$1.1 million grant for drug development

Optics-laser firm Oclaro opening new OV facility with 30 workers

David Wichner Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 12:00 am

When California-based Oclaro Inc. announced it would acquire the local operations of Spectra-Physics in June 2009, the company said it was committed to the Tucson area, despite the planned move of manufacturing jobs to Europe.

Today, Oclaro follows through on that commitment, as it formally opens a new 14,000-square-foot laser device-design center in Oro Valley and announces a new local scholarship program.

About 30 people, including physicists and engineers, are working to develop laser-diode technologies at the new Oclaro facility at 10831 N. Mavinee Drive, off North Oracle Road north of North First Avenue.

That compares with about 100 people who worked at Spectra-Physics’ former location on Tucson’s south side at 3321 E. Global Loop, at the time of the acquisition through an asset exchange with Newport Corp. in June 2009.

Monday, September 27, 2010, 1:29pm MST

Raytheon gets $175M Japan contract

Phoenix Business Journal

Raytheon Co. has received a $175 million contract from the Missile Defense Agency for a development program with Japan.

The contract continues engineering and development efforts for the SM-3 Block IIA missile, the next generation of which is scheduled to begin test flights in 2014.

The missile, being developed out of the company’s operations in Tucson, will be built with larger motors and warheads to make it more effective against various targets.

The contract covers preliminary design revue, scheduled for early 2011.

Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) expects to deploy the missile by 2018 in Europe. It is being developed by the Department of Defense’s MDA and the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Brewer, Colangelo push commerce

Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services | Posted: Friday, September 24, 2010 12:00 am

LITCHFIELD PARK – Arizona is suffering financially because of a “disconnect” between the business community and the Legislature, former sports executive Jerry Colangelo said Thursday.

Colangelo said there is a “lack of a game plan where everyone is on the same page and everyone’s moving in the right direction toward the objective of winning.” But Colangelo, speaking at the first meeting of the Arizona Commerce Authority, said there is one bit of good news.

“There’s only one way to go, and that’s up,” said Colangelo, named by Gov. Jan Brewer to co-chair the new public-private authority with her. “There’s plenty of space here for us to be very, very successful.”

Diamond Children’s Hospital Medical Center opens

A DREAM COME TRUE

Published on Friday, September 24th, 2010

Inside Tucson Business

 After years of plans and months of construction the Diamond Children’s Medical Center is a reality. 

“This pediatric medical center has been in the making for more than 15 years, and it is so gratifying to see the building finally finished,” said Vicki Began, UMC vice president of Women, Children’s and Emergency Services.

“Already it is helping us recruit top-notch pediatric sub-specialists to Southern Arizona,” said Dr. Fayez K. Ghishan, head of the department of pediatrics and director of the Steele An initial $15 million gift from developer Don Diamond got the ball rolling on the center and the community did the rest.

The center is officially open to the public Tuesday (Sept. 28).

Raytheon, Boeing are successful in 3 tests of missile

David Wichner Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Thursday, September 23, 2010 12:00 am

Raytheon Missile Systems and partner Boeing Co. went three-for-three in critical test-firings in a competition to produce the U.S. military’s next-generation air-to-ground missile – the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) – Raytheon said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, competitor Lockheed Martin Corp. said its JAGM prototype successfully completed test goals in three test-firings by the military – though it missed its targets twice.

During a Sept. 3 test funded by the military, the Raytheon-Boeing JAGM used its millimeter-wave radar guidance system to hit a moving target at a range of 6 kilometers, or about 3.75 miles, Raytheon said.

The Raytheon-Boeing system was previously successful in two government-sponsored test flights conducted in June and in August. Those tests followed two successful company-funded JAGM test shots in April, Raytheon said.

Diversified metal firm thriving

David Wichner Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, September 19, 2010 12:00 am

Diversification works at longtime Tucson-based metal fabricator CAID Industries.

The company provides metal-engineering services and product fabrication to customers ranging from semiconductor-chip makers, to copper producers, to public artists, from Tucson to South America.

CAID makes some standard products, such as cathodes used to collect pure copper as part of an electrical refining process. And many of its products are common enough to the untrained eye – tanks, pipes, structural steel.

But the company’s bread and butter is custom, high-end design, engineering and fabrication.

“The idea is to do things that people have a hard time doing themselves, for other manufacturers and fabricators,” said CAID President Bill Assenmacher, who started with CAID in 1973 as a University of Arizona mechanical-engineering undergrad.

“Our goal is to take on the more unusual or difficult.”

Stimulus funds put solar power to work at Tucson VA hospital

David Wichner Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 12:00 am

Tucson’s veterans hospital is going solar fast, thanks to federal economic stimulus funding.

A 302-kilowatt, sun-tracking photovoltaic array was recently completed at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System.

And the VA hospital has announced plans to build a 2.9-megawatt, carport-mounted system that is called the largest of its kind in the U.S.

REC Solar Inc., a major provider of large-scale solar systems based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., built the roughly $1.35 million solar tracker array and will begin work on the carport system early next year.

The 2.9 MW carport system, expected to cost about $14 million, will cover seven separate parking areas to become, in aggregate, the largest carport solar system in the country, the company said.

2 Tucsonans, local firms lauded for tech innovation

Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 12:00 am

Tucson optics guru Bob Breault and a local educator won top individual awards and four Tucson-area companies are finalists in the 2010 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards, called the state’s highest honors for technology innovation.

Individual honorees, who were named recently, and the eventual company winners will be feted at an awards dinner on Nov. 18 in Phoenix.

Breault, president and founder of Breault Research Organization Inc., will receive the Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year award.

Jack D. Johnson, president of the SciEnTeK-12 Foundation and a retired University of Arizona professor, will receive the William F. McWhortor Community Service Leader of the Year award.

These local companies are up for Innovator of the Year awards in their size categories:

-Startup company: Verdant Earth Technologies Inc., a developer of controlled agricultural production systems.