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Pike Powers

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John Pike Powers IV (May 1, 1941 – October 31, 2021) was a civic entrepreneur, public servant and attorney who played a pivotal role in accelerating the growth of the Austin, Texas area, a region that experienced a 146% spike in population from 1985 to 2021, from 530,508 to 1,305,184 residents. [1]

Aside from his legal work and a stint as executive assistant to Texas Governor Mark White, Powers volunteered his time to economic development, crafting complex, laser-targeted incentive packages that attracted a series of game-changing enterprises to the city -- two major research and development (R&D) consortia, the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. (MCC) in 1983 and the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology Initiative (SEMATECH) in 1987, followed by a series of major R&D and manufacturing hubs -- 3M, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Samsung Semiconductor's multi-faceted investment in semiconductor fabrication[2].

These initiatives leveraged the engineering and scientific talent and resources of the University of Texas at Austin as the centerpiece of an ecosystem where new ideas led to research which fed development and commercialization of new technologies, and large enterprises created new, entrepreneurial ones. The process made both the city and the university wealthy, raising the profile of the University of Texas’ Cockrell School of Engineering by attracting the investment, faculty and facilities necessary to make it a world-class research powerhouse[3].

Early life and career

Powers was born in Beaumont, Texas, attended Lamar University and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1965. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 and represented Jefferson County until 1979. In 1978, he opened the Austin office of the Houston-based law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton, Fulbright & Jaworski) where he served as managing partner until his 2006 retirement.[4]

Accomplishments

Powers served as executive assistant to Texas Governor Mark White from 1983-1984 and was instrumental in structuring the bid that brought the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp (MCC) to Austin. Austin was an unlikely choice for MCC, which had chosen Admiral Bobby Ray Inman to head its selection process. Knowing the selection committee’ emphasis on education and R&D resources weighed heavily in the selection process, the bid made the talent and facilities of the University of Texas’ engineering school the centerpiece of a $47 million offer that included endowed chairs in electrical engineering, material, computer science, molecular biology, chemistry, math and physics funded by the Dallas philanthropist Peter O’Donnell).[5]

At the time, the University of Texas' Cockrell School was ranked 14th among other U.S. engineering schools [6]. The infusion of talent and resources from MCC transformed the school into a world-class institution which today ranks sixth among U.S. News & World Reports Best Engineering Schools [7]. Five years later, Hans Mark, then chancellor of the University of Texas System calculated that the University of Texas received $2.25 million per year from MCC in graduate student support, adjunct faculty, research grants and research equipment on their initial $14 million investment [8]. Powers mobilized the Texas Congressional delegation to resolve antitrust issues, an initiative which ultimately resulted in the 1984 National Cooperative Research Act [9].

Powers' experience paid off in the intensified 1987 competition for SEMATECH, a public-private partnership jointly funded by the Dept. of Defense and the semiconductor industry. Aimed at recapturing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing from the Japanese, SEMATECH was designed to recapture the thousands of jobs lost to off shoring and encourage domestic manufacturing of semiconductors critical to national defense.

Powers led Austin's bid for SEMATECH in 1987, ultimately winning the competition against 137 cities in 34 states. Facilities, including a clean room, were key elements of the bid. Powers pulled together a proposal that leveraged the University of Texas’s resources at a total of about $50 million, over $37 million of which was reimbursed by the Texas Legislature in 1989.[10]. That same year, the University of Texas invested $22 million to double the school’s computer chip research operations and provide students with a 12,000 square foot clean room to be used to explore new research methods including the Microelectronics and Engineering Research Building [11]

In 1996, Powers headed the effort to recruit Samsung Semiconductor, and its initial investment of $17 billion in Austin and the Central Texas region [12]. In 2003, he led economic development initiatives to increase collaboration among government, academia and private industry, including the $295 million Texas Enterprise Fund, "the largest deal-closing fund of its kind in the nation" [13] which providing funding to Texas communities competing against out-of-state entities for projects with significant job-creation and capital investment.

A champion of clean energy, Powers was a key supporter of the Pecan Street Research project and its research into the impact of alternate power sources on the Mueller development, which houses the Pike Powers Commercialization Lab.

Collaboration and Commercialization

Powers worked with and supported a cadre of brilliant innovators – including Dr. George Kozmetsky, Frank McBee, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, Laura Kilcrease and many others -- to jump start the startup culture in Austin with a focus on commercializing university-based the research and development:[14]

  • Austin Chamber of Commerce, chair (1989) and vice chair (1990
  • IC2 Institute
  • Austin Technology Incubator
  • Austin Area Research Organization
  • 100 Most Influential Lawyers in the United States (1988,1991, 1994)
  • Governor’s Science and Biotechnology Council (2002-3)
  • Austinite of the Year (2005)
  • Texan of the Year (2017)

Late career

Powers continued to collaborate with civic and university leaders until the end of life on projects including MassChallenge, the Army Futures Command and the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School.

References

  1. ^ https://usafacts.org/data/topics/people-society/population-and-demographics/our-changing-population/state/texas/county/travis-county?endDate=2021-01-01&startDate=1985-01-01
  2. ^ “Pike Powers, a powerhouse for Austin’s economy passes away,” Austin’s Austin Business Journal, Nov. 1, updated Nov. 2, 2021
  3. ^ The University of Texas at Austin, IC2, "Remembering Pike Powers," Nov. 5, 2021
  4. ^ "IN MEMORIUM: Pike Powers, the Godfather of Austin’s Tech Boom, Passes Away,” The University of Texas School of Law, Nov. 2, 2021
  5. ^ Gibson, David V. and Rogers, Everett M., R&D Collaboration on Trial, Harvard Business School Press, 1994., pp. 161-165
  6. ^ Gibson, David V. and Rogers, Everett M., R&D Collaboration on Trial, Harvard Business School Press, 1994., p. 160
  7. ^ https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings
  8. ^ Gibson, David V. and Rogers, Everett M., R&D Collaboration on Trial, Harvard Business School Press, 1994., p. 449
  9. ^ Ibid, p. 449
  10. ^ Ibid, p. 449
  11. ^ Ibid., pp. 532-533
  12. ^ “Pike Powers, former lawmaker and Austin Tech Sector Pioneer Has Died,” Austin American Statesman, front page, November 2, 2021
  13. ^ https://gov.texas.gov/business/page/incentives
  14. ^ "Remembering Pike Powers,” Austin Chamber of Commerce, Nov. 2, 2021
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