Oregon 'tech hubs' left out of $504M federal funding announcement

Two Oregon State University-led consortia were left out on Tuesday when the Biden administration announced $504 million in funding for 12 tech hubs across the county.

The Corvallis Microfluidics and the Pacific Northwest Mass Timber hubs were among 31 tech hubs that advanced last fall from a pool of some 400 applicants and were invited to compete for funding. Estimated awards for the 12 winners ranged from $19 million to $51 million.

The 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.

The expectation was that five to 10 hubs would get further funding, but even with the number expanded to a dozen, neither Oregon hub made the cut.

What that means for their futures wasn't clear, although leaders in both efforts suggested they weren't going away.

"The work leading up to the latest Tech Hub announcement has strengthened connections and advanced efforts to expand our workforce," OSU's Tom Weller, a leader on the microfluidics hub, said in a written statement.

The Tallwood Design Institute, an OSU-University of Oregon partnership, has been a key player on the mass timber effort.

"As a designated Tech Hub we will serve as a communication conduit for the sector and pursue available avenues to fund needed workforce programming and innovation supports," Iain MacDonald, the institute's director, said in a statement.

The mass timber hub was looking to build on Oregon's already substantial role in the rise of manufactured wood products as a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete in building construction.

Work by Freres Engineered Wood, TimberLab and Skanska USA Building has been supported on the academic side by the Tallwood Design Institute. OSU said last fall that the mass timber hub would build on this foundation and "invest in advanced materials science to position mass timber as a viable and sustainable construction alternative."

Microfluidics involves the use of 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. OSU had 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.

Here are the 12 hubs that received funding: