The federal government, in October, chose Indiana as one of more than two dozen tech hubs across the country.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration designated Heartland BioWorks as a regional technology and innovation hub. Heartland BioWorks, a consortium of several groups, including universities, municipalities, economic development organizations and companies, aims to make central Indiana a leader in biotechnology and biomanufacturing.
This is no small deal. The designation means the hub can compete for up to $75 million in grants, and state and tech sector officials say that could bring tens – or even hundreds – of millions of private investments to the state.
Funding for the tech hubs will come from the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana) co-sponsored and championed over the last two-plus years. The CHIPS and Science Act also was supported in the Indiana congressional delegation by U.S. Reps. Jim Baird (R-Greencastle); Andre Carson (D-Indianapolis); and Trey Hollingsworth (formerly, R-Jeffersonville).
Much of the attention of October’s announcement locally has been focused on central Indiana, and rightfully so. Afterall, the federal government essentially required tech hubs to focus on a metropolitan statistical area. So, Marion County and the surrounding counties are likely to see significant gains from this.
But there are other benefactors around Indiana as well. Northwest Indiana and the University of Notre Dame are poised to capture some of the tech investment coming to Indiana.
As part of the tech hub program, Notre Dame was awarded a Strategy Development Grant to lead the Midwest Wireless Innovation Strategy Development Consortium. Notre Dame, located in South Bend, is a partner in Heartland BioWorks.
“These announcements are another positive indication of research at the University of Notre Dame having an enduring impact in our community and nation,” states Jeffrey F. Rhoads, vice president for research and professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at Notre Dame. “These initiatives will spur local economic growth through the new innovations being developed by our faculty, staff and students in our physical and virtual laboratories, and will further accelerate the great things happening in our region.”
“When I authored the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, my goal was to spur more innovation in technologies of the future in places like Indiana, rather than just Silicon Valley and a few coastal cities,” Sen. Young says. “I’m pleased to see Notre Dame receive a strategy development grant to further plans for a Midwest Wireless Innovation Hub.”
Notre Dame isn’t the only school in the northern part of the state to get a boost from the recent announcement.
Research capabilities and workforce development opportunities at Valparaiso University — the only northwest Indiana higher education institution participating in the Heartland BioWorks consortium – could also expand.
“Northwest Indiana is known for manufacturing and Valpo is known for developing talented graduates. When both are blended with Valpo’s research capabilities in biotech and a budding entrepreneurial ecosystem, you’ve got a recipe for economic growth in the Region,” said José Padilla, Valparaiso University president.
The Region – made up of Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and Newton counties – is part of the Bloch Tech Hub, a consortium led by the Chicago Quantum Exchange, which intends to make the area including northwest Indiana a hub for the development and commercialization of quantum computing.
Specifically, the Bloch Tech Hub seeks to advance quantum computing to enable new solutions for logistics optimization, drug discovery, fraud detection, secure data sharing and other innovations.
In its application, the Bloch Tech Hub also mentions local Ivy Tech and several northwest Indiana neighborhoods that are poised to be a part of this quantum computing initiative.
The 31 tech hubs were selected from 198 applications from regional consortia that include industry, academia, state and local governments, economic development organizations, and labor and workforce partners. The tech hubs span regions across 32 states and Puerto Rico and represent a cross section of urban and rural regions.
For a full list of tech hubs, visit TechHubs.gov.
