2012 Issue

24 sharing that, in turn, also allowed technology and innovation to flourish; a legacy that seems to exist even in the Internet based “start-up” era of today. We believe that we should promote a Utah “Guild” system like Silicon Valley that could bind together the engineering community by providing an online calendar of events similar to the e-GRID provided in Silicon Valley. Conclusion Business discussion in Utah resonates with the word “entrepre- neur.” We believe that this is not enough to create the kind of economic growth required. It is best to think of entrepreneurs like cooks. As great cooks, they use what they have on the shelf. With- out the skilled innovators who defined the successes of Silicon Valley, the types of firm entrepreneurs are limited to commodity products and pyramid type services, or sales promotion vehicles. The first Silicon Valley e-GRID meeting listed for October was a celebration of the life of a linear circuit designer who had recently died. A panel discussion was held at the Computer History Museum, and the panel was made up primarily of industry executives. We suggest a strengthened collaboration of government- industry–academia-professional societies to promote and retain talent, and to develop access to capital sources that understand the technologies at hand. When we hold public celebrations of the contributions of engineers and scientists (in addition to en- trepreneurs), we will see our technical job growth.  References 1 National Science Foundation,NCSES Detailed Statistical Tables, Science and Engineering Profiles 2006-2008, Science and Engineering Profile: Utah, http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10302 (downloaded 21 Oct 2011) 2 Kuhn, T., The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd Edition, The University of Chicago Press, 1970. 3 Quiggen, J., Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us, Princeton University Press, 2010. 4 Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century, Rising Above The Gathering Storm, The National Academies Press, 2007. 5 Ricardo, D., On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, 1817. 6 Tassey, The Technology Imperative, Edward Ellgar, 2007, pp50-54. 7 Elkus, R., Winner Take All: How Competitiveness Shapes the Fate of Nations, Basic Books, 2008. 8 Solow, R., Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 39, No. 3, Aug. 1957, pp 312-320. 9 Donahoe, D, presentation: University of Utah Junior Seminar ECE 3900 (Professor O. Ghandi), 25 Oct. 2011. 10 Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, Economic Outlook 2011, 19 Jan. 201, (http://www. governor.utah/dea (downloaded 23 Oct. 2011). 11 U.S. Census Bureau, Overty, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2010/ tables.htm (downloaded 23 Oct. 2011). 12 Lecuyer, C., Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930-1970, The MIT Press, 2006. 13 Porter, M., Clusters and the New Economics of Competition, Harvard Business Review, Nov.-Dec., 1998, pp 77-90. A R W 1594 Park Circle, Ogden, Utah 84404 ph. 801.782.6008 www.arwengineers.com A Commi tment to Qual i ty, A Four -Decade Legacy of Serv i ce structural consultant s ENGINEERS ECONOMY | continued from page 23