Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was in Tucson last week to tour the Arizona supersonic wind tunnel with UArizona President Bobby Robbins, Raytheon Missiles and Defense President Wes Kremer, and several members of the university’s Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering program. The governor also participated in a roundtable on workforce development.

Visiting southern Arizona for the 93rd time since taking office in January 2015, Ducey stressed the importance of the state’s robust university system and innovative job creators in forging a competitive economy.

“Educators and workforce leaders across the state do incredible work to help Arizonans find meaningful work and ensure our small businesses can succeed,” Ducey .

UArizona’s supersonic wind tunnel project is set to benefit from a $3.5 million investment in the fiscal year 2022 state budget proposal, improving wind tunnel infrastructure and expanding the ability of students to interact with and work on the wind tunnel.

“I would think not only what we’re seeing is critical to the future of our economy, it’s critical to the future of our national defense,” Ducey .

The supersonic wind tunnel is to test “how hypersonic technologies respond under specific conditions, such as speeds and attacks.”

UArizona is working with Raytheon to advance the project.

Following his tour of UArizona’s campus, Gov. Ducey led a roundtable on workforce development alongside key stakeholders. In addition to Robbins and Kremer, attendees included:

• Dr. David Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean, UArizona’s College of Engineering;
• Ted Maxwell, President of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council; 
• Kathy Prather, Superintendent and CEO of Pima JTED; 
• Lee Lambert, Chancellor of Pima Community College; 
• Steve Holmes, Superintendent of Sunnyside Unified School District;
• Kate Hoffman, Founder and CEO of Earn to Learn.

The group discussed how the state government, local governments, public-private partnerships, universities, and the private sector could collaborate to expand career opportunities in the state. Gov. Ducey made supporting small businesses a priority.

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Boeing announced Tuesday it would be donating grant packages totaling $48 million to charities around the world in observance of Giving Tuesday.

Boeing is the largest aerospace company in the world and a leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. It supports commercial and government customers in 150 countries, with more than 150,000 employees worldwide.

The grants will support 404 charitable organizations in 50 countries, funding programs through 2020 and beyond, according to Boeing.

More than $700,000 of the company’s investment will go to 10 organizations in Arizona that help veterans in the community and inspire prospective aerospace scientists and engineers.

“Boeing’s people bring to life our values and our enduring commitment to supporting the communities where we live and work,” said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of .

Boeing says its employees amplify the aircraft manufacturer’s giving: By the end of 2019, Boeing employees will have donated nearly $40 million to charitable causes, bringing total employee contributions to $350 million in the past 10 years.

In 2018, Boeing’s 4,300 Arizona employees volunteered 11,000 hours mentoring FIRST Lego League and Robotics teams, building school gardens and helping veterans write resumes to help them re-enter civilian life, according to a company representative.

“Through their close collaboration, our teams and community partners are working to inspire the next generation of aerospace innovators, support our veterans and create lasting change in the communities we call home,” Muilenburg said.

The Giving Tuesday charitable grants package includes $8 million for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and workforce development programs that help build a “talent pipeline” of civil aviation pilots and maintenance technicians, according to Boeing.

Boeing’s Pilot and Technician Outlook 2019-2038 that 804,000 new civil aviation pilots, 769,000 new maintenance technicians and 914,000 new cabin crew personnel will be needed to fly and maintain the world’s fleet over the next 20 years.

The includes the commercial aviation, business aviation and civil helicopter industries.

“At Boeing, were committed to helping students succeed,” said Cheri Carter, vice president of Boeing Global Engagement. “We want students to know that their future belongs to them — it has no boundaries.”

The company also committed $800,000 to launch the first Newton Flight Academy in Turkey in 2020, expanding on the existing Newton Europe in Spain and Poland that launched this year. The program teaches STEM skills to high school students through hands-on methods; grant dollars will support a permanent classroom in Turkey that includes three full-motion Boeing flight simulators.

“We believe our success as innovators depends on everyone coming together to inspire the next generation to share in our aerospace advancements,” Carter said. “That’s why we’re investing more than 50 percent of our philanthropic dollars to fund programs in the U.S. and abroad.”

A previously announced $10 million for veterans’ recovery and rehabilitation programs, as well as workforce transition services, is also included in the $48 million investment.

Giving Tuesday is a started in 2011 to create an international day of charitable giving immediately following Thanksgiving and the Black Friday sale shopping weekend.

To see a full list of Boeing’s grant partners, .

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Northrop Grumman and Phoenix-based general contractor Willmeng Construction Inc. hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the aerospace and defense company’s new Chandler campus last week.

The 633,000-square-foot office and manufacturing facility will provide a home for Northrop Grumman’s launch vehicle business, supporting defense and aerospace development.

“We have a rich heritage here in Arizona that spans more than three decades, and our business here continues to grow rapidly,” said Blake Larson, president of Innovation Systems at Northrop Grumman, at the ribbon-cutting. “This beautiful new facility will provide an improved work environment for our employees, provide a clean slate to work from to improve our efficiencies and give us more room for growth. I extend my gratitude to this incredible team who came together for mission success.”

Northrop Grumman has 2,500 employees at its Chandler campus and more than 3,500 employees across that state, with more than $30 million in payroll and benefits, according to the Office of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey.

“Northrop Grumman has helped make Arizona a national leader in defense and aerospace manufacturing — and this expansion will only further add to that reputation,” Ducey said at the ribbon-cutting event. “My thanks goes out to Northrop Grumman for continuing to invest in Arizona, and to everyone who worked to make this announcement possible.”

Northrop Grumman will build equipment at the new campus to support the United States missile defense program, including interceptors and targets. It will also help with satellite launches for the U.S. Air Force, National Reconnaissance Office, NASA and commercial customers.

The campus is located in the 180-acre Park Place Business Plaza developed by the Douglas Allred Company and brought to life by Willmeng Construction, Balmer Architectural Group and more than 300 subcontractors. The facility was built and delivered in only 17 months.

“T��� facility is a reflection of the vision that the team at the Douglas Allred Company has to strategically create appealing and unique campus environments,” said James Murphy, president and CEO of Willmeng Construction. “We were proud to take on the challenge of building this facility at a speed that is truly unparalleled in the market, achieving the unachievable to ensure there was no disruption to the important work accomplished at Northrop Grumman. We were truly working to support a launch schedule.”

Park Place is estimated to generate an annual economic impact of $1.4 billion once completed, according to Elliott D. Pollack & Company. It will also create more than 2,000 construction jobs during the initial build and another 9,691 during the subsequent build-out.

“Northrop Grumman’s investment in our ‘Community of Innovation’ will continue the city’s trajectory of economic competitiveness for years to come,” Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke said. “I commend Douglas Allred Company’s vision to develop the Park Place Campus, and Willmeng Construction for their professionalism and efforts to get a project of this magnitude completed on time.”

The Price Road Corridor of businesses, which runs along the Loop 101 Price Freeway through Chandler, Tempe and Mesa, is one of the fastest-growing labor bases in Metro Phoenix.

The new Northrop Grumman campus is located at 1575 S. Price Road.

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Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, last week championed a bill that advances Arizona’s space priorities, in part by supporting the University of Arizona’s NEOCam mission and the, which will include Arizona State University’s “Mastcam-Z” mounted camera system.

“By investing in America’s leadership in space, our bipartisan bill strengthens our national security and creates economic opportunities for Arizonans,” Sinema said.

Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., also backed the bill.

Before finalizing the bill — the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2019 — Sinema met with Arizona stakeholders, including leadership from and, to ensure the bill secures her state’s priorities.

Thursday, Sinema voiced her support for important partnerships between NASA and �鶹��ýӳ��niversities at a Senate Aviation and Space Subcommittee hearing. She is a ranking member of the subcommittee.

Sinema also emphasized a strong need for an effective science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education pipeline to continue advancing the nation’s space and national security interests.

“NASA and universities must work together to develop a 21st-century workforce to continue our leadership in space and ensure our economy remains innovative and strong,” she said.

Sinema requested the hearing in order to highlight the value of NASA’s partnerships with ASU, UArizona and Northern Arizona University.

The senior senator invited Dr. Linda Tarbox Elkins-Tanton, an ASU professor who is leading the, to share her experiences as a principal investigator and the way her work advances NASA’s scientific and exploration goals, creating opportunities for students to develop skills that help them succeed in the space industry.

According to Sinema’s office, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2019 will do the following:

• Ensure NASA can establish University Affiliated Research Centers — long-term research partnerships with universities that lead NASA projects and missions,
• Give NASA contract authority to partner with universities on missions that help university space programs grow,
• Establish the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which will fund the construction of UArizona’s Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam),
• Require NASA to create an outreach program to encourage high school students to pursue STEM careers, building Arizona’s space workforce,
• Direct NASA to complete the James Webb Space Telescope — a follow-up to the Hubble Space Telescope that includes UArizona’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) — as soon as possible,
• Authorize NASA to complete its Mars 2020 mission — ASU’s Mastcam-Z is the main navigation camera on the Mars 2020 rover — and work on the Mars Sample Return Mission, and
• Require NASA to provide funding for small satellite launches conducting science missions, such as the ones developed by ASU, UArizona and NAU.

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Tucson is rapidly becoming a hotbed for innovation in Arizona, witnessing the origins of avant-garde startups and businesses trying to change the world of aerospace, optics, medicine and engineering through technology.

“T��� is big and getting bigger, with companies like Vector and World View coming online,” said Doug Hockstad, assistant vice president of , a program through the University of Arizona that helps university-based startups commercialize new products.

Another growing area is optics, the branch of physics that deals with light and vision — developing products like cameras, sensors, lasers and fiber optics.

The optics industry is beginning to permeate a lot of other tech fields: mining, one of Tucson’s most well-established industries; health, another growing industry in the region; and aerospace and defense.

“T���re’s a startup called Omniscient that started a couple years ago that has created a 360-degree viewing endoscope used for colonoscopies,” Hockstad said. “It could be used for other things as well, but the idea [is] that you get both a forward and a backward view as you’re using it, which is significantly more than currently exists.”

The Tucson area has been dubbed “Optics Valley” because of how much the industry has grown, he said.

“Optics Valley is… a committee that’s housed under the Arizona Technology Council, and they have a list of 40 optics companies,” said Michael Guymon, vice president of the Tucson Metro �鶹��ýӳ��. “Tucson has been known as Optics Valley, because we have one of the best optics schools in the country at the University of Arizona.”

Guymon said he thinks that most people would be surprised to learn that 40 optics companies call Tucson home.

“Most of those companies really fly under the radar,” he said. “Some of them are also startups themselves, but it just goes to show that there’s sort of this burgeoning technology infrastructure that is really being established here in Tucson.”

Large companies are also gaining traction in the Tucson area, Hockstad said.

“I’ve already mentioned and , but even Caterpillar moved one of their main sites down here,” he said.

When its Surface Mining and Technology Division to Tucson in 2016, the company “really planted the flag” in the region, Guymon said.

Many companies have grown and relocated to southern Arizona because they see a base of talented employees in the region, and “it always starts with workforce,” he said.

“We’ve seen this play out very well in the aerospace and defense industry, because obviously we have Raytheon with soon-to-be 13,000 employees out there, and we have 200 companies in southern Arizona that are here because of that presence,” Guymon said. “Not only is it the great school of aerospace and engineering that we have in the College of Engineering at the U of A, but we’re also developing other skills at Pima Community College that are relative to that industry.”

Cost is the other major factor drawing people to Tucson, and many companies are fleeing high living and business expenses in other states, especially California, he said.

“Arizona as a whole is experiencing some of that flight from California,” Guymon said. “Part of the reason for that is because of cost, whether it’s cost of living or cost of labor. Those companies are seeking out Arizona communities, because they can do those expansions or possibly relocate, because their cost of doing business will decrease.”

Tucson also sees a lot of startups — Hockstad’s area of expertise — especially at Tech Launch Arizona.

“We are the commercialization unit for the university,” Hockstad said. “We’re everything, from the very beginning when a researcher says, ‘hey, I think I’ve invented something really cool,’ to the market analysis of that invention, to the patent protection of that invention, to the marketing and license negotiations of that into a company.”

Not every commercialized product results in the launch of a startup business, but a subset of Tech Launch is dedicated to that process, he said.

There is a “growing ecosystem” for startups in Tucson and in Arizona as a whole, Hockstad said. Just in the past year or so there have been three or four venture funds established in the area, he said.

UAVenture Capital, a Tucson-based not affiliated with UA, helps finance startups originating at the university. The fund was founded in 2017 to drive local entrepreneurship and support the commercialization of products resulting from university-based research.

will cover a larger, multi-state region of the Southwest, and , a subgroup of Diamond Ventures, is focused on tech investments, Hockstad said.

New-business incubators are also helping nurture fledgling tech companies: UA announced a downtown Tucson-based incubator called , and the town of Oro Valley is getting ready to launch a new bioscience-based incubator called the , Hockstad said.

He said the most apt comparison to Tucson that he has heard is Austin, Texas, 10 years ago.

“T���re’s been a renaissance downtown; there is a huge number of startups, and a growing number of startups that are launching; there’s new incubators coming online; there’s new venture capital and new sources of funding,” he said.

South by Southwest, the nationally-renowned technology festival held in Austin each March, served as the inspiration for a new festival in Tucson: TENWEST.

Launched in 2014 by , TENWEST is a multi-disciplined festival of arts, sciences, tech and entrepreneurship that takes place each October in downtown Tucson. Participants can “learn, inform, network and explore their community,” according to the .

When asked who some of the biggest influencers in the Tucson area are, Hockstad pointed to Fletcher McCusker, of UAVenture Capital and a UA alumnus himself.

“He has been a driver of local entrepreneurship, the ability to grow companies locally, the ability to attract and fund them so they can stay here if they want,” Hockstad said. “He always stayed here when he started his companies.”

McCusker is also the chairman of the board at , a Tax Increment Finance District funded by state sales tax responsible for revitalizing the buildings and community of downtown Tucson to create a dynamic city center.

“He has been central in revitalizing downtown Tucson,” Hockstad said. “Combining everything he’s doing, he has been a major influence on what’s happening in Tucson.”

Hockstad also had positive words to say about UA Dr. Robert Robbins, who took the position in 2017.

“He is a force to be reckoned with,” Hockstad said about Robbins. “He has great vision, and he’s already implementing a new strategic plan, and a lot of it has to do with working with industry.”

Looking to the future, Guymon and Hockstad each expressed expectation for continued growth.

“We’re going to see higher levels of manufacturing here in our region,” Guymon said. “I think we’re going to see, certainly, an increase in startups and technology that is coming out of the University of Arizona.”

Hockstad said he thinks that within the next few years — though he is not sure how many — Tucson will be nationally-recognized as a hotbed for entrepreneurship.

“I think we’re going to see continued growth and success in this market, and I think we’re going to see some other markets, other places, looking to us for our experience,” he said.

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