Grants key to future IT

Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company’s recent announcement that it plans to cut 5,500 jobs by the end of 2011 was the latest in a series of disheartening news regarding the future of Indiana’s economy.

However, perhaps the technology grants awarded to two of our state’s universities last week suggests a brighter future for Indiana.

On Wednesday last week, IU received a $10.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to be used in establishing a state-of-the-art network of supercomputers.

Then, on Thursday last week, the National Science Foundation honored Purdue University with a staggering $105 million grant in order to operate the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), an information system that compiles seismological research.

These grants come as an extension of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package, which gifted more than $3 billion to the National Science Foundation.

And so, are the grants going to follow through with the plan’s objective and encourage growth in our state’s economy?

The projects funded by this money will no doubt generate new jobs.

Exactly how many employees each will take on is yet to be determined, but one thing’s for certain: They are going to require a lot of highly intelligent people.

True, these developments are in no way capable of replacing the more than 150,000 Indiana jobs that were lost in the past year. But they may afford a different kind of hope for our economy.

As our traditional manufacturing sector continues to wane here and throughout the country, remaining at the forefront of information technology will most likely become one of our chief concerns.

With these grants, Indiana’s economy can be a greater competitor in the high-tech realm.

In the burgeoning international market (which, as a result of globalization, is synonymous with the Indiana market), it takes brains and cyber technology to stay ahead of the game.

Indiana’s industries can’t beat the productivity and efficiency of up-and-coming industrial nations.

Some countries are just too willing to do whatever it takes to lower production costs, even if it means turning a blind eye to certain regulatory standards and forgoing the wages and pensions promised to their workers.

However, we believe that as long as we continue to invest in education and programs like these, our economy can shift in order to compete in a global setting.
If these grants don’t offer a whole lot of immediate relief to our state’s economy and the thousands of down-and-out workers in our state, at least they can be assured positive prospects for the future.