Texas Technology Initiative: Goals and Objectives

The goal of the Texas Technology Initiative (TTI) is to help build the State's infrastructure to grow and attract the businesses that will make Texas a global leader in advanced technology research, development, design, commercialization, and manufacturing.

The TTI is integrating the State Strategy on Advanced Technology (SSAT) with the State's Industry Cluster Initiative to stimulate long-term sustained growth and focus the allocation of State resources on key industry clusters that economists say will be the engine of job creation and economic development in the 21st century.

"If the US is to be a growth leader in the future, it must be at the forefront of creating and accommodating technology. Such an outcome is only possible if sufficient resources are committed to achieving the initial stages."

—Dr. Ray Perryman,
The Perryman Group

The TTI was instrumental in the establishment of the Texas Enterprise Fund approved by the 78th Texas Legislature to promote economic development within the State. The TTI will also continue to seek long-term funding for the commercialization of advanced technology research and development in Texas by leveraging State funding with U.S. government, university, industry, community, and private investment resources.

Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization will be established in Texas to foster collaborative efforts between institutions of higher education and the private sector to conduct research and development activities, serve as incubators for start-up firms, and provide workforce training for employees.

In 2004, the TTI created the Advanced Materials Research Center (AMRC), a research effort between the State of Texas and SEMATECH. The AMRC is working with the University of Texas (UT) System and other Texas universities to investigate advanced semiconductor and emerging technologies and accelerate the commercialization of critical research.

Following that, the TTI formed and helped secure federal funding for the Advanced Processing and Prototyping Center (AP2C), a university-based collaboration with SEMATECH and the AMRC to provide critical proof of concept work and testing of prototypes.

The TTI is also driving an effort to establish Texas as a site for other advanced technologies initiatives, such as the national Nanoelectronics Research Initiative, an effort led by the Semiconductor Industry Association to link research efforts by leading universities, the federal government, and the U.S. semiconductor industry.