Micron chief lobbies for tech funds for university research

Chipmakers call research crucial to U.S. industry
The leaders of two major semiconductor companies called on Congress Wednesday to spend more on research on information technology to protect America’s dominance of the computer industry.

Other countries, such as China and India, are pouring money into their university systems and information technology industries while the United States is cutting back, said Steve Appleton, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Boise-based Micron Technology Inc. and chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association.

American schools are lagging in educating the next generation of scientists, while engineers and many foreign students who graduate from U.S. universities with science and engineering degrees are returning home, he said.

"(Our efforts) must involve industry, academia and federal and state governments," Appleton said at the National Press Club. "Our current efforts are inadequate to ensure continued leadership."

Faith Bremner
Gannett News Service

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