Silicon Slopes

Silicon Slopes is a nickname given to a region in Utah known for its high concentration of high-technology and life science companies in the world. The area is found within the Wasatch Front which is found in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of cities and towns from Logan in the North to Provo in the South.

The name is similar to Silicon Valley in California's San Francisco Bay Area and other Silicon nickname derivatives such as Silicon Alley located in New York or Silicon Forest located in Oregon. Unlike Silicon Valley, Silicon Slopes core competency is not in semiconductors, but rather software, digital media, advanced material, and biotechnology.

History

Silicon Slopes has a long and storied history of technology innovation and growth dating back to 1917 when Harvey Fletcher, a Utah native and graduate of Brigham Young University, oversaw the development of the first electronic hearing aid. Since that time, numerous technology milestones have come forward out of the innovative companies found here or creative minds educated in Silicon Slopes.

Technology Timeline:

*1917 – Utah native and BYU graduate Harvey Fletcher joins Bell Laboratories where he oversees the development of the first electronic hearing aid. He would later become known as “the father of stereophonic sound.”
*1927 – Utah native and former BYU student Philo Farnsworth invents the first electronic television set.
*1961 – The creator of computer graphics and a University of Utah Professor, Ivan Sutherland invents the sketchpad. He is also credited as the founder of the GUI interface.
*1969 –The University of Utah hosts one of the first four network nodes of the ARPANET.
*1971 – University of Utah Graduate and Utah native Nolan Bushnell creates the first arcade game called Computer Space. In 1972 Bushnell develops the popular game Pong and starts Atari Computers the same year.
*1973 – The first artificial arm is developed by University of Utah professor Stephen Jacobsen.
*1976 – Thomas Stockham, the father of digital audio, makes the first digital recording in 1976. Mr. Stockham was a professor at the University of Utah.
*1977 – Alan Ashton begins work on a word processing program that goes on to become WordPerfect. By the end of the year Ashton, Don Owens, and Bruce Bastian, start the company Satellite Systems, Inc.
*1979 – Novell is founded in Utah and goes on to become one the greatest technology companies in the world.
*1980 – The Iomega was founded in Utah and went on to invent the zip drive.
*1982 – Utah Native and U of U graduate John Warnock co-founds Adobe Systems. Two years later he becomes a Professor at the University of Utah, building the school's reputation as the Mecca for computer graphics.
*1982 – Jim Clark, a University of Utah graduate founds Silicon Graphics and goes on to found Netscape.
*1982 – The first successful artificial human heart transplant is performed by surgeons at the University of Utah.
*1985 – Pixar is co-founded by University of Utah Graduate Ed Catmull.
*1989 - [http://www.uvef.net Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum] created to accelerate growth of new business in Utah.
*1999 – Hugely successful internet retailer Overstock.com is launched.
*2002 – The 2002 Winter Olympic Games come to Utah – The most wired, state-of-the-art games in Olympic history.
*2006 – IM Flash Technologies, a collaboration between industry giants Micron Technologies and Intel, is formed in Utah.
*2006 – USTAR founded to recruit world-class researchers and to build state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research and development facilities.
*2006 – Omniture goes public and becomes the most successful technology IPO of 2006.
*2007 – Symantec acquires Utah based Altiris for $830 million.

Today

There are currently an estimated 5,200 technology and life science companies located within the Silicon Slopes region. In recent years Silicon Slopes has received national acclaim for its technology, entrepreneurship and innovation:

*Utah ranks first in the nation for Economic Dynamism, second for Inventor Patents, fourth for Fastest Growing Firms and fifth for Venture Capital."Kauffman 2007 State New Economy Index"
*Ogden ranked 1st, Orem 3rd, and Salt Lake City 4th among the most technologically advanced cities in America."Center for Digital Government, 2006 Digital Cities Survey"
*Brigham Young University is the first university in the nation to receive an IT School accreditation."Brigham Young University, 2006 Data"
*The University of Utah was recently ranked second best in the nation, only behind MIT, for starting technology companies based on its own research."AUTM 2008 Survey"

The Silicon Slopes Initiative

The Silicon Slopes initiative is a project founded by Orem-based Omniture in 2006 with the goal of increasing the awareness for technology in Utah. As part of this project the SiliconSlopes.com was launched in 2007, providing a platform where Utah technology and life Sciences companies as well as other interested parties can come together for news and other resources.

Notable Companies and Subsidiaries

The following is a partial list of past and present companies founded in the Silicon Slopes or which have a major subsidiary located there:
*3M
*Avocent (via acquisition of LANDesk)
*Apple Inc.
*Authorize.net
*Backcountry.com
*BD Medical
*Boston Scientific
*Brooks Automation
*Cadence
*Cephalon
*Clearone
*Comcast
*Computer Associates
*Disney Interactive
*ebay
*Evans and Sutherland
*Franklin Covey
*Henry Schein (via acquisition of Dentrix)
*Hewlett Packard (via acquisition of LogoWorks)
*Ibahn
*IM Flash Technologies
*Intel
*Intuit
*L-3 Communications
*Lexis Nexus
*Logitech (via acquisition of wilife)
*Merit Medical
*Micron (by the acquisition of Timberline)
*Microsoft
*Move Networks
*Myriad
*Novell
*Omniture
*Oracle Corporation
*Overstock.com
*Quest Software
*Sento Corporation
*SirsiDynix
*Sonic Innovations
*Sorenson Communications
*iMergent
*Symantec
*The Generations Network
*UCN
*Vantage Legrand

Universities

*Brigham Young University
*University of Utah
*Utah State University
*Weber State University
*Utah Valley University

See also

* List of places with "Silicon" names
* Utah fund of funds
* History of Utah

References & Notes

* [http://www.uita.org Utah Celebrates Milestones in Technology and Life Science Growth] , UTC State of the State release
* [http://www.sltrib.com Salt Lake Tribune] , Salt Lake City-based newspaper
* [http://www.deseretnews.com Deseret News] , Utah-based newspaper
* [http://www.siliconslopes.com/utah_and_technology SiliconSlopes.com] , Technology in Utah

External links

* [http://siliconslopes.com SiliconSlopes.com]
* [http://omniture.com Omniture]
* [http://www.uvef.net Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum]
* [http://ustar.utah.gov/ Utah Science and Technology Initiative]
* [http://uita.org Utah Technology Council]
* [http://sltrib.com Salt Lake Tribune]
* [http://utahpulse.com UtahPulse.com]