPresident, DSM

Lakeland’s DSM Technology consultants (www.dsm.net) enables its customers to focus on their business rather than the technology infra-structure that runs it, and has built the largest inland managed data center network in Florida.

marco carvalhoResearch Scientist, Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition

The institute for Human and Machine cognition (www.ihmc.us), in Ocala, is a multi-disciplinary research institute focused on human-centered computing, which is about fitting technologies to people, and recognizing that the human is an integral part of the system.

“We work hard so we can play hard!” —Self

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” —Albert einstein

FACES oF tEChnoloGY

44

education: MA in Multimedia, california State University, east Bay

First Job: Water Quality Analytical chemist

best read: emergence by Steven Johnson

The Future: The use of AR solutions in more industrial settings and the alchemy of mobile apps interacting with

centralized open-source Web apps taking the place of large, costly proprietary intranet solutions for large corporations.

goal: To construct a large enough lab utilizing the latest interactive technologies to allow us to begin exploring applications that are currently only ideas.

advice: Start your own business. i did. i’ll never look back.

education: BS in Building construction, University of Florida

First Job: Project manager in the civil construction industry

accidental discovery: Timing is everything—our first product was a device that trained drivers to achieve better fuel economy. We were at the peak of development as fuel prices were tumbling.

The Future: tXtBlocker will expand compatibility to 95 percent of commercially available mobile phones and be available to more than 4 billion consumers worldwide.

goal: Simplification—i’m down to just one phone now.

advice: Take a chance—if you don’t, nothing will happen.

stephen barkerPresident, Digital Frontiers Media

Digital Frontiers Media (www.digitalfrontiersmedia.com) is a multimedia production company based in Sarasota that develops eye-catching interactive media, national attention-getting websites using the “freakishly brilliant” Drupal framework, and custom programming solutions, including Augmented Reality (AR) and mobile apps.

stan van meterPresident, United Efficiency Inc.

Lake Mary-based United efficiency is the developer of the life-saving tXtBlocker® service (www.tXtBlocker.com), which stops texting, e-mailing, facebooking and Web surfing when behind the wheel to keep people safe on the road.

“Sometimes we do get taken by surprise. For example, when the Internet came along, we had it as a fifth or sixth priority.” —Bill gates

“Find a way.” —Lon Kruger

FACES oF tEChnoloGY



education: BA in Management, University of South Florida

First Job: Salesperson for Fourdee Products

best read: good to great by Jim collins

The Future: chemical heating/cooling systems are evolving to the micro- and nano-tech levels of sophistication. Using these developing technologies, we

expect to be at the forefront of certain product categories.

goals: Translate the discoveries made by our scientific team into real-world products that improve on what is currently available. Build a class organization that makes a difference in the lives of its customers and employees.

advice: Don’t look back. But sometimes i peek.

education: BS in Aerospace engineering, University of central Florida (UcF); MS in Mechanical engineering, UcF

First Job: Ride & Show engineer, Walt Disney World co.

best read: 7 Habits of Highly effective People by Steven covey

The Future: consumer-driven product design; any individual,

regardless of their age or technical ability, will be able to create, produce, and sell their own products.

goal: To establish a company that has numerous forms of direct-digital manufacturing.

advice: Have passion for what you are doing or go find what you have passion for doing.

Jim donovanCEO, TempTroll

TempTroll, a subsidiary of Donovan industries inc. (www.donovan industries.com), is located in Tampa and conducts R&D and manufactures disposable, chemical heating and cooling products.

michael siemerPresident, Mydea Technologies Corporation

Orlando-based Mydea (www.mydeatechnologies.com) is like a 3-D Kinkos that helps both companies and individuals quickly design, customize and produce new product creations using the latest 3-D computer-aided design, 3-D printing and direct-digital manufacturing technologies.

“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.” —Theodore Roosevelt

“It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” —eleanor Roosevelt

FACES oF tEChnoloGY

46

education: Ph.D. in Microbiology and cell Science, University of Florida

First Job: McDonald’s

The Future: More and more, microbes will be the platform by which the majority of technological advances in our society are created.

goal: in general, not to rely exclusively on those technologies that already exist, rather to

continually search for new approaches to dealing with challenges.

advice: The best advice i took was from my family, to continue my education in pursuit of my Ph.D.

choice of Field: it was driven by my fascination with the complexity of microorganisms, from their molecular physio-logy to their impact on a global scale.

christopher J. reuterVice President of Science, Osprey Biotechnics

Osprey Biotechnics inc. (www.ospreybiotechnics.com) in Sarasota, produces innovative microbial products for a wide variety of environmental, agricultural and industrial applications.

“If you’ve only done something once, then you haven’t done it at all.” —Unknown

FACES oF tEChnoloGY



n just 15 short years, the Florida High Tech corridor has not only become recognized for its

efforts to support high tech industry but, in fact, has achieved success in developing tech clusters as demonstrated in a recent com-parison to several of the nation’s widely known technology regions.

Looking at Tech America Foundation’s cybercities Report, the Florida High Tech corridor ranks favorably alongside well-known tech capitals in california, Texas, and North carolina, with robust activity across a variety of sectors.

There are currently more than 11,000 companies active in 10 high tech sectors in the corridor. That is four times greater than what was reported when the Florida High

Tech corridor council was created just 15 years ago. Right now, the region is estimated to be home to 70 percent of the state’s high tech employment.

While it covers a larger geo-graphical area, from a population perspective, the corridor—with 8.2 million residents—is compa-rable to: california’s Silicon Valley, which includes San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland; the Austin, Houston, San Antonio region in Texas; and North carolina, where Raleigh, Durham and chapel Hill make up the Research Triangle. And with the exception of Silicon Valley, which leads all areas in terms of high tech companies, the corridor is closely matched with the other two areas in that category.

Three out of Florida’s four cybercities highlighted in the report—Orlando, Tampa- St. Petersburg and Palm Bay- Melbourne—are located in the Florida High Tech corridor’s 23-county region. The fourth is the Fort Lauderdale-Miami market in South Florida.

The corridor’s unique mix of industries includes agritechnol-ogy, aviation and aerospace, digital media and interactive entertainment, financial services, information technology, life sci-ences and medical technology, microelectronics and nanotech-nology, modeling, simulation and training, optics and photonics, and sustainable energy.

The corridor region boasts three of the nation’s largest

i

the

A look at the country’s top regions for innovative industry reveals that Florida’s High Tech corridor is holding its own.

by thecorridornumbers


research universities: the University of central Florida (UcF) in Orlan-do, the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa and the University of Florida (UF) in gainesville. UcF is the nation’s second-largest uni-versity, while UF is ranked sixth and USF is eighth, representing a com-bined student body of more than 150,000. each year, the schools receive hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding.

The Research Triangle, an-chored by North carolina State University, Duke University and the University of North carolina at chapel Hill, respectively, is known for aerospace, aviation and defense, biotechnology, pharma-ceuticals, life sciences, energy and information and communications technology. The high concentra-

tion of life sciences companies in the area includes glaxoSmithKline, Merck & co. and Wyeth.

While “The Triangle” had a head start, the corridor is catch-ing up in the life sciences with the recent relocation of a research giant, the Sanford-Burnham Medi-cal Research institute, to Orlando’s new “Medical city.” Additionally, Draper Laboratory now has loca-tions in Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Key high tech industries in Silicon Valley are electronics, tele-communications, bioscience and environmental technology, but the area is best known for computer science, with local businesses in-cluding companies such as Apple, cisco, google and HP. The corri-dor is home to big industry players like Harris Semiconductor and

The corridor’s emerging life sciences cluster is breathing new life into the region’s historic agricultural industry. Here UcF researcher Henry Daniell is utilizing genetically modified plants to grow life-saving vaccines.

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Jabil circuit, as well as significant divisions of L-3 communications and DRS Technologies.

Silicon Valley’s roots can be traced to a post-World War ii deci-sion by the leadership at Stanford University to lease some land for an office park geared toward high tech companies. While that model has been followed around the country, some of the most recent successes can be found in the cor-ridor with the high tech incubation areas adjacent to UcF, USF and UF.

Texas is home to a high con-centration of businesses in support of aerospace, defense, biotech, life sciences, information and comput-er technology, petroleum refining and chemical products and energy. The University of Texas campuses in Austin and San Antonio are the biggest contributors to the research efforts in the region, and Shell Oil, Marathon, Schlumberger, Halliburton and alternative energy companies, such as Horizon Wind energy in Houston, contribute to the state’s active energy sector.

While Shell and others are look-ing for sustainable energy alterna-tives, there are several companies in the corridor such as WattNext of eustis that are leading the way in solar research, while energy storage is the focus at Orlando’s Planar energy and Solicore inc. in Lakeland, which develop battery technologies.

The cybercities Report shows that one of the greatest concentra-tions of high tech employment in the country can be found in a portion of the corridor. The Palm

Bay-Melbourne area ranks fifth among all U.S. cities, with a full 15 percent of the private sector workforce comprised of hightech workers. it was one of only seven cybercities to add jobs in 2009.

The report also indicated that Tampa-St. Petersburg recorded the fastest high tech wage growth in the entire country in 2009, with a jump of 6 percent over the previous year. Orlando ranked 11th among U.S. cybercities in the total number of consumer electronics manufacturing jobs, while Palm Bay-Melbourne was sixth in electronics components and accessories manufacturing, and Tampa-St. Petersburg was 15th. Tampa-St. Petersburg was 16th among U.S. cities in both electro-medical equipment manufacturing

and photonics manufacturing, and Palm Bay-Melbourne was ninth in terms of space and defense systems manufacturing jobs.

The report mentions eight states, including Florida, that have multiple technology hubs within their borders. According to the report, “These states contain fac-tors that are attractive to the tech industry, such as strong research universities, a skilled workforce, an attractive quality of life, and a tech-savvy population.”

There is no doubt that those four qualities can be found in abundance in Florida. Those, along with a favorable business climate—and help from the Florida High Tech corridor council—are reasons to expect continued growth in all tech sectors in the corridor over the next 15 years.

u.s. Technology capitalshigh Tech california Texas north carolina Floridaregion Silicon Valley Austin Region Research Triangle Florida High Tech Corridor

high Tech 23,376 16,631 11,800 11,588companies

population 8,250,000 8,105,000 8,340,000 8,290,000

cybercities Oakland Austin Charlotte Orlando

San Francisco Houston Raleigh Palm Bay San Jose San Antonio Durham Tampa

Univ. of California, BerkleyStanford University

San José State University

Univ. of TexasUniv. of HoustonRice University

University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill

Duke UniversityNorth Carolina State Univ.

Univ. of Central FloridaUniversity of South Florida

University of FloridaFlorida Institute of Tech.

major research

noW onlinE!FhtCC’s new Corridor

Company Directory

• An extensive database of high tech businesses in the 23-county Corridor region

• Thousands of listings organized by industry

• Includes workforce boards, research partners, economic development organizations, and innovative companies

Visit www.floridahightech.com

corridor

company

directory


he Florida High Tech corridor includes several leading industries. Here‘s a look at the most recent informa-tion available about the largest ones. These estimates were generated from information by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics census of employment and Wages, annualized for the year 2009 (the most current annual

figures available). Additional data and calibration information were supplied by the Florida Agency for Workforce innovation/Labor Market Statistics center, Quarterly census of employment and Wages Program, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The definition of “high tech” used in this directory was based upon the definition used by the AeA (formerly the American electronics Association) as used in their “cyberStates” reports, plus additional industry codes that identify aerospace, photonics and optics, non-depository financial services and biomedical technology companies.

aerospaceFlorida’s aerospace cluster includes a variety of high tech industries that manufacture products for aerospace, avionics and space applications in both the private and government sectors. With the presence of NASA, cape canaveral and several defense administrative centers and military bases, central Florida has attracted top technology companies for nearly

50 years.

Number of Establishments ............................ 20,336Number of Employees ................................... 247,887Total Annual Payroll ....................................... $15.3 billionAverage Annual Salary ................................... $61,908Average Employees per Establishment ......... 12.2

Number of Establishments ............................ 126Number of Employees ................................... 15,978Total Annual Payroll ....................................... $1.2 billionAverage Annual Salary ................................... $76,473Average Employees per Establishment ......... 126.8

40.22%

6.45%

16.88%

4.50%

7.25%

23.45%1.25%

Florida high Tech corridor employment by industry cluster

42.87%

6.68% 0.55%

49.89%Search, Detection, Navigation, guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and instrument Manufacturingguided Missile and Space Vehicle ManufacturingOther Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary equipment ManufacturingAircraft Manufacturing

AerospaceFinancial Servicesinformation TechnologyMedical Technologies

MicroelectronicsOther combinedPhotonics

SECtor StAtiStiCS

distribution of employees by primary product

industry FACtS & Figures

T


Financial services“Financial Services” refers specifically to the high-skill technology operations of non-depository financial, securities and commodities, and insurance institutions. central Florida has built a reputation as one of the best places to establish financial technol-ogy and support facilities for some of the top financial, credit, insurance and banking companies in the world. This sector is designated as a “high-impact” economic target

for the State of Florida.

information Technology“information Technology” refers to companies or divisions whose primary function is the development and delivery of digital data and communications, including software, databases, internet and networking, and computer system design and integration. Though generally classified as a service industry, information technology companies

can often be considered as manufacturing value-added knowledge (electronic) products.




insurance Agencies and BrokeragesDirect Property and casualty insurance carriersFinancial Transactions Processing, Reserve and clearinghouse ActivitiesSecurities BrokerageAll Other Sectors

custom computer Programming Servicescomputer Systems Design ServicesData Processing, Hosting, and Related ServicesSoftware PublishersAll Other Sectors

8.03%

41.40%

21.39%

20.94%

8.28%

12.52%4.95%

32.01%

28.82%

21.70%

SECtor StAtiStiCS



medical Technologies“Medical technologies” is an encompassing definition for a large group of health and biomedical-related companies, including biotech (products based upon tissues and organisms), pharmaceuticals, and especially electromedical and device manufactur-ers. This cluster also includes specialized medical information technology companies (informatics, genomics and services) and research and development companies.

microelectronics“Microelectronics technology” signifies advanced manufacturing companies that manufacture computer components and subsystems, printed circuit boards, integrated circuits and processors, micro-electromechanical systems (MeMS) and microsystems, and of course, silicon wafers. This cluster also includes specialized support companies such as contract manufacturers/assembly houses, as well as

circuit design and research/engineering companies.

Number of Establishments ............................ 254Number of Employees ................................... 11,165Total Annual Payroll ....................................... $552 millionAverage Annual Salary ................................... $49,428Average Employees per Establishment ......... 44.0

Number of Establishments ............................ 235Number of Employees ................................... 17,962Total Annual Payroll ....................................... $1.2 billionAverage Annual Salary ................................... $66,707Average Employees per Establishment ......... 76.4



Surgical and Medical instrument ManufacturingSurgical Appliance and Supplies ManufacturingPharmaceutical Preparation ManufacturingOphthalmic goods Manufacturingelectromedical and electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing

Bare Printed circuit Board ManufacturingOther electronic component Manufacturingelectronic computer ManufacturingPrinted circuit Assembly (electronic Assembly) ManufacturingSemiconductor and Related Device ManufacturingOther categories

SECtor StAtiStiCS

10.49%

33.06%

26.20%

15.46%

14.68%

20.94%

8.73%

27.78%

23.12%

13.87%

5.56%




other Technologies“Other Technologies” includes all companies that are defined as high tech by the AeA and the Florida High Tech corridor council, but aren’t focused upon as one of the corridor council’s primary sectors. This category includes telecommunications, miscel-laneous audio/visual and media equipment manufacturing, as well as miscellaneous engineering, technical and scientific services.


MediaResearch and engineeringTelecom

optics and photonics“Optics and photonics” refer to technologies based upon the manipulation of light (photons). These include sensors, lasers, displays, precision optics (mirrors and lenses), fiberoptics and telecommunication optics (routers, multiplexers, etc.) and many other complex devices. Photonics technology fueled the telecommunications boom through the development of fast, solid-state devices, and many other industries continue to

benefit from advances in this sector.

Number of Establishments ............................ 96Number of Employees ................................... 3,110Total Annual Payroll ....................................... $170 millionAverage Annual Salary ................................... $54,659Average Employees per Establishment ......... 32.4

instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and controlling industrial Process VariablesOther Measuring and controlling Device ManufacturingOptical instrument and Lens Manufacturing

13.46%

47.69%38.85%

SECtor StAtiStiCS

41.30%

6.07%

52.64%


alachua county department of growth management352.374.5249 http://growth-management.alachua.fl.us

central Florida development council inc.863.534.4370 www.cfdc.org

citrus county economic development council inc.863.551.4760 www.citrusedc.com

city of cocoa321.433.8800 www.cocoafl.org

city of deltona386.878.8100 www.deltonafl.gov

desoto county economic development office863.993.4800 www.co.desoto.fl.us

economic development commission of Florida’s space coast800.535.0203 www.spacecoastedc.org

economic development corporation of sarasota county941.309.1200 www.edcsarasotacounty.com

enterprise Flagler800.899.7962 www.enterpriseflagler.org

enterprise Florida inc.407.956.5600 www.eflorida.com

Florida economic development council inc.813.977.3332 www.fedc.net

gainesville area chamber of commerce352.334.7100 www.gainesvillechamber.com

gainesville council for economic outreach352.378.7300 www.gceo.com

haines city economic development commission863.422.2525 www.hainescityedc.com

hardee county chamber of commerce863.773.6967 www.hardeecc.com

hernando county office of business development352.540.6400 www.hernandobusiness.com

highlands county economic development commission888.388.4233 www.highlandsedc.com

hillsborough county economic development department813.272.7232 www.hillsboroughcounty.org/econdev/

lake county economic growth and redevelopment352.343.9899 http://egr.lakecountyfl.gov

lakeland economic development council863.687.3788 www.lakelandedc.com

manatee economic development council941.748.3411 www.manateeedc.com

metro orlando economic development commission407.422.7159 www.orlandoedc.com

nature coast business development council inc. (levy county)352.486.5470 www.naturecoast.org

ocala/marion county economic development corporation352.291.4410 www.ocalaedc.org

osceola county economic development department407.742.4200 www.chooseosceola.com

pasco economic development council888.607.2726 www.pascoedc.com

pinellas county economic development888.759.5627 www.pced.org

putnam county chamber of commerce386.328.1503 www.putnamcountychamber.org

seminole county department of economic development407.665.7135 www.businessinseminole.com

st. petersburg economic development department727.893.7100 www.stpeteshines.com

sumter county economic development council352.793.3003 www.sumtercountytoday.com/scedc.asp

Tampa bay partnership813.878.2208 www.tampabay.org

Tampa hillsborough economic development corporation813.218.3300 www.tampaeDc.com

volusia county department of economic development800.554.3801 www.volusia.org/economicdevelopment

EConoMiC DEVEloPMEnt orGAniZAtionS


general TechnologY

Florida business incubation association12201 Research Pkwy., Ste. 501Orlando, FL 32826Dr. Thomas O’Neal, chairman407.882.1120 • [email protected]

institute of electrical and electronics engineers (ieee) orlando sectionDr. Xun gong407.823.5762 • [email protected]/orlando

suncoast Technology Forum7282 55th Ave. east, #242 Bradenton, FL 34203941.870.0078 • info@ suncoasttechnologyforum.comwww.suncoasttechnologyforum.com

Tampa bay Technology ForumP.O. Box 20067, Tampa, FL 33622Amy Norman, ceO813.341.8283 • [email protected]

Techamerica Florida12565 Research Pkwy., Ste. 300 Orlando, FL 32826407.882.2425 [email protected]/florida

agriTechnologY

agricultural institute of FloridaP.O. Box 940625, Maitland, FL 32794Lisa Lochridge321.214.5206 • [email protected]

dairy Farmers incorporated166 Lookout Pl., Ste. 100 Maitland, FL 32751Michele cooper, ceO407.647.8899 • [email protected]

Florida citrus mutualP.O. Box 89, Lakeland, FL 33802Mike Sparks executive Vice President/ceO863.682.1111 • [email protected]

Florida citrus processors association1501 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland, FL 33803Kristen gunter, executive Director863.680.9908 • [email protected]

Florida Farm bureauP.O. Box 147030, gainesville, FL 32614John Hoblick, President352.378.8100 • [email protected]

Florida Fertilizer & agrichemical association58 4th St. NW, Ste. 200 Winter Haven, FL 33881Mary c. Hartney, President863.293.4827 • [email protected]

Florida Fruit & vegetable associationP.O. Box 948153, Maitland, FL 32794Mike Stuart, President321.214.5200 • [email protected]

highlands county growers association6419 US 27 South, Sebring, FL 33876Ray Royce, executive Director863.385.8091 • [email protected]

aviaTion & aerospace

Florida airports council250 John Knox Road, Ste. 2 Tallahassee, FL 32303Ted Soliday, President850.224.2964 • [email protected]

Florida aviation aerospace allianceP.O. Box 1163, Tallahassee, FL 32302Bennett Napier, cAe Managing Director850.224.0711 [email protected]

Florida aviation Trades association4685 Longbow Dr., Titusville, FL 32796Robert grant, President321.383.9662robert.grant@signatureflight.comwww.fata.aero

space FloridaMS: SPFL M6-306, Room 9030 Kennedy Space center, FL 32899Frank DiBello321.730.5301 [email protected]

digiTal media/inTeracTive enTerTainmenT

digital media alliance Florida690 Osceola Ave., Ste. 700 Winter Park, FL 32789Jud French Jr., executive Director407.629.2772 • [email protected]

international game developers association orlando chapterDustin [email protected]/orlando

orlando acm siggraphJim Spoto, [email protected]

Financial services

Florida association of insurance and Financial advisors1836 Hermitage Blvd., Ste. 200 Tallahassee, FL 32308Sharon Heierman, ceO850.422.1701 • [email protected]

Florida bankers associationP.O. Box 1360, Tallahassee, FL 32302Alejandro “Alex” Sanchez, President850.224.2265 [email protected]

Florida venture ForumP.O. Box 961, Tampa, FL 33601Robin Kovaleski Lester, executive Director813.335.8116 [email protected]

inFormaTion TechnologY

armed Forces communications and electronics association (aFcea) orlando-central Florida chapterSteve Painter, President407.380.0076 x 102 [email protected]

association of information Technology professionals, north-central Florida chapterP.O. Box 12375, gainesville, FL 32604Michael Lucas, President352.582.2487 www.aitp-ncfl.org

inDUStrY orGAniZAtionS & trADE ASSoCiAtionS


association of information Technology professionals, polk chapterP.O. Box 1144, eaton Park, FL 33840Brian Terrell, [email protected]

citrus iT allianceP.O. Box 816, Lecanto, FL 34460Steve Nelson, Presidentwww.citrusitalliance.org

healthcare information and management systems society (himss) central & north Florida chapterDick Rauber, President352.567.6629 • [email protected]

iT FloridaSummit east, 1700 Summit Lake Dr. Tallahassee, FL 32317Matt Doster, executive Director800.748.1120 • [email protected]

society for information managementcentral Florida chapteredwin F. Nassiff, [email protected]/?page=cflwelcome

liFe sciences/ medical Technologies

bioFlorida525 Okeechobee Blvd., Ste. 1500 West Palm Beach, FL 33401c. Russell Allen, President561.653.3839 • [email protected]

bioorlando301 e. Pine St., Ste. 900, Orlando, FL 32801407.422.7159 www.bioorlando.com

Florida medical manufacturers’ consortium11001 Roosevelt Blvd. N., Ste. 150 St. Petersburg, FL 33716geary A. Havran, [email protected]

microelecTronics/ nanoTechnologY

international microelectronics and packaging society Florida chapterDelip “Doug” Bokil, President781.354.0162 • [email protected]/chapters/florida/index.htm

international nanotech business directorywww.nanovip.com

particle engineering research centerP.O. Box 116135, gainesville, FL 32611Brij Moudgil, Director352.846.1194 • [email protected]

surface mount Technology association (smTa) space coast chapterMelbourne, FLScott Nelson, President321.727.5078 • [email protected]/chapters/chapters_detail.cfm?chapter_id=114

modeling, simulaTion & Training

institute for simulation and Training affiliates3100 Technology Pkwy., Orlando, FL 32826Randall Shumaker, Director407.882.1300 • [email protected]

The international council on systems engineering, central Florida chapterDave cleotelis, President727.302.2970dave_g_cleotelis@raytheon.comwww.cfincose.shorturl.com

The international council on systems engineering, orlando chapter12901 Science Dr., Orlando, FL 32026Tom Herald, [email protected]/orlando

The international council on systems engineering, space coast chapterMelbourne, FLJoe Vandeville, [email protected]/scc

The international Test and evaluation association12350 Research Pkwy. Orlando, FL 32826David Paul grow, President407.384.5679 • [email protected]/southeast_region.asp

national center for simulation3280 Progress Dr., Orlando, FL 32826Thomas Baptiste, executive Director407.384.6111 • tbaptiste@ simulationinformation.comwww.simulationinformation.com

national defense industrial association: central Florida chapterP.O. Box 780263, Orlando, FL 32878Matt Fair, [email protected]

opTics & phoTonics

Florida photonics clusterOrlando, FLAlex Fong, President407.422.3171 • [email protected]

international society for optical engineering (spie)1000 20th St., Bellingham, WA 98225 360.676.3290 www.spie.org

laser institute of america (lia)13501 ingenuity Dr., Ste. 128Orlando, FL 32826Peter Baker, executive Director407.380.1553 www.laserinstitute.org

optical society of america2010 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, D.c. 20036elizabeth A. Rogan, executive Director202.223.8130 • [email protected]

society for information display (sid)1475 S. Bascom Ave., Ste. 114 cambell, cA 95008Tom Miller, executive Director408.879.3901 • [email protected]

susTainable energY

Florida green building coalition3389 Plowshare Road Tallahassee, FL 32309cindy Hall, President850.894.3422 • [email protected]

Florida institute for sustainable energygainesville, FLDr. David Norton, interim Director352.392.8049 • [email protected]

Florida solar energy industries association31 West Bay Ave. Longwood, FL 32750R. Bruce Kershner, executive Director407.339.2010 • [email protected]

power center for utility explorationsUniversity of South Florida4202 e. Fowler Ave., eNB 118 Tampa, FL 33620Dr. Alexander Domijan Jr., Director813.974.6854 • [email protected]://pcue.eng.usf.edu/webpages/ index.htm

inDUStrY orGAniZAtionS & trADE ASSoCiAtionS

fl orida.HigH.TecH 201160

advertiser .............................................................page

Allen Dyer Doppelt Milbrath & Gilchrist, P.A. ................29

Brevard Workforce ..........................................................36

Central Florida Development Council ............................46

EDC of Florida’s Space Coast.........................................51

Everything Ink .................................................................65

Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center ...............................36

Haines City Economic Development Council Inc. ..........56

Lockheed Martin .............................................................ifc

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission....56

Moffi tt Cancer Center ....................................................34

Pasco County Economic Development Council .............35

Pinellas County Economic Development .........................3

Progress Energy ..............................................................14

Seminole State College of Florida .................................51

advertiser .............................................................page

Seminole County Economic Development ...................ibc

Small Business Development Center at USF .................28

South Florida Community College .................................60

Tampa Bay Partnership .....................................................9

Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance .......................................47

UCF Offi ce of Research ....................................................6

University of Florida ..........................................................4

University of South Florida ...............................................8

University of South Florida Polytechnic .........................13

Valencia College .............................................................14

Volusia County Economic Development Council ...........56

Volusia Workforce Center for Business Excellence ........34

Workforce Central Florida ..............................................29

Worknet Pinellas .............................................................47

fl orida.HigH.TecH Magazine

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ViSit FhtCC onlinE!the Florida high tech Corridor Council's website offers valuable resources, including:

• A new Corridor Company Directory that lists workforce boards, research partners, high tech businesses and more

• Faces of Technology videos featuring Corridor innovators

• The latest news from the Corridor

www.fl oridahightech.com

fl orida.HigH.TecH 2011

special secTion

Year in reviewFhTcc annual reporT2009-2010

Dear Fellow Floridians:

Despite the continuing economic challenges, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC) once again ended another year with inter-national acclaim for its programs and partnership initiative of three renowned research universities, the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida.

In September, the Council was honored as one of four winners of the U.S. State Science and Technology Institute’s (SSTI) 2010 Excel-lence in Technology-Based Economic Development Award. Recog-nizing our Matching Grants Research Program, SSTI President Dan Berglund said, “The Florida High Tech Corridor Council has a long-standing, impressive track record of commercialization by leveraging university resources.”

I have to agree with him. In 14 years, FHTCC’s Matching Grants Research Program (MGRP) has leveraged nearly $55 million into an impressive return of $731 million in quantifiable downstream impacts, $34 million in state tax receipts, 3,300 jobs, $314 million contributed to Florida’s GDP, 125 patents, more than 2,100 student research positions and a partner list spanning 350 high tech companies … all generating a combined economic impact of more than $1.3 billion.

Our workforce development initiatives reached new heights as well when our tech-PATH program gave educators an up-close look inside a working biotech laboratory during its first-ever Life Sciences techCAMP held at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in April. To top off the year, techPATH was honored by STEMflorida

as one of the winners of its 2010 Business-Education Partnership Award, in recognition of the numerous high tech industry partners and school systems from across the 23-county Corridor working together to provide inspiring educational experiences for teachers and students.

FHTCC also made a considerable push to support growing small businesses this year. Not only did the Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center (www.flvec.com) continue to generate more traffic (unique site visitors totaled 57,000), but it also serviced more small business owners through social media by providing helpful tips and links via Facebook and Twitter.

It is programs such as these that have built the Corridor into a model for economic development recognized by the International Economic Development Council, SSTI and even the U.S. Government, when in June, the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand requested that I share our FHTCC partnership story with business, academic and governmen-tal leaders attending a special conference in Chiang Mai, a city in the Northern Province of Thailand.

Through this report, I hope you will learn more about the compre-hensive approach that FHTCC has developed over its 14 years to grow high tech industry and innovation through research, workforce and marketing partnerships in our 23-county Corridor.

Best regards,

Randy BerridgeFHTCC President

GroWinG hiGh tECh inDUStrYDespite the significant challenges presented this year, the Florida High Tech corridor council (FHTcc) continued gaining recognition as a major player on the international stage of economic development. The 14-year-old initiative of three renowned research universities, the University of central Florida (UcF), the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Florida (UF), continues to make a name for itself with global accolades for work in growing high tech industry.

Thanks to the alliance of dozens of economic development, academic and industry partners stretched across the 23-county corridor, FHTcc’s focus on research, work-force and marketing has built the region into a place where innovation is cultivated and thriving.

The following overview provides more details about the initiatives and programs that helped the council grow high tech industry during 2009/2010.

MAtChinG GrAntS rESEArCh ProGrAM The opportunity to collaborate with university faculty on applied-research projects draws scores of companies across the corridor to participate in FHTcc’s Matching grants Research Program (MgRP) each year.

Together with researchers from the three corridor universities, companies ranging from the smallest start-ups to the largest corporations develop commercially applicable technologies that otherwise may not have seen the light of day. This year, research projects included an investigation into the energy- saving applications of copper nano-composites, and studies examining the immune system of sharks to identify possible cancer therapies for humans.

With funds for research and development often among the first to be reduced during an eco-nomic downturn, the ability of our universities and company partners to show specific and substantial return on investment has made the MgRP a continued success.

During 2009/2010, the program generated 55 projects in partner - ship with 38 corridor companies,

special secTion

FhTcc annual reporT

including 15 companies participat-ing in the MgRP for the first time. The council invested more than $2.8 million in the projects, while the par-ticipating companies matched that investment with $7.9 million in cash, in-kind services and equipment. The total value of research conducted through the MgRP therefore ex-ceeded $10.7 million this year.

Since the inception of the pro-gram in 1996, the council has part-nered with 345 companies on 1,110 research projects in sectors ranging from Agritechnology to Sustainable energy. The more than $54 million in funds that have been invested by the council have been matched by corporate cash and in-kind invest-ments of $150 million, generating an additional $731 million in quantifi-able downstream impacts, resulting in a return of $881 million and total project value of $935 million.

The success of the MgRP is large-ly due to the many talented student and faculty researchers who have participated in the program. During 2009/2010, 84 student researchers and 38 faculty members from our research universities were engaged in conducting applied research on corridor projects. That brings the total number of students (2,178) and faculty (283) who have conducted research on a matching grants proj-ect over the last 14 years to 2,461.

According to a study conducted by innovation insight inc. in August 2010, FHTcc‘s MgRP has collectively generated a combined economic impact of more than $1.3 billion. The research programs be-tween university and corporate part-ners created 3,300 jobs, contributed $314 million to Florida’s gDP and returned $34.3 million in state tax re-ceipts, which represents a Return on investment (ROi) of $0.65 for every state dollar invested. Proportionately, the MgRP is shown to create one job in the Florida economy for every $16,189 invested by the State. in 2009 alone, the program had an im-pact of more than $77 million in state economic output and 187 direct, indirect and induced jobs.

WorkForCE DEVEloPMEnt techPAth ProGrAMSThe council continues its outreach to teachers and students in public school systems through its techPATH program, a partnership with

educators throughout our 23 coun-ties. in addition to engaging middle and high school math, science, technology and career education teachers, the techPATH program also includes “Math and Physics Day,” a one-day learning experience that works directly with middle and high school students. Since the launch of the techPATH program, more than 1,800 teachers and 573 students have participated in 63 of these workshops, or techcAMPs, held across the corridor.

Additional workforce devel-opment programs supported by FHTcc during 2009/2010 include: college Leadership Florida, a week-long program to educate Florida’s student-body presidents and vice presidents about the opportunities in the state government and the corporate workforce; Disney entrepreneur center Fair; the PRiSM project, a campaign spanning eight central Florida K-12 school districts to strengthen achievement in STeM fields (science, technology, engineer-

ing and math); and the FiRST robotics competitions.

EntrEPrEnEUriAl SUPPortThe council placed a renewed focus on helping small businesses grow within the corridor through its entrepreneurial programs such as the Florida Virtual entrepreneur center (www.flvec.com). created as an online database to assist individuals and companies with starting, locating or expanding a business, the website provides local, regional, state and global resources at no cost.

The concept of this Web portal was developed by the Volusia/ Flagler Higher education consortium using FHTcc funds. Shepherded by the economic development team from Daytona State college and other regional partners, the site is designed to be an ever-increasing comprehensive resource for en-trepreneurs looking for business assistance.

special secTion

FhTcc annual reporT

Funded research proJecTs bY secTor

2.5%7.1%

17.6%

7.1%

22.2%0.4%

15.3%

0.6%

24.5%

2.7%

corridor Funds cash in-Kind Total % of invested match match allocated Total

Aviation & Aerospace $68,102 $204,306 $0 $272,408 2.5%Information Technology $214,968 $89,218 $154,250 $758,436 7.1%Life Sciences & Medical Technologies $401,092 $614,657 $869,615 $1,885,364 17.6%Materials $215,013 $420,042 $125,000 $760,055 7.1%Microelectronics &Nanotechnology $724,873 $879,784 $779,977 $2,384,634 22.2%Modeling, Simulation& Training $13,333 $28,000 $0 $41,333 0.4%Optics & Photonics $535,316 $1,060,703 $45,000 $1,641,019 15.3%Sustainable Energy $22,750 32,750 $12,750 $68,250 0.6%Other $71,537 $214,613 $0 $286,150 2.7%AMPAC $571,352 $2,049,456 $0 $2,620,808 24.5%totals $2,838,336 $5,893,529 $1,986,592 $10,718,457 100%

This year, the center extended its coverage beyond the 23 coun-ties of the corridor to start a pilot program serving escambia, collier, Broward and Martin counties, and developed a year-long strategy to continue expanding throughout the state as more county partners come on board. By fall 2010, the site had logged more than 55,000 unique visitors in just one year.

in November 2009, FHTcc re-leased a report detailing the regional economic impact of UcF’s Busi-ness incubation Program. Funded by FHTcc and conducted by Real estate Research consultants inc., the study found that UcF’s incubators created more than 1,600 jobs in the region and that every dollar invested by local governments resulted in a return of at least $5.25 in local gov-ernment revenues. it also reported that in 2009 alone, the UcF Busi-ness incubation Program generated nearly $200 million in total economic impact. Planning is underway for a similar study covering the incubators at our other universities.

in addition to providing sup-port for entrepreneurs, FHTcc also

provides backing to the state-funded economic gardening program head-quartered at UcF that’s designed to help growing second-stage com-panies. At no charge, the Florida economic gardening institute and its program, growFL, provide an entire suite of economic gardening services, including one-on-one as-sistance such as technical help, and group programs such as networking events, ceO forums, peer round-tables, information sessions, and industry functions. growFL has en-gaged more than 700 companies in the program, creating more than 400 jobs as reported by the companies.

VolUntEEr SUPPortFHTcc could not successfully achieve its goals without the tireless support of volunteers who are com-mitted to advancing the council’s mission. During the past year, more than 400 volunteers—from numerous partners and participants, including economic development organiza-tions, school districts, universities, workforce boards and others— contributed more than 4,500 hours to the council.

totAl inVEStMEnt in hiGh tECh EConoMiC DEVEloPMEnt

in an effort to ensure that council funds provide as much positive impact as possible, the council regularly matches contributions from partner organizations. During fiscal year 2009/2010, the council committed $420,000 in funds to 64 programs and initiatives across the corridor. As a result of the council’s initial investments, those projects generated an additional value of $825,000 in funding and support that otherwise may not have been realized.

During 2009/2010, the council invested $7.1 million in economic, workforce development, research, education, and support for the region’s evolving technology com-munities. Add to that the $10.7 million in research support from our MgRP, $420,000 in services provided by corridor volunteers and $825,000 in additional value realized through initiatives funded by the council, and this year’s direct impact exceeds $19 million.

special secTion

MArkEtinG thE CorriDor

The numerous projects of FHTCC all work to indirectly improve national awareness of our region as a high tech hub. When combined with the targeted marketing initia-tives undertaken by the Council, the result has been an increase in the recognition and publicity received by the Corridor.

In June, FHTCC was proud to launch a new, redesigned website, www.FloridaHighTech.com. Serving as a complete resource for informa-tion on the Corridor’s high tech initiatives, the new site promotes its many projects and resources, including the MGRP, Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center, techPATH, and more.

Web users can visit www.florida hightech.com for highlights of our 10 high tech sectors and accom-plishments being made throughout the 23 counties, and to get connect-ed with our economic development, workforce and education partners.

The Council has placed specific emphasis on recognizing and

promoting the region’s “Faces of Technology,” a program that highlights the people who have helped innovation grow across the Corridor. The past three years have seen more than 40 technology pioneers inside the pages of FHTCC’s annual magazine, florida.HIGH.TECH, with corresponding video vignettes posted to the Council’s YouTube channel, www.facesoftechnology.com.

FHTCC’s presence on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter allows for direct interac-tion with business leaders, technolo-gists, and economic developers to link to partner websites and in-depth news coverage. High tech news and updates are shared daily with hundreds of followers.

Throughout the last year, the Council received significant regional and national media publicity covering its programs, and increasingly the results of projects from FHTCC’s MGRP. Print and online publications, including Inc.magazine, Florida Trend, FloridaTechnology Journal and PV-tech.org,

reported on initiatives within the Corridor.

Florida newspapers and magazines, including the Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Lake - land Ledger, Daytona Beach News Journal, St. Petersburg Times, Florida Today, Gainesville Sun, Ocala-Star Banner, Tampa Bay Business Journal and Orlando Business Journal, also reported on FHTCC programs, activities and leaders.

FHTCC continued to be an active participant in many promi-nent technology trade shows. University, business and economic development leaders represented the Corridor at I/ITSEC, Photonics West and Bio2010, to name a few.

In addition to florida.HIGH.TECH, the Council continued to regularly inform readers inside and outside of the Corridor of the technology advances taking place in the region through the monthly eNewsletter Inside Florida’s High Tech Corridor. The eNewsletter is regularly distributed to more than 5,000 people.

*Some MgRP projects reported last year used funding from the 2009/2010 Fiscal Year. As such, this year’s report reflects a smaller number of projects.

FhTcc annual reporT

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