TI ties plant to UTD

[gc]

Perry's research grant to college sways plans for $3 billion chip factory
06/28/2003 - By CRAYTON HARRISON and STEVE QUINN / The Dallas Morning News

Texas Instruments Inc. plans to build a $3 billion chip factory that will employ about 1,000 workers near the University of Texas at Dallas.

The project is part of a deal with Gov. Rick Perry that sends funds to the school for research. Mr. Perry will visit the campus in Richardson on Monday to announce the deal, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The governor has earmarked about $50 million for UTD, taking the money from a $295 million fund set aside by the Legislature to lure corporations by using economic incentives.

Dallas-based TI, one of the world's top chip makers, wanted funding for UTD before it would agree to build the plant in the area.

TI had told state officials it was looking at other potential sites for its facility. The company operates chip factories in Europe and Asia in addition to Texas.

A new semiconductor plant, packed with highly calibrated manufacturing equipment, will represent a shot in the arm for the area's struggling tech economy.

In addition to TI facilities in North Dallas, other chip plants in the area are operated by manufacturers including National Semiconductor Corp. and STMicroelectronics.

The factories don't necessarily yield a surge of economic development, but the TI facility will add well-paying jobs and capital investment to the Telecom Corridor, which has been in a slump for the last three years, said Angelos Angelou, an Austin consultant.

"TI's one of the best companies to have an investment from," Mr. Angelou said.

Chip factories use complex machinery to produce the thin, platelike silicon "wafers" that are cut into semiconductors, the chief building blocks of myriad electronic devices. TI chips end up in products from cellphones to broadband modems to television displays. It was unclear what types of chips TI would make at the facility.

Officials for both TI and UTD declined to discuss details of the plans. The governor's office didn't return telephone calls Friday.

The new factory is planned for a TI-owned plot of 90 acres bounded by Bush Turnpike, Renner Road, Alma Drive and Custer Parkway.

Company's ties to UTD


TI's executives founded UTD in 1961, and the company and the university have had a long, close relationship. Both sides want the university to become one of the nation's top research facilities, and the factory plans will help, said Dr. Murray Leaf, president of UTD's faculty senate.
"It's a very big deal," Dr. Leaf said. "It fits in all sorts of ways."

The university and TI have not decided whether the facility would be involved directly with the school's research efforts. But the $50 million infusion of money from the state would help UTD, more than offsetting the effect of Mr. Perry's recent veto of two state research funds. Those vetoes zapped about $3.5 million from UTD's research budget for 2004 and 2005.

Dr. Bob Helms, dean of UTD's engineering school and a former TI research executive, told The Dallas Morning News last month that he'd like to see a research budget of $50 million a year for the school someday. The school spent about $8 million on research last year, he said.

'Dogfight' for businesses


TI, meanwhile, will get a 75 percent property-tax abatement as an additional incentive to build the facility, according to people familiar with the situation. The Business Enterprise Fund, the governor's discretionary fund used to attract business, was essential to TI's decision to build in Texas, they said.
"It's a real dogfight to get businesses to move here, and it's becoming a dogfight to keep some of them here," said one person familiar with the agreement.

Earlier this year, state officials talked Toyota into building an $800 million plant in San Antonio by devoting $15 million to a rail spur the company wanted.

TI's last major expansion in Dallas came in 1996, when the chip maker announced DMOS 6, a $1.6 billion semiconductor plant. The factory produces some of TI's most advanced products.

Intel Corp., the world's largest chip maker, announced plans to build a major factory in Fort Worth in 1996, but that project fell by the wayside after the Texas Legislature failed to approve a special tax break in 1999.

[freewaytincan]

Ha ha! The Canyon Creek Homeowners' Association must be pissed! Good. Now they can't do a thing. You show those hardcore suburbanites, TI! I love you!

[psukhu]

TI to break ground on $3 billion site in 2005

Stephanie Patrick

Texas Instruments Inc. has selected Richardson as the site for its next major semiconductor manufacturing plant. Groundbreaking is expected by the end of 2005.

The facility will build the world's most advanced semiconductors on 300-millimeter silicon wafers, the second TI plant with such capability. The facility will represent an approximate investment of $3 billion by TI over a multi-year period subsequent to groundbreaking. When fully operational, the facility is expected to employ up to 1,000 people.

The selection of Texas as the location for the plant is the result of collaboration between TI (NYSE: TXN), the state, the University of Texas System and several local governmental and economic development entities. This joint effort will promote the North Texas region's technological future and boost funding for engineering and research programs at the University of Texas at Dallas.

"TI spends almost $1 billion a year on capital and a significant portion will continue to stay in Texas with this planned expansion. This state has been a great home for TI for many years," said Tom Engibous, chairman, president and CEO of TI.

TI officials worked closely with policymakers who earmarked millions in new funding for the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at UTD. Named for one of TI's founders, the Jonsson School is among the fastest-growing engineering programs in the country. More than $300 million in new funding from a combination of private and public sources will be directed to the Jonsson School as a result of TI selecting Texas for its next manufacturing site. Included is $50 million from the newly created Texas Enterprise Fund as part of the state's economic development package for TI.

"The state's commitment to a large investment in the Jonsson school was important in our decision to locate a facility of this magnitude here in North Texas," Engibous said. "UTD is now poised to move into the ranks of the country's great engineering schools. We all stand to gain from the well-educated work force and top-notch R&D programs this effort will produce."

This is one of the most important developments in UTD's 34-year history, said UTD President Franklyn Jenifer.

"It almost immediately will move us closer to our twin goals of being a top-tier research institution and having our Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science ranked among the top 50 engineering schools in the country," Jenifer said. "TI, which played a seminal role in the founding of UTD, once again has demonstrated its visionary corporate leadership and unwavering support for education."

Gov. Rick Perry, on hand for the announcement, also hailed the selection of the site.

"This is the largest modern day private-sector economic development project ever undertaken in the state of Texas," he said. "The thousands of jobs it eventually will create are exactly what we expect from the Texas Enterprise Fund and our other economic development efforts.

Groundbreaking for TI's new fabrication facility, or "fab," a few miles north of the company's headquarters in Dallas, is expected to occur before the end of 2005 pending attainment of appropriate permits and incentives as well as market demand. When completed, the planned facility will be one of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world, producing a wide range of digital signal processing and analog-based system-on-chip devices for wireless, broadband and digital consumer applications.

Much as it did with its first 300-mm facility, DMOS 6 in Dallas, TI plans to construct the building and infrastructure ahead of market demand, followed by stages of equipment installation as demand increases. This construction method spreads capital investment over a period of years and allows the company to increase production quickly as customers demand more products.



© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

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[CTroyMathis]

UTD quite on it's way to becoming the MIT of the Southwest. :D

[CTroyMathis]

City looks for 'ripple effect' from TI deal
Work on plant will take years, but many hope growth starts sooner

07/06/2003

By SARAH POST / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/city/richardson/stories/070603dnricplant.cf818.html

Richardson was buzzing last week with talk of Texas Instruments' expansion and its potential impact on employment, development and the Telecom Corridor.

Mention of "the TI deal" was an instant conversation starter.

"It can only have a positive effect," Richardson resident Barbara Eagen said Wednesday. She was hosing down her SUV at a carwash near the 90-acre site at Renner and Alma roads where the $3 billion microchip plant will be built.

A TI stockholder, Ms. Eagen said she hopes news of the expansion will sweeten her investment, but she said she is also hopeful for the thousands of unemployed telecommunications workers and the city's struggling tax base.

She's not alone.

"It will help the telecom area, and it should raise our real estate values," Vincent Laino said after reading the latest news about the deal at a nearby Starbucks. "I only wish it could happen sooner."

Construction is not expected to begin until 2005, but, assuming the demand grows as predicted, the chip plant will have a major economic impact on the city, the county and even the state. It is expected to employ 1,000 people upon opening and infuse millions of dollars into the local economy.

"In many respects the intangible benefits carry – at this time in the Telecom Corridor – as much impact as the dollars themselves. The ripple effect coming from this type of an investment has incredible effects on all sorts of the institutions around us," said City Manager Bill Keffler, who helped design the tax incentives that played a part in TI's decision. The company explored sites all over the country and abroad.

Richardson will give TI a 10-year, 75 percent property tax abatement as an incentive to build the facility. It also will give TI a 75 percent tax abatement on the building and on equipment and reinvestments made in the first 14 years of operations, Mr. Keffler said.

Each new addition of equipment will receive its own 10-year tax abatement, so the city's incentive program could be in effect for 24 years.

Collin County, Richardson, the Plano Independent School District and the Collin County Community College District also gave TI tax incentives.

Richardson's incentives will save TI $173 million in the plants' first 24 years. The city will earn $116 million in that same time through taxes, utility fees, and other direct and indirect revenues, Mr. Keffler said.

And that's only part of the deal.

TI said it would only build the factory in Texas if Gov. Rick Perry allocated $50 million for research at the University of Texas at Dallas. UTD will use the funds to build a 200,000-square-foot engineering lab, hire 40 faculty members and recruit 400 full-time graduate research students, university officials said.

Waco economist Ray Perryman said Richardson was smart to be a part of the deal.

"It's very important for the city because it's promoting a technology and an educational system to sustain it for a long time," he said. "That puts the city in very good condition to be part of the next wave of technology growth and ensure that the very healthy path it was part of in the '90s will continue."

In a study he performed for the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Perryman estimated that 74,000 permanent jobs will spring up in Collin County alone as a result of TI's and UTD's plans.

The area surrounding TI's site is well suited for the factory, planning officials said. It will be adjacent a similar facility, TriQuint Semiconductor, which manufactures a different kind of chip.

There are four apartment complexes within a half-mile of the TI site, and retail and restaurants are popping up to support growth in the area.

Tabitha Rawlings, who works at SBC, frequently eats lunch at Tasty Egg Roll, at the intersection of Custer and Renner roads. She said she expects there to be more traffic in the area when the plant opens, but doesn't mind because of the potential gains.

"With the unemployment rate the way it is, I think it will be good for the community," she said. Ms Rawlings added that the deal may help revive the Telecom Corridor and give her more job security.

Brian Ray, a resident of Canyon Creek and a Richardson police officer, said he was concerned about the tax incentives and would like to see Richardson diversify its tax base.

"I don't know what tax base the city is getting from this. Something like a restaurant row there would have meant sales tax revenue for a long time," he said.

Transportation officials are talking about how employees are likely to come from far and wide to work at the new factory.

"We are fortunate to have very good roadways there," said Transportation Director Walter Ragsdale. "We've got adequate transportation infrastructure to serve them. As time goes by, [the Bush Turnpike] will serve even more regional a focus and serve as a direct link across the entire north side of the metroplex."

[CTroyMathis]

$3 billion project hinges on tax deal
TI, Plano ISD expect to reach agreement
11:08 PM CST on Monday, December 22, 2003
By KIM BREEN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/collin/news/stories/122303dnmetti.cbb5bdb3.html

It's been almost six months since Texas Instruments Inc. said it would bring a $3 billion chip plant to Richardson.

But the project still hinges on one more big business deal.

This winter, Plano school trustees and TI expect to hash out the state's largest school tax break since legislators paved the way for such abatements in 2001.

Before TI announced its plans to come to Richardson, it sought tax breaks from the school district, the city of Richardson, Collin County and Collin County Community College District.

The Plano school district is the last to work out a formal deal. It also has the most at stake, because of its dependence on property taxes.

At $3 billion, the plant would be worth more than the district's top 10 assessed properties combined. Until the deal is done, it is unclear how big the break would be.

Both sides said they expect to work things out.

"Certainly things look optimistic," said Lewis McMahan, vice president of worldwide facilities at TI. He declined to speculate about what would happen if the deal didn't go through. "Obviously having all these abatements in place was part of the decision-making process."

Mr. McMahan said that when the company made its announcement in June, it recognized that if tax breaks didn't materialize "we'd have to reconsider our decision."

Richard Matkin, the school district's associate superintendent for business services, said the district doesn't want to short itself.

"We don't want to be harmed by the deal," he said. District leaders also understand the importance of the plant to the area's economic development, he said.

"If they don't get that abatement, you've sort of cut off your nose to spite your face," he said.

TI plans to build the chip factory on 90 acres at Renner and Alma roads. Construction is planned to begin in late 2005. At full capacity, it would employ 1,000 people. The plant is expected to bring millions of dollars into the local economy.

Taxing entities affected by the plant were receptive to deals.

"A lot of the work had been agreed to in principle before we did the announcement in June," Mr. McMahan said.

When the deal was announced, the expectation was that TI would get $600 million in breaks over 24 years.

Three of the four taxing groups have formally signed off on deals.

The city of Richardson, Collin County and the Collin County Community College District have agreed to grant nearly $300 million in estimated tax abatements over 24 years.

Even with the cuts, those entities expect to bring in nearly $200 million in tax revenues over that time from the facility. Actual figures will vary depending on what is built and when.

Agreements with school districts in Texas are much more complicated than with other taxing entities.

"These abatements work in a weird way," said Lynn M. Moak, a consultant hired by the Plano school district to work on its abatement with TI.

School districts in Texas avoided granting tax abatements after legislation was passed in the early 1990s that caused some districts to be penalized. State law was revised in 2001 to allow districts to make deals without losing money under the state's school financing system.

Recognizing that Texas could lose business to states that could grant school tax abatements, legislators made deals possible.

The state now prescribes the framework for districts to offer tax breaks, to spur economic development.

The school district collects two types of taxes, one to pay its operating budget and the other to pay for debts on capital projects and equipment.

TI would pay full debt service taxes but would get breaks on operating taxes.Basically, the district would receive taxes on the full value of the property in its first two years. For the next eight years, the property's taxable value is capped at $100 million, even as its projected worth surpasses $2 billion. Breaks end after that.

The breaks given to the company do not equate to dollars lost to the district, Mr. Moak said. The district doesn't keep all of the tax money it collects. About one-third of its tax revenue is sent to property-poor districts.

The plant would not solve the district's current budget woes, abatement or not, Mr. Matkin said. Construction will not happen in time to erase next school year's projected $11.2 million deficit, he said. The school district trustees recently approved a plan to trim 60 central office positions. Cuts in other departments are expected.

But the project would help the district over the long term, he said. On top of the tax money that would come in, the project also is expected to spur development. The district's tax base has grown stagnant.

Mr. Moak said the deal may include other enticements for the district, including payments to the school district in lieu of taxes.

"Most of the districts we've dealt with, and Plano is no exception, they need a positive [incentive] to grant the abatement," he said.

Mr. McMahan said he knew nothing of possible payments outside of the prescribed abatement schedule.

"I'm really not aware of anything like that," he said. "We certainly want to continue to work with them."

Mr. Moak said that the TI deal would be the largest of its kind and that the state comptroller's office and governor's office would be watching to see what happens.

"This will be the hallmark of what [this type of] abatement may be."

[LDSR]

Just an update...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/063004dnbusti.ba36a.html


I've seen the plans for the building and the only way to describe it is awesome. It's two fabs really... in a "short" Y configuration.


One thing that hasn't been mentioned very much is how "green" the building is being designed. Everything from the parking lot material, to the roof, the windows, the orientation of the building/structure relative to the summer sun, the landscaping, etc, is being designed for electrical efficiency. Everything is being carefully studied. As an example- there will be no CRTs for any offices, only flat panels since they generate less heat... and therefore less AC tonnage is required.


It's also a really nice plot of land (90 acres) in a great location. The tract has been owned by TI for over 10 years if I recall... since they built the TwinStar fab with Hitachi (now Triquint occupied) next door.


To the casual observer, this plant might not mean much, but the number of new fabs being built in the USA is seriously dwindling. It's very important for companies like Intel, TI, etc, to keep investing in fabs in the USA rather than moving production to Taiwan, China, etc.


And the below pasted from www.siliconstrategies.com (http://www.siliconstrategies.com/)


<META content="TI set to start building $3 billion fab early, says report" name=Headline><META content="Leading mobile phone chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc. expects to start construction of a $3 billion wafer fab in Richardson, Texas, by the end of 2004, up to a year earlier than a previous schedule, according to an Associated Press report." name=Description><META content="" name=Byline><META content=20040630 name=Created><META content="" name=Title><META content="" name=Created><META content="" name=Source><META content="" name=Lineage>
TI set to start building $3 billion fab early, says report
<!-- Title: Authors -->Silicon Strategies (http://www.siliconstrategies.com/)
06/30/2004, 11:48 AM ET

DALLAS, Texas -- Leading mobile phone chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc. expects to start construction of a $3 billion wafer fab in Richardson, Texas, by the end of 2004, up to a year earlier than a previous schedule, according to an Associated Press report.


The report cited an agreement signed in March 2004 by a senior TI executive and Rick Perry, Governer of the State of Texas, as its source. That agreement said that both parties expected construction to begin by December 31, although as recently as May Kevin March, TI's chief financial officer, said the construction start might be pushed out to the end of 2005.

"Over the coming 12 months, no later than by the end of 2005," said March, TI will begin construction of its second 300-mm fab, in nearby Richardson, Texas, aimed at 90- and 65-nm production, in an EETimes article May 17 (http://www.siliconstrategies.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=20301210).

However, under the terms of the March agreement, TI would have to notify the state and provide a new schedule if it changes the start date, according to the AP report.

The project was first announced by company and state officials one year ago (http://www.siliconstrategies.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=10817931). At the time Governor Perry said he had earmarked $50 million for the local university, taking the money from a $295 million fund set aside by the state legislature to boost economic development in the area. About $21.5 million of that was paid in March, the AP report said. Construction is expected to take 18 months, and the plant will employ 1,000 people.

[tamtagon]

Richardson will give TI a 10-year, 75 percent property tax abatement as an incentive to build the facility. It also will give TI a 75 percent tax abatement on the building and on equipment and reinvestments made in the first 14 years of operations, Mr. Keffler said.

Is Richardson a socialistic municipality? I'm going to send a letter to my realtor, the Governor of Texas, and the Richardson city council stating that unless I get a property tax break, I intend to purchase a home in Frisco.


Anyway, I hope this is able to hurry up for the sake of UTD.

[gc]

Thanks for the update LDSR. If you get a chance, please show us the renderings.

[Fobulous]

Is Richardson a socialistic municipality? I'm going to send a letter to my realtor, the Governor of Texas, and the Richardson city council stating that unless I get a property tax break, I intend to purchase a home in Frisco.


Anyway, I hope this is able to hurry up for the sake of UTD.
Why don't you?

[drumguy8800]

if you move to frisco.. oh my, if you move to frisco. or plano. or mckinney. or allen. or wylie, southlake, irving, etc.. i will verbally murder you. :D!!

[LDSR]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/102504dnbusti.18c5d.html

Groundbreaking set for November 18th. This is much sooner that a lot of us speculated... though it's need is driven by technology rather than economics.

I think the building will cost ~$350M just for the shell. What's that, half of a Jerry World? The remaining $2.65B is, of course, for equipment to be installed over a couple years.

And yes, everytime I pass Renner while driving on Central, I envision me in my shiny new office... paid for by you and your cell phone. ;) J/K!

Oh, no public renderings available... yet.

[tamtagon]

Will the magnitude of this project insulate Telecom Corridor business from industry fluctuations of the future? I'm really unfamiliar with which segments of the whole industry are present in Dallas/Richardson, so, um, will TI's additions attract/revive other supportive companies in the area? The boost in research at UTD should help the area relative to competitive city's, how much of what takes place at UTD will be channeled only to TI?

After the Cingular/ATT Wireless joining, it seems likely that more service provider consolidation will occur and new features and better equipment will be required as selling points. Sounds like TI is setting up for a decade of increased market share...?

[psukhu]

Tamtagon, here's my techie opinion:


Will the magnitude of this project insulate Telecom Corridor business from industry fluctuations of the future?

No project has that power for any industry. We never know what the future holds.



I'm really unfamiliar with which segments of the whole industry are present in Dallas/Richardson, so, um, will TI's additions attract/revive other supportive companies in the area?

Yes. Large plants like this need supporting businesses. There will also be spinoffs like in the area between San Jose and San Fran. Many of those big companies were started by guys in the area that worked for other companies.




The boost in research at UTD should help the area relative to competitive city's, how much of what takes place at UTD will be channeled only to TI?

The purpose of this is for UTD to produce quality employees for TI that are already local. Of course, this has a trickle down effect benefiting other local semiconductor companies and may even result in totally new companies. It's a win-win. (It is similar to the relationship between Stanford University and companies like Sun and HP)




Sounds like TI is setting up for a decade of increased market share...?

Their market share may stay the same, but the overall market size will most likely grow. There's a lot of future wireless users in India and China.

[RaStyyle]

Home > News
UTD building toward Tier-1
Project Emmitt, donations fund three facilities
By Chad Eggspuehler
Published: Monday, November 15, 2004
Article Tools:Email This ArticlePrint This Article Page 1 of 1

The new Center for BrainHealth will be located at 2200 Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. The building is currently being renovated and was purchased with a $5 million donation from Dianne Cash.
Media Credit: Center for BrainHealth
The new Center for BrainHealth will be located at 2200 Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. The building is currently being renovated and was purchased with a $5 million donation from Dianne Cash.


With construction beginning this month on a new $85-million Natural Science and Engineering Research Building (NSE) and the acquisition of two off-site buildings, UTD continues to build Tier-1 momentum.

While NSE will expand the campus' belt at the north end, the off-campus facilities will house a new Center for BrainHealth and the all-new Waterview Science and Technology Center.

UTD administrators believe the additions will further the university's progress toward national recognition as a top-tier research institution.

"We have made no secret of our desire to join the ranks of the nation's elite research universities," UTD President Franklyn Jenifer said in a Nov. 3 university press release. "The addition of these three buildings - and the commitment to research that they represent - will enable UTD to take the next step toward eventually achieving Tier-1 status."

NSE Research Building

Tentatively set for completion in July of 2006, the 192,000 square-foot NSE building will cast an imposing shadow upon the north end of campus on the southeast corner of the intersection at Synergy Parkway and Rutford Drive.

According to the press release, NSE will be the second-largest building on campus (second to the School of Management) and feature laboratories, a clean room and office space on-site for as many as 350 faculty, students and researchers.

The NSE building will be funded with money allocated from "Project Emmitt," a joint effort by the State of Texas, Texas Instruments (TI) and the UT System announced last year to buoy the North Texas economy. The project will bring TI's new $3-billion chip fabrication plant to Richardson and boost UTD's research capabilities. The groundbreaking for both buildings is slated for Nov. 18.

Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) Robert Helms said in the press release the new facility will compare to the best research facilities in the nation. Senior Vice President for Business Affairs Bob Lovitt agreed that NSE would be a national-caliber research facility.

"It won't be like the one at Stanford, but it will be a state-of-the-art, first-rate research facility," Lovitt said. "It was a lot more expensive per square foot than the School of Management."

Lovitt added NSE will connect to the main campus corridor via walkways and offer approximately 60 parking spaces. He also said the building would have its own electrical feed, so the power outages experienced earlier this semester should not affect either the construction or eventual operation of the building.

PageSutherlandPage will serve as the principal architect, and Centex Corporation will operate as the construction management contractor.

BrainHealth and NSM

As construction begins on campus, the new home for the Center for BrainHealth and the Waterview Science and Technology Center will bolster UTD's off-site research capabilities.

BrainHealth will move from its current location at the Callier Center on Inwood Lane to a 63,000-square-foot, three-story building located at 2200 Mockingbird Lane in Dallas.

UTD purchased the building with a $5 million donation from Dianne Cash of Dallas. The new building will be named the Frances and Mildred Goad Building in honor of Cash's mother and grandmother, both of whom had benefited from the Center's efforts. A completion date has not been announced.

Executive Director for BrainHealth Dr. Sandra Chapman said she is excited about the move to a bigger building.

"Right now, we don't have space to grow," Chapman said. "With the new building, we could fill in the research team and rapidly expand our research capabilities. It would be fertile ground for a cognitive brain science think tank."

Chapman said once BrainHealth relocates to the Mockingbird location, its top priority will be to hire a research director who will focus on functional brain imaging - the exploration of how the brain functions while thinking and recovering from injury.

Chapman added that the Center's close proximity to UT Southwestern Medical School would provide more opportunities for collaboration.

"We're already collaborating with UT Southwestern on 20 projects," Chapman said. "The new building will increase the visibility of UTD in the greater Dallas community. We'll be UTD's second campus downtown."

According to a Nov. 3 press release, Helms has promised $1 million in Emmitt Project funds to the renovation of the building and the development of collaborative research enterprises.

Meanwhile, UTD has purchased and plans to renovate a 72,000 square-foot building at 17919 Waterview Parkway to serve as the new home for NSM faculty and staff so a $20 million renovation can take place in Founders Hall.

The $9.7 million research center will house research labs and offices for NSM.

The renovation of Founders, the oldest building on campus, will begin as soon as the new center opens, perhaps as early as December, Lovitt said. After completion of the renovation, Lovitt added, Founders will no longer house research labs.

[freewaytincan]

And to think that just fifteen years ago, it was just a quiet graduate school. This is incredibly impressive. I'm excited to see UTD grow and expand beyond its campus. I'll see if I can find some renderings.

[dallastophoenix]

always good to hear such positive things about my undergraduate alma mater. it was such a "no-name" place back in the day...

[freewaytincan]

http://www.utdallas.edu/utdgeneral/news/images/newresearchbuilding.jpg

The new Natural Science and Engineering Research Building, to be located on the north end of the campus. More information can be found here - http://www.utdallas.edu/utdgeneral/news/archive/2004/researchbuildings.htm - and here - http://www.utdallas.edu/utdgeneral/news/archive/2004/groundbreaking.html .

[RaStyyle]

As your resident UTD student i'll do my best to keep you guys informed on the happenings at the Univ. of Tex at Dallas,

UTD team creates 'yarn' from carbon

Superstrong filaments with variety of uses called breakthrough

10:14 PM CST on Thursday, November 18, 2004

By ALEXANDRA WITZE / The Dallas Morning News

[Click image for a larger version] MILTON HINNANT/DMN
MILTON HINNANT/DMN
Mei Zhang and Ray Baughman have developed carbon 'yarn' that could revolutionize technology.

Like Rumpelstiltskin, who could spin straw into gold, Richardson chemists have spun tiny carbon tubes into superstrong yarns.

The discovery could lead to futuristic clothing that conducts electricity, stores energy or repels bullets, University of Texas at Dallas researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science .

"Imagine making a supertough filament that can absorb energy," said Ray Baughman, director of UTD's NanoTech Institute. "I'm really excited by this technology."

One day, the yarn could link together arrays of spy satellites in space or curl and uncurl artificial muscles in robots, he said.

Other researchers have spun fibers from carbon nanotubes before, but the UTD yarns appear to have some of the most desirable properties yet. For instance, the yarns stay strong and flexible even when heated to more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit or chilled in liquid nitrogen.

UTD chemists Baughman and Mei Zhang collaborated with Ken Atkinson, a textile expert from Australia. They started with a tiny "forest" of carbon nanotubes, each one-hundredth the width of a human hair. By drawing and twisting the tubes together, the researchers spun carbon yarns just as a spinner would draw out pure wool.

"It's basically downsizing an ancient technology," Dr. Baughman said.

The team created black fibers up to 6 feet long. Combined into two- and four-ply yarns, they showed even more strength and toughness. They could be knotted together without weakening or breaking at the knot, a common problem with textiles, said Dr. Baughman.

And because the yarns are so flexible, they can be sewn and braided together. Clothing made from them would drape softly, unlike the rigid wires found in other textiles. Tiny electronic sensors could be woven directly into the fabric, allowing military leaders, for instance, to monitor the location and health of soldiers on a battlefield.

The researchers have filed a patent for the technology and formed a user consortium to start making more of the yarns. High costs have plagued the development of nanotube technologies, but the tubes are getting cheaper every year. The UTD-Australian team uses the cheapest tubes available, which contain tubes nested concentrically within other tubes.

Even the most expensive nanotubes – the single-walled kind that cost hundreds of dollars per gram – could one day become affordable, according to another report in Science.

Japanese researchers report that adding water to a chemical process triggered single-walled nanotubes to grow in a dense forest. The scientists can harvest the tubes by shaving the surface clean with a razor blade, then let a replacement forest grow.

The work could help Dr. Baughman and other nanotube researchers bring some of their ideas into commercial applications.

E-mail awitze@dallasnews.com

[freewaytincan]

It's very interesting work they do there. I had a friend in high school (who is now at Johns Hopkins) who was working with this department in a kind of high school internship for high school students. He discussed with me the possibility for these nanotubes and nanothreads. The concept of new bulletproof vests is very impressive; it would not be much thicker than a sweater, it would be flexible, and weigh substantially less than typical bulletproof vests.

[LDSR]

Small rendering from http://www.telecomcorridor.com/chamber/index.html

The blue section in front is the admin area. The large brown building in back is the first fab. The area to the right of the fab is left empty to accomodate expansion. It 'never' fails that TI fabs end up not being large enough and things like cafeterias and offices have to be converted into cleanroom space. This one is purposely being left open-ended into a parking lot. The space between the admin area and the fab is the tool (equipment) delivery and docks. Design of that area is pretty critical.

Only one fab is shown in the rendering. The second fab (same design) will be attached to the first one and take up the empty area in the middle left of the picture. It'll be a sort of triangle when complete. You can see the "scrubber farm" in the grey area behind the first fab. This cleans the exhaust before releasing into the atmosphere. I'm not sure if Air Liquide is going to build another chemical and nitrogen plant next to it, or if they're just going to expand the chem plant at the Triquint fab (formely TwinStar) and pipe it into TI's fab.

For reference, I've attached a pic of the main campus from a few years ago before the High 5 construction. The new fab is similar in size to DMOS6 which is located in the upper right of the campus. When compete, it'll obviously be 2x as large. (Actually, I've heard that each new fab is 2x the size of DMOS6, but I have trouble believing those numbers).

Again, shell cost is $300 - 350M. It was originally in the $450M range but some very clever and smart design changes have brought down the cost.

[drumguy8800]

WHOA. 635/75 looks a LOT different. It's amazing to see how suburban it looked/felt back then and how.. urban.. it feels now. What's the gaudy pink building on the NW(?) corner of the interchange? Ech.

Where will these buildings be put in relation to the aerial?

[LDSR]

The 'gaudy pink' building is an Embassy Suites... I can't remember if it's still pink. :) The pic appears to have been taken in ~1999 based on the state of the buildings on campus.

A curious building is the one located in the upper left of the campus by the Midpark bridge. You can see at least 5 actual trees growing up through the center of the buidling... kind of wierd architecture from the 1960's.

Oh, the building in the rendering will be located a few miles north off Renner road... see above posts. I don't have an aerial of that site... though I'm sure there's a satellite photo online somewhere.

[freewaytincan]

It's still that pinkish color, unless it's changed in the last three months.

And it's less than a "few miles" north of Renner. That would be Plano Parkway. It will be significantly set back, however. Considering it's an industrial facility, and across Alma are a great many apartments, and across Renner are many, many houses, it would have to be.

[RaStyyle]

Actually the TI facility will be bounded by, (clockwise from the north) George Bush, Alma, Renner, and Custer. It'll be on the northwest corner of Alma and Renner.

[LDSR]

UL, I think you mistook my "off" for an "of" in the Renner sentence. Sorry about not being very clear. I meant a few miles north of the main campus off of Renner.

[freewaytincan]

Actually the TI facility will be bounded by, (clockwise from the north) George Bush, Alma, Renner, and Custer. It'll be on the northwest corner of Alma and Renner.

Is that not what I said?

[RaStyyle]

Is that not what I said?
Whoops!...I didn't read your previous post...just saw Plano Parkway and houses set back.

[CTroyMathis]

Another article on construction beginning on UTD's Natural Science and Engineering Research Building.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13446529&BRD=1426&PAG=461&dept_id=528208&rfi=6

[freewaytincan]

I didn't even realize that paper still existed.

[freewaytincan]

By the way, after searching on the NCTCOG map, I found where this is supposed to be. I have to assume it's on the southeast corner, since the southest corner is occupied by The Practice Tee.

[LDSR]

RFAB main page
http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/rennerroadfab/index.shtml

Curent activity
http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/rennerroadfab/currentactivities.shtml

Some construction photos (May 2005 update)
http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/rennerroadfab/constructionphotos.shtml

Nice little construction video. The waffle table (cleanroom floor) is interesting to see since the holes are only visible during building construction. Triquint's fab is visible at the very start of the movie.
http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/rennerroadfab/RFAB050505.wmv

[psukhu]

Someone sould post a pic of the construction. There's like 10 huge cranes working on this. Looks like North Park x 2.

[Tnekster]

^I heard that TI will mothball this plant upon completion for at least one year.

[LDSR]

Photo update from Sept.

[LDSR]

From TI website:
November 2005 Update
Construction is on schedule for a March 31, 2006, "substantial completion" date. Outside, work continues on the exterior skin as well as landscape and sidewalk installation. Major electrical gear and mechanical systems are being installed, tested and commissioned. Interior finish work is on-going.


You can easily see how the plant will be expanded 2x in a few years. The upper left parking lot is just a placeholder. It can also expand down to the right (4 o'clock direction). Unfortunately, I missed an opportunity to tour the site in Nov. :(

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2698/oct20054ql.jpg (http://imageshack.us)