USF’s top priority: facility to drive innovation and process development

[USFishin]

Friday, March 27, 2009

USF’s top priority: facility to drive innovation and process development

Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Margie Manning Senior Staff Writer

TAMPA — A $43 million clean technologies manufacturing facility planned for the University of South Florida is “shovel ready†and one of the institution’s top priorities for stimulus funding.

USF hopes to tap into the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to pay for the proposed project, which has been on the drawing boards for a couple of years awaiting funding, said Rod Casto, associate VP for research and technology development.

The facility would provide clean rooms with high-quality air systems suitable for both university researchers and private companies to use as they develop manufacturing processes for their innovations. It’s already gone through the Development of Regional Impact process, required when projects are expected to impact neighboring communities.

Job creation at high salaries

USF projects about 600 permanent jobs from the facility — 300 in the clean rooms and 300 for staffers handling regulatory or manufacturing support. Average pay would be about $73,000, Casto said. There also would be indirect jobs created from spinouts, services and infrastructure.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/03/30/story8.html

[Costa]

Any idea where this would be on campus?

[Guest]

The Research Park on the Southwest corner of campus.

[Paisa el Toro]

It's all about bolstering that infrastructure. I also hope USF can pull off the funding for that on-campus hospital.

[Costa]

The Research Park on the Southwest corner of campus.

Good. There is so much room over on that corner of campus. They need to start putting in that research park and this new building.