U.S. SENATE News:
ALBUQUERQUE – Monday, Aug. 11, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall and U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will visit HT Micro in Albuquerque, a business that exemplifies the successful transfer of technology from New Mexico’s national labs into the marketplace.
HT Micro is a leading manufacturer of ultra miniature switches, sensors and precision components. Udall and Moniz will tour the company’s facility, and meet with its founder, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Todd Christenson to discuss the importance of technology transfer and economic development in New Mexico.
Christenson left Sandia National Labs to form HT Micro in 2003 through the labs’ Entrepreneurial Separation to Transfer Technology program, which allows researchers to leave the labs to start or join small companies, knowing they can return. The company now has more than a dozen employees, and continues to grow as it sells its products to commercial and military customers world-wide.
Udall has worked to support coalitions between private businesses, the labs and military bases, and state and local governments to help New Mexico build a strong high-tech economic sector that will create jobs. Udall will discuss his ATTAIN Act, which he introduced this year to facilitate the technology transfer process, and help innovators like Christenson turn cutting-edge research into marketable products and businesses.
