The
Georgia Tech Packaging Research Center (PRC), a National Science
Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC), completed its 10-year
term as an ERC in late 2005. A recent study conducted by the Stanford
Research Institute (SRI) determined that between 1994 and 2004, PRC
produced a direct economic benefit (new jobs, licensing fees, and
royalties, etc.) to the economy of the state of Georgia of nearly
$192 million. When indirect benefits are factored in, SRI estimates
that the total quantifiable contribution of PRC to the Georgia
economy over the 10 years was $351 million.
Over the 10
years, PRC and its industry partners jointly designed and implemented
a strategy to cooperatively develop the center’s new
System-on-a-Package (SOP) technologies, educate the next generation
of packaging engineers, and transfer both technologies and graduates
to industry to strengthen its competitiveness. This partnership
resulted in hundreds of industrial internships and well over 300 PRC
graduates hired by the center’s industrial partners. Industrial
practitioners routinely gave lectures in the classroom and
participated on thesis committees. PRC hosted over 60 visiting
industry engineers on campus, documented numerous examples of
technology transfer, and disclosed nearly 200 inventions. PRC also
impacted local economic development by creating spin-off companies,
attracting spin-in companies, and assisting local start-up companies
in incubating nascent technologies.
By developing a portfolio
of critical SOP technologies, graduating over 500 skilled SOP
engineers, and facilitating the creation of new companies in its
field, PRC has enabled an SOP-based industry to emerge in the United
States.
