Dean Chiang in Forbes: ‘Hard Tech Corridor in the Heartland’
Hard tech — technology that touches the hard stuff — is gaining ground as technological advances are rewriting the economic equations, Mung Chiang, Purdue executive vice president for strategic initiatives and the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering, writes in a recent Forbes article.
Chiang states that “at some point, tech still needs to touch physical reality: chips, meds, cars, and food,” and “artificial intelligence needs to become ‘hard’ too.” Semiconductors manufacturing, bio-pharma manufacturing, and aerospace and transportation are the pillars.
“In the new equations, hard tech will be less about labor cost and more about innovation speed,” and is becoming the new “natural resource,” Chiang writes.
Chiang foresees a “hard tech corridor” taking shape in Indiana, stretching from the 16Tech campus in downtown Indianapolis to the planned Eli Lilly-anchored LEAP Lebanon Innovation and Research District, to Purdue’s Discovery Park District in West Lafayette. Demonstrating progress, Chiang discusses two key strides announced at Indiana’s first Global Economic Summit in late May: formation of a statewide task force to accelerate microelectronic production and development, as well as the launch of Purdue’s distinctive Semiconductor Degrees Program.
Read the entire piece here: ‘Hard Tech Corridor in the Heartland’
