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Osama Helping California's Economy
By Carl Limbacher In the early 1990s, with the end of the Cold War, California saw many of its aerospace and defense industries shuttered, as Clinton-era defense budgets shrank along with the list of potential enemies the U.S. was expected to face. When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, it resonated throughout the U.S., but perhaps the state hit the hardest by the high-tech disintegration was California. Now the state's economy is set to rebound — a good thing, considering Sacramento built up a huge amount of red ink under former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis — and bean counters can thank none other than Osama bin Laden. Agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon are looking for new high-tech equipment to help protect the nation and troops abroad from chemical, biological and nuclear terrorism. Earlier this month, General Electric paid $900 million for InVision, a 1,000-employee firm based in Newark, Calif. Also, British firm Smith's Group paid $15 million for Cyrano Sciences, a seven-year-old Pasadena firm that, like InVision, specializes in bomb-detection technology. More deals are in the offing. At stake is a portion of the $60 billion the government is planning to spend over the next two years, on everything from a national bio-surveillance network to boosting security at airports and seaports. Prior to 9/11, most of the security industry was geared toward protecting homes and businesses. Now, however, it is tackling everything from chemical detection to biometrics. Says The Economist magazine, "InVision, for example, uses X-ray diffraction and magnetic sensing to detect explosives and drugs; Cyrano has developed miniature sensors that can act as an 'electronic nose' to sniff out chemical and biological agents." Another high-tech firm, "ImageWare Systems, based in San Diego, boasts 'secure credential and biometric product lines' for driving licenses and passports." The effect will be a boon to Silicon Valley, the place where the superb scientific development of Berkeley and Stanford universities, along with the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), becomes a commercial success. Indeed, California holds more than half the country's biotech jobs, produces a fifth of America's high-tech goods and services, and, despite the 1990s, is the main center for aerospace and defense development. While some critics say the spending will rise to the level of extravagance, supporters argue curbing it will be a tough sell, as long as the country's extensive network of ports, airports, railways, dams and other valuable infrastructure remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks. For one, there should be new markets for radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags — little electronic sensors that can be attached to each shipping container to track its movement. For another, a market for better imaging devices — so inspectors can see inside containers — could emerge. Biometrics, technology that can track individuals by fingerprint, iris scan or facial features, also may make good headway. One thing is sure, say analysts: There is likely money to be made because there is definitely money that will be spent. "Thanks to Osama bin Laden, the sector's booming," one entrepreneur boasted to The Economist. |
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