The Biden administration on Monday selected Oregon State University to develop two technology hubs, one for mass timber, the other for a type of semiconductor and power electronics cooling.
They were among 31 tech hubs designated nationwide out of some 400 applicants. They can now apply for between $40 million and $70 million each for implementation funding. Five to 10 hubs are expected to get those grants, the administration said.
A third applicant from Portland State University, focused on smart battery energy storage systems, won a grant for development activities that could position it for future hub consideration.
The Biden administration's Tech Hubs program was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act. It's intended to add jobs and boost technology innovation in cities beyond the traditional powerhouse tech hubs of Silicon Valley and Boston.
Mass timber leadership
Mass timber is a manufactured wood product gaining popularity as a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete. Oregon has led rapid growth in the sector in the U.S. with companies such as DR Johnson, Freres Engineered Wood, TimberLab and Skanska USA Building.
That's been supported on the academic side by the Tallwood Design Institute, a collaboration between OSU and the University of Oregon. Those entities have won federal support in the past year or so for other mass timber collaborations and projects.
The administration said the Pacific Northwest Mass Timber Tech Hub would build on this foundation and "invest in advanced materials science to position mass timber as a viable and sustainable construction alternative."
The administration is also backing the Corvallis Microfluidics Tech Hub to fund breakthroughs in using tiny amounts of fluids to cool microprocessors and power electronics. It's considered a key to furthering computing, biotech, energy and materials, and manufacturing advances. The work at "CorMic," as OSU dubbed it, would "establish the Corvallis MSA as the global leader in the development, scaling and commercialization" of microfluidics technologies.
The university identified HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) in Corvallis as "the world-leader in semiconductor-driven microfluidic devices," with Intel, Nvidia and Thermo Fisher also playing roles.
