We want to focus your attention on two recent items in the Gainesville Sun about the significant budget cuts to, and potential closing of, UF’s successful Microfabritech research facility in the College of Engineering which, according to Mark Davidson, Research Assistant Scientist, is the only regional facility that provides rapid, all-in-one approach to production of early stage proof-of-concept prototypes such as those required for technical business startups or for many federal research contracts involving more advanced technologies. The group not only helps put together that rough-and-tumble demo, they teach people how to rapidly do so, thus providing the core of a company staff. The Gainesville Sun editorial states that “Half a dozen years of relentless budget cuts are beginning to threaten the integrity of UF’s impressive R&D machine. The latest casualty is UF’s Microfibritech lab, which is laying off employees and halting its semiconductor research. Funding for the facility has been reduced from $880,000 to $29,000 in recent years.” (1)
Read the Gainesville Sun items here:
UF Engineering Facility Ends Research After Budget Cuts Raise Safety Concerns