Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Applauds Biden-Harris Administration’s Tech Hub Designations in 31 Communities Across the Country, Spurring Regional Science and Technology Entrepreneurship
Tech Hub designation, from the bipartisan CHIPS & Science Act, will play a role in tomorrow’s economic strength and resiliency, says the Federation.
Washington, DC – October 23, 2023 – The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) today announced their congratulations to the 31 communities across the United States designated as Tech Hubs by the Biden-Harris administration. This designation will bring together private industry, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, labor unions, Tribal communities and nonprofit organizations to compete for up to $75 million in implementation grants to make transformative investments in innovation, supply chain resilience, and job creation. There were 370 applications spanning 49 states and four U.S. territories.
“This is a bipartisan moment years in the making, and one our community has been anxiously awaiting and planning for,” says Melissa Roberts Chapman, the director of Ecosystems and Entrepreneurship at FAS. “Emerging industries rooted in science and technology are the foundation of our future economic competitiveness. Tech Hubs is so important because absent its catalyzing force, too many communities risk missing out on the opportunities for shared prosperity that they represent. Central to this success is the potential for cluster development in regions across the nation.”
“This funding is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand on the growing economic development rooted in science and technology,” says Dan Correa, CEO of FAS. “The Tech Hubs program owes its existence to fiercely bipartisan support in Congress, and the winning communities defy partisan categorization – large and small, rural and urban. It’s my hope that today’s awardees represent just the beginning; but for the program to reach its lasting potential Congress needs to fund Tech Hubs for the long term.”
Correa continues: “This is an ambitious policy on a massive scale, led by the communities themselves. Its success will turn on proper implementation, strategies for including communities and workers often left behind, and the bets that communities are placing on their own core competitive strengths.”
Tech Hubs designation includes regions with companies focused on semiconductors, clean energy, critical minerals, biotechnology, precision medicine, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. It is a strong endorsement of a region’s plan to build an economic ecosystem on emerging science and technology. A complete list and map of winners is available at the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s website, here.
FAS continues to strongly support the CHIPS & Science Act for its record investment across scientific and technology disciplines. On November 15th the think tank will award this year’s FAS Public Service Award to Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Todd Young (R-IN) for their work in Congress making the CHIPS & Science Act a reality. Among the other award honorees will be filmmaker Christopher Nolan for his cinematic portrait of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
ABOUT FAS
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) works to advance progress on a broad suite of contemporary issues where science, technology, and innovation policy can deliver dramatic progress, and seeks to ensure that scientific and technical expertise have a seat at the policymaking table. Established in 1945 by scientists in response to the atomic bomb, FAS continues to work on behalf of a safer, more equitable, and more peaceful world. More information at fas.org.
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