DEPARTMENT: Office of Innovation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jose De La Cruz, Chief Innovation Officer
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
Tour of Port San Antonio’s Museum of Science and Technology and Project Tech Building.
SUMMARY:
As part of the September 2018 Innovation and Technology Committee Meeting, the Committee will tour Port San Antonio’s Museum of Science and Technology and Project Tech Building.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology (SAMSAT), launched at the Port in 2017, SAMSAT currently occupies a 15,000-square-foot space in the former Kelly AFB Chapel. Museum founder David Monroe, a world-renowned scientist based in San Antonio, has led innovations that have transformed global industries including personal computing, local area networks (LANs) and electronic capture and transmission of images. The exhibit space includes a wealth of Mr. Monroe’s technological artifacts collected over 50 years, including examples of the earliest electrical, telecommunications and computing devices. The museum is complimented by classroom space to fulfill the museum’s core mission-to inspire and educate young people and connect them with learning opportunities and career paths as San Antonio’s future innovators. Since formally opening its doors to the public in February 2018, the museum and partner SASTEMIC have collaborated with area school districts to offer programming to nearly 1,000 students to enrich STEM curriculum for young people. SAMSAT also hosts weekly events that support collaboration of San Antonio technology professionals and showcases the region’s key innovators.
Project Tech is a central part of the Port’s vision to create new office spaces to support the operations of the growing number of cybersecurity and technology industries in the region. The $20-million project includes $1.5 million in City of San Antonio Funding, which supported site preparation and infrastructure needs. The first 90,000-square-foot building was completed in the spring of 2018 and Lockheed Martin Cybersecurity Solutions will be the first occupant. The building has unique attributes that are essential to the operations of cybersecurity and tech firms and is located within close proximity of major Department of Defense cybersecurity operations and private-sector aerospace operations-creating significant value to attract companies like Lockheed Martin. The current building, and phases that will follow, allows for the configuration of spaces that support collaboration among those industries. Port San Antonio is focused on supporting the continued growth of San Antonio’s robust cybersecurity sector as its technology is applied across a spectrum of other mature industries in the region, including aerospace, defense, energy, financial services, medicine, manufacturing and global logistics.
ISSUE:
Port San Antonio serves as an integral part of the innovation and technology ecosystem in San Antonio. The Innovation and Technology Committee will have the opportunity to visit Port San Antonio’s Museum of Science and Technology and Project Tech Building to witness the role that these assets play in the ecosystem firsthand.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.