Northwest Indiana leaders hope to see ongoing opportunities from the CHIPS and Science Act. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) discussed the act during the Northwest Indiana Forum's Ignite the Region luncheon Tuesday.
Young said the "chips" portion had an immediate goal of strengthening supply chains, but he expects the "science" portion to have a bigger impact long-term. "We're already starting to see the deployment of those moneys through our research universities down to, you know, Ivy Tech, which is preparing technicians to do all sorts of work in high-tech environments, very exciting," Young told Northwest Indiana Forum President & CEO Heather Ennis.
He said the Bloch Tech Hub seeks to build on the University of Chicago's quantum research and the surrounding fiber network, which he hopes will lead to state and private-sector investment. "It means more highly-capable people, in terms of the economic value they add to our economy, locating here," Young said. "It means more training opportunities in this region for quantum-related, quantum-adjacent work."
Developer Tom Dakich with Quantum Corridor hopes to expand the idea to data centers, by giving schools and universities a chance to get involved. "Why don't we make our data center such that they can do research there?" Dakich asked. "Why don't we take my fiber or the fiber that anybody else in this room can build, and make it such that that's part of the research that can be done by kids at Hobart High School or at [Purdue Northwest] or at Notre Dame or — I don't care — Oxford, wherever it is?"
Dakich said quantum researchers and physicists, along with leaders from other industries, are now looking to expand in Northwest Indiana.
