Are you ready for the Rio Grande Valley to become the epicenter of a space-based Silicon Valley? That’s a highly likely future, according to presenters at the first STARGATE Talk. The stars are, in fact, aligning to make the area near the SpaceX facility into a research and commercialization hub with a business incubator only two miles from the launch site. SpaceX, which designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, chose Boca Chica beach in part because of regional resources, which include UTB’s deep space research programs and United Launch Alliance’s Harlingen plant.
The future scenario is already operating, charting space waves and producing home-grown, deep space scientists. UTB researchers are exploring the galaxy through the Arecibo Remote Command Center (the world’s largest radio telescope) and the Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy. Valley astrophysicists have identified over 60 new radio pulsars in recent years, accounting for more than a third of the total discoveries. So it’s no surprise that UTB (soon to be UT-RGV) now collaborates with top researchers at JPL, NASA, the Max-Planck Institute and other prestigious organizations.
UTB is only the university with an active agreement with a private space industry company, said Mike Gonzalez of United Brownsville, a major participant in the public-private STARGATE enterprise. Aiming to connect students and the Valley community to new technological developments and business opportunities, STARGATE also is building momentum for a local angel investor network to back start-ups.
Irv Downing, UTB’s vice president of institutional advancement and economic development, said STARGATE is fostering a culture of research, entrepreneurship and commercialization of cutting edge products. The business incubator at Boca Chica is slated to open in late 2016. “The community coming together around innovation and opportunity sets the stage for what will happen in the future.” Applications to enter the incubator will be available later this year.
“SpaceX coming here is going to be a game changer for everyone. SpaceX is creating momentum,” said Frederick Jenet, director of CARA. “This has been an amazing journey.” He said, “’The Big Bang Theory’ TV show offers an accurate glimpse at the work of astrophysicists.”
Google, too, has taken an interest in the Valley’s space surge. Christopher Wren, who helped develop Google’s Android system UI, spoke on “Innovation and Creative Work” as the inaugural speaker of STARGATE Talks.
“How does innovation work?” asked Wren, who worked at MIT labs. Under the old model, it took about 10 years from the start of research to a product reaching market. The trajectory of a project — funding from a government source to researching and innovation at a university and finishing with a company manufacturing and marketing a product — has altered and added corporate funding of research, he said.
To read more of this story by Eileen Mattei, read the May 2015 edition of VBR under the “Current & Past Issues” tab on this website, or pick up a copy on news stands.