Tucson Archives - ̽��ѡ

Tucson’s burgeoning tech sector reveals a hub of innovation in southern Arizona

Graham Bosch — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 16:30:03 +0000

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 Chamber. “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.

The post Tucson’s burgeoning tech sector reveals a hub of innovation in southern Arizona appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

Honoring Arizona’s tourism leaders

Sierra Ciaramella — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:58:49 +0000

The Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association recognized Arizona leaders who impact the state’s tourism industry, and ultimately its economic prosperity.

The honorees were presented at the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association’s (AzLTA) Arizona Tourism Unity Dinner earlier this week.

“Ours is a vast industry comprised of world class resorts, hotels, sports teams and venues, airlines, attractions, arts, culture and culinary and hundreds of businesses supplying goods and services to the entities- an economic ecosystem that is truly the lifeblood of our great state,” said Kim Sabow, Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association president and CEO.

Sabow was the emcee for the Unity Dinner along with Jaime Molera, partner at Molera Alvarez.

Molera told the attendees, “All of you here tonight are instrumental in our mission, elevating our industry’s voice of advocacy and enhancing the operating environment of our businesses.”

Michael Bidwill, Arizona Cardinals president, received the Honoree of the Year award for his contributions to Arizona and its tourism industry.

“This state, and I think everybody here- I’m singing to the choir- this is the best state in the United States,” Bidwill said.

Bidwill was instrumental in facilitating Arizona’s hosting of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 and attracting Super Bowl LVII set for 2023.

“We’ve got great infrastructure. That airport, the sports facilities we have, all the great resorts and spas that we have here, the restaurants. It’s such a wonderful place to visit throughout the year,” Bidwill told attendees.

Don Brandt, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation chairman of the board, president and CEO and Arizona Public Service chairman of the board and CEO, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“His effort with institutions such as the McCain Institute, the Phoenix Art Museum and Greater Phoenix Leadership have strengthened the arts, culture, quality of life and economic development milestones for our great state,” Molera said.

“I’ve got a team of 6,300 around the state. It’s an honor to accept this award and I wouldn’t be here without them whether they’re in Douglas, Arizona or Yuma or Flagstaff or Globe mountain or here in Phoenix. It’s those men and women that get out and carry the flag and do so much for the communities,” Brandt said.

Visit Tucson, the convention and visitors bureau for Greater Tucson, was honored as the Tourism Leader of the Year.

Brent DeRaad, Visit Tucson president and CEO, invited his team on the stage to accept the award alongside him.

“We’ll always market, sell and promote the destination but what it comes back to is being engaged in the community,” DeRaad said.

The Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) was honored as AzLTA’s first Global Partner of the Year.

“T�� Arizona-Mexico Commission celebrates 60 years of such work in strengthening impactful ties with Arizona’s number one trade partner and tourism partner,” Molera said.

The AMC collaborates with Mexico, especially Sonora to strengthen economies and improve the quality of life for those on both sides of the border.

“All of you know that the Arizona-Mexico Commission directly contributes to our state’s prosperity. We need to enhance and enrich it,” said Jessica Pacheco, AMC board president.

She said, “I ask you all this evening to help us in ratifying the USMCA agreement. If you see any of our congress people, please ask them to ratify the agreement. It is imperative to increasing and enhancing our prosperity.”

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is the intended to succeed NAFTA, and it is expected to expand Arizona’s economy and strengthen trade with Canada and Mexico.

Westroc was recognized as the Hotelier of the Year. State Sen. Sean Bowie of District 18 and State Sen. David Livingston of District 22 were honored as the 2019 Tourism Advocates.

The Arizona Tourism Unity Dinner was held at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa.

The post Honoring Arizona’s tourism leaders appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

Allowing Tucson’s homeless to reach their full potential

Ben Norman — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:00:06 +0000

“Given the opportunity, everyone can reach their fullest potential,” Governor Ducey stated at the grand opening of the H.S. Lopez Family Foundation Center of Opportunity last week. The center, a state-of-the-art homeless shelter for Tucson’s men, women, and children, will allow its residents to do just that.

The Center of Opportunity features 150 emergency shelter beds, a full-service kitchen capable of 3,000 meals a day, a dining area, and a community space. And on top of that, the center also has specialized centers like a dental clinic, medical clinic, workforce development center, theater, classroom co-working space, and more. The list of amenities seems endless.

“It’s going to have a big impact. First of all, these people are going to be able to get all these services in one place. There’s nothing like this in Tucson; this is the first program of this nature,” Lopez said. “We’re also trying to make this a model for the nation. If you had the chance to see it in person, it would blow you away; it’s like nothing you’ve seen in a homeless shelter.”

Lopez highlights the workforce development center as one of the most important features of the center. The center will help dress residents in formal attire, assist them with interviews, and guide them through the entire job-hunting process. He notes that some potential jobs include electricians, plumbing, carpenters, and culinary specialists.

On January 23, 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development took a Point-in-Time count of the homeless population in Pima County. That night, they recorded 1,380 people experiencing literal homelessness.

It is Lopez’s goal to reduce that number, not only by providing shelter for homeless people, but also providing them with resources to succeed. He aspires to get people back on their feet and into their own homes.

“Everyone’s story is different, but our hope is the Center will give new beginnings to those in our community who need that extra help,” Lopez said. “Things many take for granted like food, shelter, jobs, healthcare and even a helping hand in a time of need, that is what they will find here all in one campus. A chance to rebuild their lives and look toward a brighter future.”

The post Allowing Tucson’s homeless to reach their full potential appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

Fly Tucson First initiative urges Southern Arizona to support regional economy

Graham Bosch — Tue, 21 May 2019 16:51:32 +0000

Business leader Howard Stewart said the concept for his Fly Tucson First initiative was buzzing around in his head for years before he had the chance to share his idea to bolster Tucson’s economy.

Stewart has been president and CEO of for almost 20 years and a dedicated member of the Tucson Metro Chamber board of directors since 2012.

“From my understanding, every successful city here in the United States has a successful airport,” Stewart said. “Tucson has an airport that is trying to be successful, but it could certainly be a lot more successful if our residents by and large supported it; but many don’t.”

Stewart was on the Public Affairs Council at the Tucson Metro Chamber when he first brought his idea to light. In Stewart’s first meeting, Robert Medler, Tucson Chamber vice president of state and federal affairs, asked the new councilmembers for their ideas to boost the region’s economy.

“Nobody had ever asked me that question — what do I think would really help this city?” Stewart said. “T�� idea was that… we community leaders in particular should that we will fly out of Tucson except under certain circumstances.”

Tucson International Airport (TUS), which originally opened in 1919, was the first municipally-owned airport in the U.S. The nonprofit Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) oversees operations at TUS and Ryan Airfield (RYN), a small general aviation airport about 15 miles west of Tucson.

TUS and RYN contribute $7.4 billion in annual economic impact to Southern Arizona and support 43,062 jobs paying $2.3 billion in wages, according to a by Elliot D. Pollack & Company for TAA.

TUS saw more than 3.4 million total passengers arriving and departing in 2017, according to the report. That number was up to 3.6 million in 2018 and is pacing even higher for 2019, said David Hatfield, senior director of air service development and marketing for TAA.

“As the region’s major commercial airport, most people know what a valuable asset Tucson International Airport is when it comes to travel to and from southern Arizona,” said Bonnie Allin, president and CEO of TAA, in a statement. “This study takes it a step further quantifying how tightly interconnected TAA’s airports are as economic engines that benefit us all in many ways.”

Stewart said it is not uncommon for Tucsonans to drive about 220 miles roundtrip and fly out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) instead of TUS.

“T�� last figure I heard is — we lose about a million passengers a year to Sky Harbor,” he said. “You can imagine, if we had a million extra people per year going through Tucson Airport, that there would be a . We’d have a lot more flights… my calculations are about 40 percent more.”

That means increasing the existing 60 flights out of TUS to about 84 flights total, Stewart said.

“Of course, that’s going to require a bigger airport,” he said. “And if nothing else it’s going to require more manpower… more employees, more pilots, more flight attendants, more people servicing the aircraft; and that’s going to create more jobs.”

Currently, TUS does not offer flights to East Coast cities, but that could change, Stewart said. With more flights to and from more places, tourists may be inclined to fly into Tucson more often, he said.

One challenge is that, in order to have more flights, there have to be people interested in taking the trip both ways, he said.

For example, American Airlines offered a direct flight from Tucson to New York City and back, but it did not last; Tucsonans and New Yorkers alike showed limited interest. According to Stewart, Tucsonans do not want to brave East Coast winters, and New Yorkers “don’t particularly” want to visit Arizona during the scorching summer months.

“We have this problem that there’s easily six months a year where we don’t do a very good job of supporting each other’s cities,” Stewart said.

That’s where the pledge comes in. Stewart said he wants business leaders in particular to sign the pledge to fly themselves and their employees out of Tucson whenever possible.

“I’d like every resident to sign it, but a lot of times these are the people who are running companies or large organizations,” he said.

Sun Corridor, an economic development organization representing the metropolitan areas of Southern Arizona, on the business side of things.

“One of the most important pieces of infrastructure for Southern Arizona is the Tucson airport, and while the flying public depends on access to transportation, so do prospective commercial and industrial entities,” said Laura Shaw, senior vice president at Sun Corridor. “Our efforts in that area include a partnership that expands the airport’s assets, really trying to build up more commercial development and help plan for proper land use around the airport for the next five to 10 years.”

The partnership is currently under a three-year contract in which TUS has outsourced its economic development to Sun Corridor. When a company is looking to establish itself or expand near an airport in Southern Arizona, Sun Corridor plays both promoter and broker, pointing a spotlight at the region’s assets.

“T�� airport has a lot of unique assets here that are really great for business,” Shaw said. “T��re are probably about 800 to 1,000 developable acres around the airport that the airport’s looking at, and we’re looking at, to help them figure out how to utilize that acreage, how to make them shovel-ready and really ready for business.”

TUS is surrounded by employers, including — one of the state’s largest private-sector employers — as well as Bombardier and Ascent Aviation. There are smaller manufacturers, MROs (maintenance, repair and operations services) and fixed-base operators (FBOs) around the airport. FedEx, HomeGoods, Target and Amazon have large distribution centers near TUS.

“It’s got direct access, sitting right between two major highway systems, I-10 and I-19,” Shaw said. “It’s the only Arizona airport with 24/7 CBP () air cargo handling, so that’s a big benefit as well. And there’s no real property tax for tenants because of how the airport is structured.”

Additionally, the , a full-service inland port, rail yard and intermodal facility, is about a 15 minute drive from TUS.

“T�� more businesses and individuals… [that] can fly out of Tucson, the more flights we’ll get,” Shaw said. “It’s the same thing with us and economic development — the more companies we can attract, the more talent we can attract, and vice-versa. So, the more people that fly out of Tucson and don’t drive up to Phoenix really helps to build up the flights here, which will in turn help us to attract more businesses that know that they can fly in and out easily.”

Stewart said the Fly Tucson First initiative reminded him of something Ben Franklin supposedly said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

“If we don’t do all this collectively — if we don’t all agree to do this — we’re screwing ourselves individually, whether we think we’re helping ourselves or not,” Stewart said.

The post Fly Tucson First initiative urges Southern Arizona to support regional economy appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

Local First Arizona Foundation’s SCALE UP program helps businesses save money through sustainability

Graham Bosch — Mon, 06 May 2019 16:30:14 +0000

The SCALE UP Program is a Tucson-based initiative to help local businesses become more sustainable, saving them money on utilities, providing educational resources and offering financial incentives while reducing energy use, water consumption, waste and emissions.

The program was launched by the Local First Arizona Foundation, the sister organization to nonprofit Local First Arizona (LFA) focused on creating strong, self-sufficient local economies, in partnership with the Tucson 2030 District, a public-private dedicated to creating a high-efficiency building district in Tucson.

“When it comes down to it, the Local First Arizona Foundation is about creating a better economy that benefits all Arizonans,” said CJ Agbannawag, program manager for SCALE UP.

“We believe that it’s important that, when we’re talking about sustainable economies, we also need to be considering what it means to have a sustainable environment and a sustainable community,” he said. “And we realize that business ownership and the way we run a business has a big and on your community.”

SCALE UP — Sustainable Communities Accessing Lending and Expertise Upon Performance — launched in 2018 as a pilot program for Tucson, funded by the Arizona Office of Grants and Federal Resources.

“We wanted to put a twist on the traditional type of energy efficiency workshops and water efficiency workshops to see if [businesses] can have better follow-through… and actually make these bigger implementations and investments in their buildings so they can be more sustainable,” Agbannawag said.

In the , 11 locally-owned Tucson businesses went through a six-workshop series covering topics including energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, transportation efficiency, benchmarking and , a volunteer effort by LFA to connect citizens with businesses and provide educational opportunities to the community.

“Each of the six workshops, we pulled in community experts, because there’s already a lot of these great resources out there in your community,” Agbannawag said. “We had slides that facilitators presented on with information that was aggregated from the community and also from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and then we provided a workbook with quick lists of resources for all the different topics.”

The workshops provided checklists that businesses could use to benchmark (evaluate) their sustainability practices and track their progress. The program also offered an incentive package of resources, including energy rebates.

“T��re were actually some custom incentives as well,” Agbannawag said. “For example, here in Tucson, they offered a custom rate for businesses. If they saved 10 percent on their efficiency, they could get a 10 percent discount on their corporate membership through the bike share program.”

The program’s purpose is to educate business owners, offer perspective on sustainability issues and create understanding about important questions: Where does the energy come from when you turn the lights on? Where does your water come from in Tucson?

“We wanted businesses to take ownership for these sustainability plans,” Agbannawag said. “T��re are a lot of auditing-type services out there where someone will come in and do an energy audit for your business, but then those plans just kind of sit on a shelf.”

SCALE UP encourages participants to create a sustainability plan and follow through on it, using resources and advice from industry professionals, government officials and utility experts. The program also lays out all the different incentives and rebates utilities offer, making it easier for business owners to sift through options.

“At the end of each topic, businesses had to benchmark their buildings and benchmark their business practices,” Agbannawag said. “Things like, ‘How many LED light bulbs do you have? How many gallons-per-flush are your toilets?’”

Businesses also had to benchmark their buildings using the online tool, tracking the progress of energy efficiency improvements and comparing past and current usage.

“T�� pilot was just in Tucson, so it worked with Tucson Water, Tucson Electric Power and the City of Tucson and all the different municipalities down here to get the information specific to the area,” Agbannawag said. “But the plan is to eventually expand it to the rest of the state.”

The Arizona chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, a national environmental health , was a major partner, he said.

“We also worked with the Pima Association of Governments, because they have a lot of great transportation resources in Pima County, including the folks that run our local bus system and streetcar system, from ,” Agbannawag said. “We also had other local nonprofits, like Watershed Management Group, which is a local water coalition here in town; they participated. Technicians for Sustainability was a partner as well; they’re a local solar installer. So we had a pretty broad range of partners that assisted in this program.”

Ultimately, the LFA Foundation hopes the program makes business owners more aware of what is going on in their environment and their community, as well as the impact their businesses can have, Agbannawag said.

“Secondly, we want to help these businesses to reduce their utility spending so they actually have more money freed up to invest in their building in other ways or to invest in their company in other ways, so that they can be more environmentally-friendly and have better economic performance,” he said.

Finally, participants were given exclusive access to a revolving loan fund from the nonprofit (CIC) in Tucson, allowing businesses to take out low-interest loans for sustainability projects. The loans were matched up to 20 percent by a grant from a CIC investor.

The pilot program businesses saw “a pretty big spectrum of improvements across the board,” Agbannawag said.

For example, Pop-Cycle, a sustainability-focused bicycle shop, operates out of a historic building in Tucson that the company believed to be inherently inefficient, Agbannawag said. But after completing the SCALE UP program, Pop-Cycle saw the building’s lowest energy bill in 20 years, he said.

Right now, SCALE UP is in a planning period, hoping to receive assistance from the state and the City of Tucson to continue the program.

“We’re taking what we’ve learned, we’re identifying other partners, so that way when we do relaunch the program we can pretty quickly expand it,” Agbannawag said.

SCALE UP wants to take a cohort of businesses through the program every quarter — four cohorts per year — and complete at least two more sessions before expanding to Phoenix and elsewhere in the state, he said.

Climate change and water shortages will create new financial challenges for local businesses, and learning to be more sustainable is a smart way to prepare for that and offset the economic impact, Agbannawag said. Consumers should be aware, too, he said.

“At Local First, we tell people all the time to vote with your dollar, to support the local businesses, because they have the decision-making power here in our state, and we want to keep our money here to support our tax base in Arizona,” he said.

“If you’re a consumer that wants to be more sustainable, find the businesses — like the ones that went through SCALE UP — that are supporting green projects and sustainability projects, and support them as well, and let them know that they’re doing a good job.”

***

Business owners can email CJ Agbannawag for more information about upcoming SCALE UP workshops or to add themselves to the contact list for future cohorts.

The post Local First Arizona Foundation’s SCALE UP program helps businesses save money through sustainability appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

Smart vehicle group in Tucson starts up

Nick Esquer — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 16:00:05 +0000

Arizona has been closely associated with autonomous vehicle technology for a few years now, since Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation to allow testing and development in 2015. From autonomous Uber ride sharing in Phoenix to Waymo autonomous vans in the suburbs or self-driving big rigs in the Tucson area, Arizona has been a lucrative destination for tech companies to test with little regulation.

Now, the University of Arizona is touting a partnership with state and local government agencies to help the surrounding Tucson area take the mantle as an industry leader in smart-vehicle technology. While the public is still wrapping its head around driverless cars, innovators in Tucson are ushering in opportunities to help develop and champion artificial intelligence within an automobile’s cabin and under its hood.

Smart Vehicles and Intelligent Transportation (SVIT) brings together government, academia and industry to help promote the region as a destination for the burgeoning industry. The UA Tech Park will play host to a day-long conference from on January 23rd that outlines the partnership and the technology.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, the city of Tucson, Pima Association of Governments, Pima Community College, Pima County, and the Arizona Commerce Authority are some of the entities involved in the innovative group spearheading the development of the technology in the region. Another component of the group is the University of Arizona Transportation Research Institute.

The Transportation Research Institute has been involved in self-driving technology in vehicles and intelligent transportation through UofA’s College of Engineering; more specifically, the university’s Advanced Traffic and Logistics Algorithms and Systems. The aim by the Transportation Research Institute is to better understand traffic-control design, an area of research that highlights the communication between smart vehicles and traffic signals to ensure and enhance the safety of passengers on the road.

“T�� vision of SVIT is for Southern Arizona to be an industry leader in developing and employing smart vehicle and intelligent transportation technologies to address community needs, attract and grow the industry and drive our economy,” an SVIT spokesperson said in a statement.

The university is also touting its Cognitive and Autonomous Test Program, which allows students from all over the country to test their self-driving vehicle design at the UofA.

Even though Uber had to put autonomous vehicle testing on hold following a fatal pedestrian-related incident last March in Tempe, Arizona is still poised to be a leader in testing and production. For example, Gov. Ducey signed legislation last May that allows small, automated delivery vehicles to drive on sidewalks.

On top of that, autonomous services outside of ridesharing are being tested in the state. In Scottsdale, Kroger (Fry’s) stores are testing self-driving delivery vehicles, delivering groceries to customers who choose to put the fate of their frozen vegetables in the hands of a driverless pod monitored by engineers in another vehicle.

Back in Tucson, China-based TuSimple has been working to develop its self-driving commercial truck technology since landing in the Old Pueblo in 2017. Local highways have seen the company’s commercial vehicles making small local deliveries and will soon take to Interstate 10 to haul goods between Phoenix and Tucson.

“Arizona has the most rational system for testing autonomous vehicles,” TuSimple vice president Chuck Price said at a news event last fall. “T�� regulatory climate is correct. We’re also impressed with the talent in Tucson. We have a very strong partnership with the University of Arizona and with Pima Community College.”

The company has brought jobs to the region, with another 500 positions projected to open up in the next two years.

The post Smart vehicle group in Tucson starts up appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

New program pairs Tucson military veterans with jobs

Ben Norman — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 15:59:54 +0000

The Tucson Metro Chamber has recently rolled out the Southern Arizona Workforce Initiative, a web-based program that matches military veterans with defense employers. This technology will create hundreds of opportunities for veterans who sometimes struggle to find post-service employment.

Currently, the initiative is in its preliminary phase – employees and potential employers are able to create an account through the platform, and both parties determine if the partnership would be mutually beneficial. Veterans can then attend a hiring event on October 23rd at Pima Community College to meet the employers with which they matched. The event allows veterans to determine which employer is the best fit for them, and vice-versa.

Tucson Metro Chamber President/CEO Amber Smith explains that the city presently has 87,000 military veterans, and military bases like Fort Huachuca and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base discharge 80 to 100 military members every month. Hence, there is a rapidly growing population of retired veterans.

Furthermore, many employers look for hard-skills such as engineering or computer science, but this program helps to showcase veterans’ impressive soft skills. Smith notes that the three main soft skills that military vets exhibit include leadership, teamwork, and time management — three skills that translate well into any work atmosphere.

Smith notes that veterans have already matched with myriad jobs. “It’s diverse. It can be anything from professional truck drivers to human resources to administrators to engineers,” she states. “T��re is a large amount simply because of the [defense] industry we’re focused on; that means that the technical field – the welders and assemblers and those jobs – are actively growing as well.”

In fact, the program is also partnering with Pima Community College to provide these veterans with the proper training as they begin their new positions. This ensures that they can advance past any learning curve and succeed in their respective new jobs.

The quantitative impact of the program is not available yet because it is so young, but Smith anticipates it will create hundreds of jobs in the first phase. After the first hiring event, the Tucson Metro Chamber will have more data and know how best to proceed with the program.

Some veterans can certainly face struggles with employment after their service, as the workforce is rapidly changing. The Tucson Metro Chamber is combating these roadblocks and creating win-win partnerships between veterans and employers.

The post New program pairs Tucson military veterans with jobs appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

TEP announces its opposition to Proposition 127

Ben Norman — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:01:17 +0000

Tucson Electric Power (TEP) recently announced its opposition to Proposition 127, a November ballot initiative that requires 50 percent of all public utility energy to come from renewable resources by 2030. UNS Energy Inc., the parent company of TEP, formed Southern Arizonans for Responsible Energy, a political action committee dedicated to combating the energy mandate.

California billionaire Tom Steyer has led the initiative and has poured over $8.2 million into its campaign. The proposition is not pragmatic in a state like Arizona, which has one of the biggest nuclear power plants in the nation. Because nuclear energy is not considered renewable according to the Steyer initiative – despite the fact that it generates no carbon emissions – the Palo Verde Generating Station will likely close indefinitely.

Morgan Abrahams, the chair of Southern Arizonans for Responsible Energy, notes that this also affects small-businesses. He highlights that Tucson is a “big small-business community,” and when these businesses’ electricity rates rise, many of them face the danger of closing. Moreover, tandem rate hikes in business-owners’ office spaces and homes could prove poisonous to many Arizonans’ professional and personal lives.

Moreover, Abrahams explains that rent-payers will face the biggest burden if this proposition passes. “It’s an unreasonable piece of policy that unfairly impacts lower-income populations,” Abrahams explains. “It has unintended consequences of 50 to 100 percent increases in electricity bills in Tucson and Phoenix. How do you tell people that are living paycheck to paycheck that their electricity bill is going up 50 percent?”

Abrahams says that TEP plans on funding campaigns efforts to combat the proposition. “We’re really focusing on Pima County – our main focus is what we know, and that’s the voters of Pima County. With that in mind, we have a lot of community profits and nonprofits on board — we’re raising a lot of money to let our message spread.”

Finally, Abrahams emphasized that Southern Arizonans for Responsible Energy supports solar and is “all for renewables,” noting that it is an important long-term goal for the state. However, Prop. 127 is not the right way to achieve this goal – because of its significant impact on residents and businesses, it will create more harm than benefits in the state.

TEP is the latest organization to join the fight against Proposition 127.

The post TEP announces its opposition to Proposition 127 appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

Raytheon looks to advance drone swarm tech for Navy in Tucson

Nick Esquer — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 16:00:48 +0000

In 2016, Tucson-based defense contracting company Raytheon successfully shot off a series of successful tests for its Coyote aircraft project. “T�� unmanned aircrafts, launched in a swarm, perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions while the host aircraft remains in safe airspace,” according to the company.

Now, Raytheon is expanding on this success with a new deal with the Navy. Raytheon will advance this technology for the military branch by supplying swarms of smart drones that may one day deliver weapons on top of performing their already successfully tested duties.

Last week, the Pentagon awarded Raytheon a $29.7 million contract to build more prototype aerial drones. These drones will fall under the Navy’s Low Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) program, the autonomous drone wing of the branch that aims to develop these swarms to collectively surveil a target.

Raytheon will operate the project out of its Tucson campus under the direction of the Office of Naval Research and will be completed by January of 2020. The contract was bid under a long-range research proposal solicitation, or “broad agency announcement,” from the Navy and Marine Corps. Raytheon’s expendable Coyote UAV’s, which are three feet long and weigh in at about 13 pounds, cost around $15,000 each. Altogether this is a huge cut in cost compared to developing reusable drones.

In 2016, Raytheon used a battery of tube launchers to fire off a swarm of 30 Coyotes that flew autonomously and in formation. Since then, it hasn’t been just the military that has shown interest in this defense tech. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration took notice and hired Raytheon to develop and supply Coyote drones for gathering and transmitting weather data inside hurricanes.

Raytheon originally developed the Coyote drone alongside Advanced Ceramic Research Inc., a tech research organization founded by University of Arizona grad Tony Mulligan, an engineering major. Advanced Ceramics worked with the Office of Naval Research in the early 2000s to develop similar autonomous UAV’s.

Raytheon has been attached to Advanced Ceramics Research for some time now. The latter was acquired by defense company BAE Systems in 2009. BAE went on to sell it to Sensintel in 2013, which was acquired by Raytheon in 2015 and then streamlined into its Missile Systems business in Tucson.

Advanced has developed long-range recon drones previously for the Marine Corps and the Air Force. Known as the Silver Fox, the drone can fly automatic missions up to 180 miles away and stay in the air for 10 hours, or 20 hours with the help of diesel fuel.

If the software for the LOCUST swarm drones performs as well as expected, the Navy will then decide how to use the power of redundant autonomous aircraft moving together as a single unit through the sky.

The post Raytheon looks to advance drone swarm tech for Navy in Tucson appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

UA Tech Park to expand in two locations

Ava Montoya — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 16:00:28 +0000

Photo courtesy of UA Tech Park

Big things are happening in Tucson. Tech Parks Arizona (TPA), in partnership with the University of Arizona (UA), consists of three projects: the UA Tech Park at Rita Road, the UA Tech Park at The Bridges, and the Arizona Center for Innovation. The mission of the Tech Park is to encourage a culture of incubation and innovation, attracting high technology companies to Southern Arizona.

Contributing just under $2 billion in economic impact statewide, and creating over 10,000 jobs in the region, the Tech Park is instrumental in driving the economic engine of the area and the state.

At the end of May, Tech Parks Arizona announced partnerships with two developers, The Boyer Company and Bourn Companies, LLC, for new projects at the UA Tech Park at The Bridges and the UA Tech Park at Rita Road, respectively. Through its partnership with the UA, Tech Parks Arizona aims to attract high technology companies, big and small, to Southern Arizona. The Tech Park is home to behemoths like IBM, Oracle, and Raytheon, as well as startups ripe to break into the market.

This month, the UA Tech Park is receiving the Paul J. Fannin Award from the Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC), which recognizes an Arizona company or organization that acts in goodwill to bolster the Arizona-Mexico relationship. Associate Vice President of Tech Parks Arizona Bruce Wright, a long-time AMC board member, says that Arizona’s relationship with Mexico is central to the mission of the Tech Park.

“Southern Arizona, through its innovation districts, aims to provide people with a global advantage and create a soft-landing program for companies looking to expand,” said Wright. “T�� park offers a gateway to introduce companies to the Mexican market, a fast-growing economy that many are looking to tap into.”

In addition to serving as a landing spot for national and international companies looking for proximity to a young Mexican market, the park also focuses on attracting companies from Mexico, which is currently experiencing a tech boom of its own.

“Most companies want to enter the U.S. market, and a place like the Tech Park that has such a culture of incubation is the perfect place for them to do so,” Wright said.

More than just creating physical spaces to accommodate cutting-edge tech companies, the Tech Park establishes a complete innovation district. This comes in large part through the addition of more lifestyle attractions to accompany the established commercial space, a concept that is guiding the developments to come.

“Development of a residential component is of the utmost priority, we want to encourage a live, learn, work, play and stay culture,” Wright said.

Preliminary plans released for The Village, to be developed at the west end of the UA Tech Park at Rita Road, exemplify this concept. The mixed-use development will incorporate retail, commercial, residential, and hotel space, providing all the key components of a thriving modern community. The Village is located in one of the fastest growing areas of Tucson, within the excelling Vail Unified School District and just 15 minutes from Tucson’s reinvigorated downtown area. Its strategic location positions it perfectly to become an economic and social hub, attracting businesses and consumers to the area.

The second area of new development is the Technology Precinct in the UA Tech Park at The Bridges. The Technology Precinct will provide a mass of new office and lab space, as well as a conference center and hotel. The space will cater to technology companies, and also be home to the Technology Commercialization Hub of the University of Arizona. Construction of the Technology Precinct is slated to begin early in 2019.

The post UA Tech Park to expand in two locations appeared first on ̽��ѡ.

Tucson Archives - ̽����ѡ