State Gets Biggest Share of Technology Awards : Conversion: Clinton’s post-Cold War program will fund Newport Beach and Fullerton projects, among others.
President Clinton on Friday announced the first awards under his $2.5-billion program to adapt defense technology to commercial use, giving nine California firms and universities funding for projects that include building a bridge out of advanced plastics and developing a high-tech Jaws of Life rescue device.
Clinton called the awards a key part of his plan to build a post-Cold War economy, generate jobs for jobless aerospace workers and retain critical technologies for future Pentagon needs--though the program is no cure for California’s profound aerospace industry malaise.
“We know that doing nothing is not an option,” Clinton said.
The awards, made by Clinton and Vice President Al Gore at a White House ceremony attended by 20 members of Congress, are the first wave to be announced and represent only about a third of this year’s $471 million in grants.
Awards included $20 million to a consortium of electronics companies headed by a Newport Beach unit of Hughes Aircraft and $1.9 million to Cal State Fullerton for programs aimed at retraining defense industry engineers.
An analysis of the awards, made under the program known as technology reinvestment, indicated that California firms won 42% of the $140 million in federal funding, according to the California Institute, a small think tank in Washington. Of 41 projects selected nationwide, 22% were led by California companies or organizations.
The South Bay in Los Angeles County, a key aerospace and defense center that has been badly shaken by layoffs and plant closures over the last five years, emerged as the biggest winner in the nation. Four of the projects are led by firms in Torrance and Redondo Beach.
“It is a really good start,” said Rep. Jane Harman (D-Marina del Rey). “It is not a big chunk of the money that Clinton has promised, but it is only the first piece.”
Under the technology reinvestment program, the Defense Department’s advanced research projects agency is leading five federal departments in selecting proposals that convert defense technology to commercial use, set up regional alliances to build new industries and help develop regional retraining programs.
Clinton said the program responds both to the Pentagon’s concern over erosion in defense technology, as companies exit the weapon business, and to employment problems caused by defense budget cuts.
“You simply can’t leave the men and women who won the Cold War out in the cold,” Clinton said. “It is wrong to walk away from them. From Southern California to Long Island to Connecticut, there are communities, companies and employees who have depended on defense who now are desperately looking for new ways to make a living.”
Defense industry reaction to the awards was predictable: Winners expressed robust program support, while losers lamented that the government had erred in ignoring their proposals.
“We are happy as larks,” said Uriel Sokolov, manager for strategic business development at Hughes Aircraft’s microelectronics division in Newport Beach. “We are very appreciative of the government’s efforts.”
Hughes is leading a team of seven major electronics firms, including IBM, attempting to develop a method of packaging integrated circuits that will leapfrog existing printed circuit boards. Sokolov said world leadership of the entire electronics industry is at stake.
But at nearby Irvine Sensors, executives were stunned that their proposal for a new way of stacking memory chips was not among the winners. Myles Suer, marketing director at the company, lamented that his firm’s idea was more critical to national needs than the plastic highway bridge funded in San Diego.
Julie Meier Wright, secretary of the California Trade & Commerce Agency, pointed out that a number of priority efforts--including the Project California program to enhance the state’s transportation industry--were left out. “I am disappointed,” Wright said.
In addition, only one of three proposals to create regional alliances for technology redeployment received funding. Those proposals had received significant state financial support.
What did get funded was an eclectic mix of defense technology.
UC San Diego and J. Muller International, a San Diego construction firm, won an award to build a bridge out of composite plastics over Interstate 5, linking two UC San Diego campuses.
Anthony Dinis, company president, said composite bridges would resist corrosion and earthquakes better than steel or concrete, though such bridges will be economically viable only if the cost of composite material comes down. The $10-million plastic bridge is double what a conventional bridge would cost.
Hi-Shear Technology Corp., a Torrance producer of spacecraft and aircraft parts, won on a proposal to develop a new Jaws of Life device that would be powered by pyrotechnic cartridges. George Trahan, executive vice president, said the firm had sought private funding for the idea, but bankers rejected the concept.
“The money just wasn’t available anywhere else,” he said.
In his speech, Clinton cited Hi-Shear’s concept as a type of product that could significantly help rural communities get life-saving fire equipment, while preserving a segment of the military pyrotechnics industry. TRW’s space and electronics group in Redondo Beach is leading a large industry consortium trying to build precision laser machine tools for drilling, cutting and welding various materials.
Other California winners included Magnavox Electronic Systems in Torrance, the California Manufacturing Technology Center (a group of South Bay colleges) and Cal State Long Beach.
Times staff writer John O’Dell contributed to this report.
* 2 O.C. PROJECTS AWARDED: Module development, defense retraining to be funded. A31
California Winners
The California projects included in grants to help convert military technologies to civilian uses:
* Bridge construction: UC San Diego, to adapt a special composite material for bridge construction and repairs. Award: $21 million.
* Environment: Cal State Fullerton, to retrain laid-off defense engineers in environmentally sound products and processes. Award: $1.1 million
* Emergency rescues: City of Torrance Fire Department has teamed with a company to develop explosive-powered rescue equipment. Award: $1.6 million.
* Earth moving: Team including Magnavox Electronics Systems in Torrance, to adapt guidance technology to major construction projects such as highways and dams. Award: $17.7 million.
* Laser machining: TRW Space and Electronics Group of Redondo Beach, to develop laser machine tools for drilling, cutting and welding on assembly lines. Award: $33.8 million.
* Power supplies: Power-One Inc. of Camarillo, to develop energy storage devices for uses ranging from semiconductors to electric vehicles. Award: $1.9 million.
* Business transition: California Manufacturing Technology Center in Torrance, to help defense suppliers adapt to other fields. Award: $1.5 million.
* Engineering: Coalition headed by Cal State Long Beach, to develop curriculum in manufacturing engineering. Award: $8 million.
* Microelectronics: MCM Consortium, which includes Hughes Aircraft’s microelectronics division in Newport Beach, to develop new methods of integrating circuits. Award: $20 million
Source: White House
