Rockwell Opens Center

Rockwell Semiconductor Systems last week opened a multimedia product design center in San Jose operated by the company’s Brooktree division. The facility will be used to develop computer chips for processing three-dimensional graphics increasingly seen in computer games and on the World Wide Web.

The new center is located in a 30,000-square-foot office space formerly leased by Weitek Corp., a designer of multimedia computer chips that recently declared bankruptcy, Rockwell officials said. Rockwell also purchased from Weitek high-powered computers used for design work, as well as other office equipment, said David Gelvin, vice president of multimedia in Rockwell’s Brooktree division.

Rockwell has hired about 20 Weitek employees, but as many as 100 employees could eventually be based at the new center.

Brooktree, acquired by Rockwell last year, also has design centers in San Diego and Austin, Texas.

Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at greg.miller@latimes.com