DORGAN SETS GOAL OF 20,000 HIGH-TECH JOBS IN N.D. BY 2015

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced at a press conference during the October 13th Milestones and Horizons Summit that he’s set a goal of doubling the Red River Valley Research Corridor job impact that was released in a 2006 study from a NDSU researcher by 2015.

That study, produced by North Dakota State University’s Dr. F. Larry Leistritz, said that between 2002 and 2006, there were 10,600 jobs created because of the Research Corridor initiative. Those jobs paid an average of $56,000 per year. The study also said that the Research Corridor had created $759 million in economic impact in the region.

“Now we need to build on that foundation,” Dorgan said. “My goal is to work to create 10,000 additional jobs in our region from high-tech research and development that will attract and build new jobs and industries. It can and will change our future.”

“My vision for the Research Corridor starting nearly six years ago was to use our state’s two largest universities as engines for world-class research and development,” he said. “Since that time, we’ve built a solid foundation that’s paying off. Many high-tech businesses have planted roots in North Dakota and are offering good-paying jobs that are keeping young people here.

Dorgan was joined at the press conference by Dean Kamen, an inventor who has been called the modern-day Thomas Edison, and Dr. J. Craig Venter, one of two scientists who headed the Human Genome Project.

The press conference took place during the first-ever Red River Valley Research Corridor Conference: Milestones and Horizons. The event was a celebration of the Research Corridor’s many accomplishments and a way to discuss its future.

“Since we launched the Research Corridor initiative in 2002, we’ve made significant strides in building a high-tech economy and a reputation around the country for our ability to do cutting-edge research here in North Dakota,” Dorgan said. “And to help us brainstorm what’s next, I invited some of the most innovative people in the country to take part in an action summit today.”

Throughout the day, attendees will listen to and interact with Kamen and Venter as well as other top innovators such as Craig Mundie, Microsoft Corp.’s top visionary; Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, the Department of Energy’s Under Secretary for Science; and Doug Burgum, founder of Great Plains Software and former executive of Microsoft Great Plains.

Leaders from North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota also made presentations about what the Research Corridor has meant to the region.

Senator Dorgan announced last week that he’s directed a total of $532 million in federal research investments to high-tech activities in the Research Corridor.

In June of this year, a study released by the Milken Institute, a nationally recognized, independent economic think tank, showed that the North Dakota research industry is the fastest-growing in the nation.