With more than 1,000 high-tech cluster companies employing in excess of 30,000 people and generating annual revenues greater than $8.0 billion, Southern Arizona is a leader in the knowledge-based economy. It's also widely known as a great place for high-tech workers to live.
Southern Arizona Tech Council (SATC)
http://www.satc-az.com
The Southern Arizona Tech Council (SATC) is a non-profit organization formed in August 2000 whose mission is to promote/implement high-tech business development and competitiveness in Tucson, Pima County and Southern Arizona.
Six high-tech clusters have been targeted for development in Southern Arizona. They include:
Aerospace, Manufacturing & Information Technology (AMIT)
http://www.aztechcouncil.org
AMIT is the largest high-tech industry cluster operating in Southern Arizona. It is administratively supported by Arizona Technology Council.
The mission of AMIT is to create commerce between its members and with companies outside Arizona. It also promotes the success of Southern Arizona aerospace, manufacturing and information technology businesses.
BioIndustry
BioIndustry Organization of Southern Arizona (BIOSA)
http://www.bio-sa.org
Southern Arizona's bioindustry is comprised of companies engaged in sectors such as: medical devices; pharmaceutical R&D; medical imaging; industrial products; and biomaterials.
The largest international company, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., has 400 of its 520 employees located in Tucson. Its diagnostic instruments and enabling drug discovery platform technologies are sold worldwide. Numerous smaller companies, focused on drug discovery and drug delivery technologies, are working their way through the R&D process and are seeking investors and strategic partners. Tucson is rich in the infrastructure metrics that are critical to the development of biotech companies.
Technology anchors for Southern Arizona's bioindustry are the Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Arizona, coupled with the University Medical Center research and teaching hospital, the College of Science and the College of Agriculture.
E-learning
Greater Arizona E-Learning Association (GAZEL)
http://www.gazel.org
Arizona is home to many of the leading companies in the field of e-learning. They develop and provide a broad spectrum of technologies and services from content and learning management systems to online education and training programs, simulations, web casting, web conferencing, consulting and research.
The mission of the statewide cluster is to promote the growth of Arizona's e-learning industry and the adoption of e-learning in business, education, government and community development. It is administered by an organization called GAZEL and engages in initiatives for both providers and consumers of e-learning technologies and services. For providers, it helps them increase their business, develop and grow. For consumers, it helps them become more knowledgable about e-learning and find technologies and/or services to support their needs.
E-learning is defined as the use of digital media, such as the Internet, CDs, cable TV and streaming media, to facilitate education, workplace training, communication and collaboration. It includes web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms and online audio, video and web conferencing.
Environmental Technology
Environmental Technology Industry Cluster (ETIC)
http://www.az-etic.com
ETIC is a membership-driven organization that represents the full breadth of environmental technologies in Arizona including: carbon management; distributed power generation; environmental law; pollution control; resource recovery; and watershed management.
The main objective of ETIC is to promote and support development and expansion of the Arizona environmental technology industry by providing a dynamic network of public and private resources. ETIC supports member growth with programs and services from business, government and education. It works to establish Arizona as a regional, national and global leader in environmental technology.
ETIC annually hosts in Tucson one of the largest environmental conference, exposition and trade shows in the U.S., the Electric Utility Environmental Conference. It encompasses 900 international environmental delegates, utility representatives, federal regulators, environmental consultants and equipment vendors who network and seek to expand their business opportunities.
Nanotechnology
Arizona Nanotechnology Cluster
http://www.aznano.org
The Arizona Nanotechnology Cluster, an Arizona not-for-profit organization, was formed in January 2003 to share and promote technological advances in the fast-growing field of nanotechnology. Its membership includes an active group of interested engineers (electrical, mechanical and chemical), scientists (medical and materials) and businesspeople from both industry and academia.
Nanotechnology involves research and development of extremely small components and structures such as advanced semiconductor technology for IC's below 100 nanometers; MEMS, BIOMEMS and nanoscale electromechanical systems; and manufacturing processes for devices at nanoscale dimensions.
Arizona has an enviable roster of world-class university programs, including those at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, and industrial organizations, including Intel, Motorola, Microchip, Texas Instruments and ST Microelectronics, that are working to move this high-growth field forward.
Optics
Arizona Optics Industry Association (AOIA)
http://www.aoia.org
Southern Arizona's optics industry is world-renowned and Tucson is often referred to as "Optics Valley" because of its concentration of prominent optics-related companies. It is also home to an internationally-known optical sciences program at the University of Arizona.
The statewide optics cluster is administered by AOIA. It represents a broad range of products and services, including: optical design and engineering; fiber optic components for telecommunications, lasers and semiconductors; metrology instrumentation; high precision optical fabrication; high volume precision plastic optics; precision measuring and positioning equipment, microscopes and telescopes; opto-electronics; image processing; and optical coatings/thin films.
