Executive Voices


Nanotechnology
North Carolina can reap big rewards by investing in microscopic technology


By Joan Myers

What if you had a crystal ball that could show you what investments would pay off with a strong return in 10 to 12 years? Would you invest? Would you seek out the resources necessary to participate in a great opportunity? Would you risk a little to reap great rewards?

The National Science Foundation predicts the market for nanotechnology products and services will reach $1 trillion by 2015 in the United States alone. What is nanotechnology? In simple terms it is the ability to manipulate matter at the atomic level to build microscopic devices and materials molecule by molecule. In other words, it is itsy bitsy machines and services. And, nanotech-nology is predicted to be at least as significant as integrated circuits, polymers and antibiotics were in the 20th century. So looking into our crystal ball how does North Carolina take advantage of this awesome opportunity?

The best economic news is that we have some of the most significant core strengths in nanotechnology in the country. Remarkable work is underway at North Carolina State University, UNC, Duke and UNC-Charlotte. We have some of the leading scientists and technologists in the world right here in our North Carolina neighborhood. Efforts are already in motion to create a North Carolina Center for Nanotechnology “to gain national prominence in nanotechnology of N.C. universities as well as other institutions.”

Some of our leading information technology companies are heavily involved in this area of technology as well. What’s missing is the investment needed to get a piece of that projected $1 trillion return. Will North Carolina participate in this next wave of innovation or will Boston, Austin or Silicon Valley triumph once again? These are just the types of investments other states are using their tobacco settlement funds for or are directly investing in.

So what do we have to do to participate? First, there are some things we have to not do. Namely, the legislature should discontinue any discussion of taking “overhead receipts” away from universities in their budget debates. If ever there was a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, this is it. North Carolina is extremely fortunate to receive over $840 million of federal money for research and development that allows our universities to innovate and create new technologies, procedures, medicines and a whole host of things that have great societal and economic impact. The ability to use some of this money to reinvest in equipment, laboratories and people is critical to maintaining this important investment stream.

Federal research money takes a lot of effort to get and you must maintain the quality of the institution and its science and technology capability in order to capitalize on it.  Let’s turn the equation around and say, “what can we do to help our universities get more federal research money?” How can we tap into the new nanotechnology money recently set aside in the budget Congress just passed? (The U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 766, the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, authorizing $2.36 billion over three years.) What coordinated effort can we muster to go after more resources in nanotechnology so that we can be a leader in this effort and create jobs here in North Carolina?

Second, why doesn’t the North Carolina legislature consider making some investments in a new Center for Nano-technology? Leadership and investment in the Biotech Center and MCNC several years ago proved to be significant and worthy investments in that they have spun off numerous companies (jobs) and helped further the Information Technologies and Biotechnology industry here in North Carolina that contribute heavily to our economy.

Thirdly, the legislature should enact new research and development tax credit legislation to help encourage our companies to make their R&D investments here in North Carolina. Many other states in the country have better R&D credits and more and more states are looking at a whole host of incentives to get information technology and biotech companies to move or expand in their area. North Carolina needs to get back in the competition. Bold leadership now — making the investments to encourage corporate R&D – will offer a better landscape for companies working on nano-technology and other innovation opportunities.  Perhaps the state Senate could consider this issue when it comes back in September to address economic development issues.

Lastly, we need to look hard at what kinds of jobs we can create in North Carolina. What kind of jobs do we want? The average IT job in N.C. pays almost twice the salary as the average private sector job in the state. Every time we add an IT job we help improve the economic fabric of our state. Unfortunately, we have lost 1,962 IT companies in the last two years and 14,000 IT jobs. The remedy is to invest in innovation.

This country is steeped in a strong tradition of innovation and opportunity. In the past, the state has made some forward-thinking investments that have propelled us forward at critical stages. So, as we look into our crystal ball, where will North Carolina be? Will we be a player in nanotechnology or will we be on the sidelines of innovation? If we invest in our universities and create the environment to nurture basic research and corporate research our future is crystal clear.

Joan Myers of Raleigh is president of the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technologies Association (NCEITA). She can be contacted at jmyers@nceita.org.

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