From The President / CEO Steve Paterson
Tech Corridor ? We see it all around us everyday , new roads , new homes and buildings . We read and hear about a renewed space program , a spaceport under development , a medical village unfolding providing the most advanced medical care and training along with new companies and entrepreneurs putting down roots all in our region . Unprecedented growth , bringing a bright future and prosperity to our bay area region .
Since the 1960 ’ s , some of America ’ s best and brightest people have come to our area . They have put down roots and become part of our communities starting with the Johnson Space Center . Out of this settlement has grown one of the best school systems in the United States , a four-year University and several vibrant Community Colleges training the best and the brightest in the Houston market . This education system has been one of the main factors that talented individuals have been able to be recruited to come to work here in our vibrant and diverse communities . Over the years this has been developed into an incubator of a intellectual brain trust producing a talented and skilled workforce .
In the 1960 ’ s , in another bay area in Northern California , they had similar development . They benefited greatly in their education systems , aerospace industry , medical research and development following World War 2 . These post war years of technological development and conditions fueled by the GI Bill provided for an endless number of graduate engineers in all fields of engineering . As it happened in California , we see a similar mixture of conditions today occurring in our bay area , here on the Southeastern Texas Gulf Coast . The result in California was what we now refer to as Silicone Valley . Could it be repeated in our region ? Far fetched ? Maybe not .
We are blessed with an educated , innovative and inventive population , who today are involved in cutting edge technological developments in the area . From ventures involving outer space and inner space development it is occurring as we speak . At UTMB today incubators are developing cutting edge medical devices , treatments , vaccines , which will change the face of medical treatment and practice in the coming generation . The challenge of exploring Mars and our solar system is being solved today by NASA and the emerging commercial space industry companies . If business leaders , investors and industry can tap into this brain trust of talent and provide an infrastructure for those who are seeking assistance to develop their ideas into new technologies , we can only imagine . As it was the case in the San Francisco Bay area by those who saw this potential then , we could see the development of an I-45 tech corridor from southern Harris County to one day encompassing all of Galveston County .
Like and award winning cake recipe , all the ingredients are here to bake the perfect cake . It only takes the right pastry chefs to bring it all together . If all our communities in the Bay Area of Houston were to come together in a common cause to achieve this tech corridor , it could easily become a reality . In pockets of Houston it is already taking a loose collaborative cohesion . It is being nurtured with the help of the different Houston Technology Centers campuses and the incubators being formed around the Health Center District and at UTMB in Galveston . We have the land , location and transportation corridors , schools and quality of life to make this a reality . The only missing ingredient and the most critical part of baking our award winning cake are the master chef ’ s having a laser focus and common vision .
Steve Paterson