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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (8478)	10/25/2002 3:35:27 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Michigan's retiring governor is working to make Michigan into a high technology state... Engler pushes to create MIT of the Midwest By TOM WALSH Columnist The Detroit Free Press October 25, 2002 freep.com Think of this as the MIT of the Midwest. Gov. John Engler, pushing doggedly during his final months in office to establish Michigan as a high-technology state, will unveil plans today for a new Ann Arbor center to house cyber-pioneering firms Internet2 and Merit Network. The Michigan Information Technology Center, to be endowed with $10 million in state funds, will also include an Internet Hall of Fame in a new 100,000-square-foot building on Oakbrook Drive, just north of Briarwood Mall. The fact that the center shares the MIT acronym with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology may be accidental. But it's consistent with Engler's oft-stated goal of Michigan becoming competitive with Silicon Valley and Boston for brainpower and high-pay, high-tech jobs. In addition to promoting computer and Internet projects, Engler has earmarked $1 billion from tobacco litigation to fund the Life Sciences Corridor program to help Michigan compete in medical and biotechnology markets. This fall, he is vigorously opposing a ballot proposal to change how tobacco money is spent. Emerging technologies At a press conference today to announce the center, Engler will be joined by Doug Rothwell, president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., and Douglas Van Houweling, president and CEO of Internet2, the ultra-high-speed backbone that dwarfs the original Internet in speed and power. Van Houweling will chair the Michigan Information Technology Foundation, which will oversee the center. The MEDC, Merit Network and the Washtenaw Development Council also will sit on the foundation's board. Merit Network and the University of Michigan were heavily involved in creating and commercializing the original Internet in the 1980s, and Van Houweling, a former U-M vice provost, was named to head up Internet2 development five years ago. Engler vowed in his 2001 State of the State address to make sure Internet2 remains based in Michigan. Internet2 and Merit Network are expected to have 75 and 120 employees, respectively, when they move into the new MIT Center by the end of 2003. "This is all about brainpower, and harnessing the products and ideas that spin out from that to create future economic wealth," says Jeff Mason of the MEDC. Creating future wealth While some might question throwing more tax money at technology projects in the wake of the recent dot-com bust, Rick Inatome takes a different view. Inatome, founder of Inacomp Computer Centers in the 1970s, believes today's wacky economy presents a great opportunity to invest in emerging technologies. He and some partners recently formed Mentor Capital, a new venture capital fund. He sees value in two key areas: Deconstructing big merger deals that failed "because they didn't make any sense." Salvaging what he calls "broken venture capital deals," or promising companies that got starved of growth capital during the VC bust of the past three years. Inatome and partners are putting $20 million behind their beliefs. Engler is pledging public money to back his belief that government can create clusters of brainpower and innovation. He'll be long gone from Lansing before we know if he's right, but his legacy will reflect whether folks in the future think of Michigan as the MIT of the Midwest. Contact TOM WALSH at twalsh@freepress.com or 313-223-4430.