Emerging Technologies
Industry Overview
Colorado is a leading high-tech state. When assessing Colorado's position as a high-tech hub, the summary of economic impacts of high-tech reported in Cyberstates 2006 tells a compelling story:
- Concentration of high-tech workers, with 89 of every 1,000 private sector workers classified as high-tech, Colorado ranks #1 in the country
- 159,800 high-tech workers (12th in the nation)
- Milken Institute's "State Technology & Science Index" ranked Colorado 3rd among all states in technology and science assets
- High-tech payroll of $12.2 billion in 2004 (11th in the nation)
- More than 10,300 high-tech establishments (11th nationwide)
- High-tech exports represent 55% of Colorado total exports (4th nationwide)
According to the Milken Institute, Colorado is best in the nation for human capital in science and technology. Colorado ranks 2nd in the nation for technology concentration, 3rd in research and development inputs, 4th in risk capital, and 5th in existing science and technology workforce.
In addition to industries such as bioscience and information technology, which are discussed separately on this website, Colorado is leading the way in important emerging technologies that will revolutionize our world in coming decades. Two emerging industries that are making a particular impact in Colorado are nanotechnology and photonics.
Nanotechnology
Colorado is a national leader in nanotechnology. With considerable statewide and federal support and a cutting edge university research facility, Colorado is one of thetop three states nationwide in nanotechnology industry growth potential. Additionally, Colorado is ranked 6th in the nation for nanotechnology density, and the Nano Business Alliance selected Metro Denver as the location of one of the organization's three national offices. With anticipated economic output of $2.6 trillion by 2014, nanotechnology is poised to have a transformative impact on the Colorado economy in the next ten years.
In addition to all the reasons why Colorado is a preferred state to do any type of business, Colorado has specific and unique characteristics that make it particularly suited to success in nanotechnology.
- 75 companies in 20 cities throughout Colorado are currently involved in nanotechnology, 39.5% of which already have nanotech products on the market with applications in electronics, aerospace, agriculture and food, consumer goods, homeland security, biomedical, defense, environment and energy.
- A "cluster" strategy in the development of nanotechnology research and commercial capacity allows for powerful partnerships between companies, universities and federal research facilities.
- Colorado's nationally recognized strengths in a variety of high tech disciplines, including bioscience, information technology, optics and photonics, promote and aid the growth of nanotechnology.
- Federal and private sector dollars for nanotechnology research are pouring into Colorado universities, including:
- DARPA Focus Center on Nanoscale Science and Technology for Integrated Micro/Nano-Electromechanical Transducers at the University of Colorado, funded jointly by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Micro/Nano-Fabrication Research and Teaching Laboratory at the University of Colorado
- Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology at Colorado State University
- TheColorado School of Mines works with more than 100 companies in materials processing research, which includes the synthesis, processing and characterization of nanomaterials.
- The University of Denver has 10 faculty who are involved in three federally funded nanotechnology research projects. The school is in the process of raising funds to add additional new laboratory facilities.
- The U.S. Air Force Academy has nanotechnology facilities for research geared toward information technologies and defense and homeland security interests.
- Federal laboratory resources enhance university capabilities. In particular, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology offer significant nanotechnology research expertise and facilities.
Colorado's naturally dry climate facilitates nanotechnology research, development, and ultimately production, as nanomaterials can be easily damaged by water absorption within a humid atmosphere.
For more information, see:
http://www.coloradonanotechnology.org/
http://www.nanobusiness.org/
Photonics
Colorado has a strong photonics industry cluster that is keeping Colorado companies at the forefront of new advances in photonics and optoelectronics. There are more than 260 photonics-related organizations in Colorado, including private enterprise, university research and federally funded laboratories, which together provide more than 37,000 jobs. More than 200 of those organizations are directly engaged in the production of photonics or services, with more than 65% of those engaged in photonics manufacturing.
Colorado's photonics industry develops cutting edge applications and products that enhance a variety of industries, including medicine, defense, biotechnology, nanotechnology, manufacturing, remote sensing, communications, transportation and space exploration.
- Colorado is ranked 5th in the nation for photonics manufacturing.
- Colorado's largest universities all have photonics programs, including:
- University of Colorado
- University of Denver
- Colorado State University
- Colorado School of Mines
- U.S. Air Force Academy.
- A number of federal research facilities in Colorado are actively engaged in advanced photonics research, including:
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency
- National Center for Atmospheric Research
- A cornerstone of Colorado's photonics industry is the Colorado Advanced Photonics Technology Center, a nonprofit organization providing research support, expertise and equipment for Colorado companies and assisting with the commercialization of photonics technologies.
For more information, see:
http://www.coloradophotonics.org/
http://localsections.osa.org/rmosa/index.html
http://www.ieee-denver.org/