Indiana
Indiana aspires to become next great tech center
Semiconductors, or microchips, are critical to almost everything electronic used in the modern world. In 1990, the United States produced about 40% of the world’s semiconductors. As manufacturing migrated to Asia, U.S. production fell to about 12%.
“During COVID, we got a wake-up call. It was like [a] Sputnik moment,” explained Mark Lundstrom, an engineer who has worked with microchips much of his life.
The 2020 global coronavirus pandemic slowed production in Asia, creating a ripple through the global supply chain and leading to shortages of everything from phones to vehicles. Lundstrom said increasing U.S. reliance on foreign chip manufacturers exposed a major weakness.
“We know that AI is going to transform society in the next several years, it requires extremely powerful chips. The most powerful leading-edge chips.”
Today, Lundstrom is the acting dean of engineering at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, a leader in cutting-edge semiconductor development, which has new importance amid the emerging field of artificial intelligence.
“If we fall behind in AI, the consequences are enormous for the defense of our country, for our economic future,” Lundstrom told VOA.
Amid the buzz of activity in a laboratory on Purdue’s campus, visitors can get a vision of what the future might look like in microchip technology.
“The key metrics of the performance of the chips actually are the size of the transistors, the devices, which is the building block of the computer chips,” said Zhihong Chen, director of Purdue’s Birck Nanotechnology Center, where engineers work around the clock to push microchip technology into the future.
“We are talking about a few atoms in each silicon transistor these days. And this is what this whole facility is about,” Chen said. “We are trying to make the next generation transistors better devices than current technologies. More powerful and more energy-efficient computer chips of the future.”
Not just RVs anymore
Because of Purdue’s efforts, along with those on other university campuses in the state, Indiana believes it’s an attractive location for manufacturers looking to build new microchip facilities.
“Purdue University alone, a top four-ranked engineering school, offers more engineers every year than the next top three,” said Eric Holcomb, Indiana’s Republican governor. “When you have access to that kind of talent, when you have access to the cost of doing business in the state of Indiana, that’s why people are increasingly saying, Indiana.”
Holcomb is in the final year of his eight-year tenure in the state’s top position. He wants to transform Indiana beyond the recreational vehicle, or “RV capital” of the country.
“We produce about plus-80% of all the RV production in North America in one state,” he told VOA. “We are not just living up to our reputation as being the number one manufacturing state per capita in America, but we are increasingly embracing the future of mobility in America.”
Holcomb is spearheading an effort to make Indiana the next great technology center as the U.S. ramps up investment in domestic microchip development and manufacturing. “If we want to compete globally, we have to get smarter and healthier and more equipped, and we have to continue to invest in our quality of place,” Holcomb told VOA in an interview.
His vision is shared by other lawmakers, including U.S. Senator Todd Young of Indiana, who co-sponsored the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which commits more than $50 billion in federal funding for domestic microchip development.
‘We are committed’
Indiana is now home to one of 31 designated U.S. technology and innovation hubs, helping it qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars in grants designed to attract technology-driven businesses.
“The signal that it sends to the rest of the world [is] that we are in it, we are committed, and we are focused,” said Holcomb. “We understand that economic development, economic security and national security complement one another.”
Indiana’s efforts are paying off.
In April, South Korean microchip manufacturer SK Hynix announced it was planning to build a $4 billion facility near Purdue University that would produce next-generation, high-bandwidth memory, or HBM chips, critical for artificial intelligence applications.
The facility, slated to start operating in 2028, could create more than 1,000 new jobs. While U.S. chip manufacturer SkyWater also plans to invest nearly $2 billion in Indiana’s new LEAP Innovation District near Purdue, the state recently lost bidding to host chipmaker Intel, which selected Ohio for two new factories.
“Companies tend to like to go to locations where there is already that infrastructure, where that supply chain is in place,” Purdue’s Lundstrom said. “That’s a challenge for us, because this is a new industry for us. So, we have a chicken-and- egg problem that we have to address, and we are beginning to address that.”
Lundstrom said the CHIPS and Science Act and the federal money that comes with it are helping Indiana ramp up to compete with other U.S. locations already known for microchip development, such as Silicon Valley in California and Arizona.
What could help Indiana gain an edge is its natural resources — plenty of land and water, and regular weather patterns, all crucial for the sensitive processes needed to manufacture microchips at large manufacturing centers.
Earlier this week, the NBA announced that the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs will face off in the 2025 NBA Paris Games.
The announcement says that the two games will be in January of 2025. The Spurs currently roster French phenom Victor Wembanyama while the Pacers don’t currently have any French players. Per the announcement, it will be the third and fourth games in Paris for the Spurs but the first for the Pacers.
Previous reporting suggested that this announcement could be coming. “I’m looking forward to it very much,” Wembanyama said, per ESPN. To date, the NBA has played seven times in Paris, and the 2024 Olympics will be held there.
In 2024, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets battled at Accor Arena in Paris. They only played one game, though, while the Pacers and Spurs will play in two.
In the past, Indiana has played in Berlin, Seville, Taipei, Beijing, Manila, and Mumbai for preseason outings. Back in 2017, Indiana faced the Denver Nuggets in London for the NBA’s Global Games series.
Indiana and San Antonio split their two games this season, with the Spurs winning the more recent battle. The NBA France twitter account shared that the games will be on January 23 and 25, 2025.
A previous release from the NBA explained that there have been more NBA players from France than from any other country outside North America. The league is becoming more popular in France, and the Pacers will now be a part of it.
- Adjustments and focus were key for Indiana Pacers in Game 4. They will be even more vital the rest of the series. CLICK HERE.
- Myles Turner has his best career playoff game for Indiana Pacers as film time and maturity mesh.CLICK HERE.
- Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers delivered a moment fans waited five years to see. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers survive massive Milwaukee Bucks comeback for overtime win in Game 3. CLICK HERE.
- Follow AllPacers on Facebook: All Pacers SI
- Follow AllPacers on Twitter: @SIPacers
The 45-day window to enter the transfer portal is now over.
Indiana currently has four transfer portal commitments and two scholarships open on the 2024-25 roster.
Open scholarships as of May 2: 2
Signed with Indiana
Kanaan Carlyle, Stanford, 6-foot-3, guard
2023-24 stats: 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists in 25.6 minutes per game. Shot 32 percent on 3s and 77.6 percent from the free throw line.
Years of eligibility remaining: 3
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Scouting video: Link
Luke Goode, Illinois, 6-foot-7, forward
2023-24 stats: 5.7 points, 3.6 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game. Shot 38.9 percent on 3s and 65.2 percent from the free throw line.
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Scouting video: Link
Myles Rice, Washington State, 6-foot-3, guard
2023-24 stats: 14.8 points, 3.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals in 33.2 minutes per game. Shot 27.5 percent on 3s and 81.1 percent from the free throw line.
Years of eligibility remaining: 3
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Scouting video: Link
Oumar Ballo, Arizona, 7-foot, center
2023-24 stats: 12.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game. Shot 65.8 percent from the field and 49.5 percent from the free throw line.
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Hometown: Koulikoro, Mali
Scouting video: Link
Indiana transfer portal prospects
Alex Hemenway, Clemson, 6-foot-4, guard
2023-24 stats: 5.2 points and 1.4 assists in 16 minutes per game. Shot 38.1 percent from the field and 42.1 percent on 3s.
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Hometown: Newburgh, Indiana
Scouting video: Link
Langdon Hatton, Bellarmine, 6-foot-10, forward
2023-24 stats: 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 27.8 minutes per game. Shot 48 percent from the field and 67.5 percent from the free throw line.
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Hometown: Georgetown, Indiana
Scouting video: Link
Nikita Konstantynovskyi, Monmouth, 6-foot-10, forward
2023-24 stats: 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game. Shot 52.6 percent from the field and 65.2 percent from the free throw line.
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Hometown: Kyiv, Ukraine
Scouting video: Link
Committed elsewhere/no longer in the mix: Michael Ajayi, Dishon Jackson, Marcus Foster, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Jordan Sears, Skyy Clark, Zeke Mayo, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Frankie Fidler, Clark Slajchert, Marques Warrick, Dakota Leffew, Darlinstone Dubar, Deyton Albury, Davonte Davis, Gibson Jimerson, Keyshawn Hall, Malik Dia, Otega Oweh, Tre Dinkins, Tony Perkins, Aaron Bradshaw, Connor Hickman, Amari Williams, Ryan Conwell, Cade Tyson, Adou Thiero, Jalen Blackmon, Javon Small, Pharrel Payne, Leland Walker, Elijah Malone, Ben Humrichous, Zach Anderson
Filed to: Transfer portal
Indiana’s presidential primary could draw some national attention, even though the results Tuesday will mean nothing in terms of selecting the nominees.
There certainly won’t be national news of the magnitude of eight years ago, when Donald Trump ended the last chance of the “Stop Trump” movement, solidly defeating Ted Cruz and winning all 57 delegates at stake in the state’s Republican primary.
Now, there will only be a look at percentages in the Republican primary and analysis of what, if anything, it means for November if Nikki Haley gets a significant protest vote.
While both Trump and President Joe Biden long ago won more than enough delegates for nomination, their names will be on the Indiana ballot Tuesday — Biden unopposed in the Democratic primary; Trump listed along with Haley, who quit campaigning two months ago, on the Republican side.
Haley qualified for the Indiana ballot before she was clobbered by Trump in the March 5 Super Tuesday primaries and suspended her campaign.
More Colwell: The choice is clear, even if it’s not an ideal one.
Since Haley is out of the running, votes for her in Republican primaries are seen now as indication of unhappiness with Trump and a sign of possible defections from him in the fall.
The recent Pennsylvania Republican primary results were regarded as troubling news for Trump, with 155,000 voters —16.5% of the GOP turnout — declining to vote for their presumptive nominee and instead picking Haley.
It seems unlikely that Haley will get a percentage that high in Indiana, where Trump has been so popular with Hoosier Republicans in his two presidential races.
Even if she did, it wouldn’t mean as much as that showing in Pennsylvania, a key state in determining the winner in the Electoral College. Republican defections there could be decisive. Indiana, however, is listed in all projections as in the Trump column for sure in the fall.
Signs of defections here would be viewed not in terms of suggesting some monumental upset in the fall in Indiana, but as an indication that Trump’s base might not be as solid nationally if slipping even in Indiana.
What if Haley’s total isn’t in double digits or barely gets there? That would bring analysis that Trump’s base remains solid.
Column: A Biden-Trump rematch in 2024? Say it isn’t so
No matter what happens in Indiana on Tuesday, any news nationally will be small potatoes, really just potato peels, in comparison with that 2016 presidential primary.
Indiana Republican primary voters cinched it — Trump would be the nominee. Cruz was in a “must win” situation to keep Trump from a first-ballot win at the Republican National Convention and keep alive the diminishing hopes of “Stop Trump” success in a brokered convention going into multiple ballots.
Cruz pulled out all the stops, even making a deal in which another contender, John Kasich, would stop campaigning in Indiana and let Cruz go more one-on-one against Trump. Cruz also got an endorsement from then-Gov. Mike Pence.
Polls showed Trump ahead, but not by a lot. Trump was not that confident of victory, complaining that the Indiana election system was “rigged” because he couldn’t control his Hoosier delegates on a second convention ballot.
Results: Cruz, needing a big win to stay viable, didn’t win a single delegate. Trump won so big all around the state that he claimed all 57 delegates. Cruz gave up. There was no way left to stop Trump. The nomination was decided.
And Pence, whose endorsement of Cruz had been tepid and not harmful to Trump, wound up running for vice president on the ticket to appeal to evangelical voters.
In 2020, the traditional May primary was delayed until June 2 by the pandemic. Trump, then president, faced only token opposition from Bill Weld, a former Massachusetts governor. Trump got 91.9% of the Republican vote. If he comes close to a percentage like that on Tuesday, Trump will be buoyed, not troubled by the results.
Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.
Video: Jury Hears Tape of Trump and Cohen Discussing Hush-Money Deal
Over 100 arrested in Southern California drug bust operation
Police search for child’s family after found wandering in Detroit
Magnitude 4.1 earthquake rattles California's Inland Empire
Major San Francisco companies partner for cleanup coalition
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
Alabama lawmakers advance bill letting inmates speak at parole hearings
UN, EU, US urge Georgia to halt ‘foreign agents’ bill as protests grow
Some Florida boaters seen on video dumping trash into ocean have been identified, officials say
Trump slams 'radical left lunatics' creating chaos on college campuses nationwide
In the upcoming European elections, peace and security matter the most
-
News1 week agoLarry Webb’s deathbed confession solves 2000 cold case murder of Susan and Natasha Carter, 10, whose remains were found hours after he died
-
World1 week agoHaiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns, transitional council takes power
-
News1 week agoFirst cargo ship passes through new channel since Baltimore bridge collapse
-
World1 week agoUS secretly sent long-range ATACMS weapons to Ukraine
-
World1 week agoSpanish PM Pedro Sanchez suspends public duties to 'reflect'
-
News1 week agoAmerican Airlines passenger alleges discrimination over use of first-class restroom
-
World1 week agoAsia bears biggest climate-change brunt amid extreme weather: WMO
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoHumane (2024) – Movie Review