Member news: April 2022
First look: Nikola shows off Coolidge factory with deliveries expected this quarter
Nikola, the Phoenix-based maker of zero-emission vehicles, opened its factory doors to the public on Wednesday, giving a glimpse into the company’s early production progress. Nikola Corp. kicked off commercial production at its Coolidge plant last month and on Wednesday the company said it had produced its first 11 vehicles which are expected to go out to customers in the second quarter. The event welcomed customers, suppliers and other stakeholders into the plant for a tour and a test ride in the Tre semitruck. Gov. Doug Ducey and other government officials were also on hand for the event. Read more >>
Mesa Community College names new president
The Maricopa County Community College District has appointed Tammy Robinson, Ph.D., as the new president of Mesa Community College, following a nationwide executive search. She takes over the job on July 1. Robinson has some 25 years experience as a community college administrator and faculty member. Read more >>
Raytheon wins contract worth up to $1.68B to work on new class of Navy destroyers
Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s Tucson-based missiles and defense division has been awarded a massive contract with the U.S. Navy to bring three new destroyers into service. Under the contract — which at base is for $483 million but includes options that can increase its value to $1.68 billion — Raytheon will provide services and professionals to activate the three Zumwalt-class destroyers and introduce them into the fleet. Read more >>
Grand Canyon University to graduate 30K students in 2021-22 academic year
Grand Canyon University will celebrate the largest graduating class in its history during commencement ceremonies this month, including a traditional ground campus class that is 29% first-generation college students. Approximately 30,000 GCU students completed their degrees during the 2021-22 academic year, bringing the total number of graduates to more than 132,000 in the past five years. The achievements of those students will be celebrated during commencement ceremonies at GCU Arena on April 21-22 for traditional students and April 25-28 for online students. Read more >>
Oryx Additive announces the Oryx Partnership Program
Oryx Additive, an additive manufacturing firm specializing in 3D finishing equipment, announced a new expansion to its worldwide distribution network, the Oryx Partnership Program. Oryx, a trusted additive manufacturer providing patented 3D finishing solutions for over 10 years with over 16,000 equipment units out in circulation, takes pride in its devotion to providing customers with trusted solutions. Notable product lines such as the sca family help to define this company as a leader within the AM Finishing industry, proving their constant pursuit of achieving the full potential of additive manufacturing. Read more >>
ASU plants ‘mechanical tree’ on Tempe campus to remove carbon dioxide
Arizona State University is taking a new step to combat climate change by installing its first “mechanical tree” in Tempe that removes carbon dioxide from the air, just as real trees do. The trees, which are actually shaped like large tubes, remove carbon dioxide by catching carbon molecules on a unique sorbent material. The tree technology is also passive, meaning it does not need energy-consuming fans to direct air into its capture process. Read more >>
Banner Health to build new hospital in Buckeye
Banner Health plans to build a hospital in Buckeye — directly across the street from a competitor making plans to build its own hospital campus. The Phoenix-based nonprofit health system plans to build a four-story, 330,000-square-foot hospital at the northwest corner of Verrado Way and Interstate 10, which is where its Banner Health Center is located on land the hospital system already owns. Read more >>
ASU and Wells Fargo want to make sustainability ‘everyday’ and actionable
Sustainable Earth, a collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU) and Wells Fargo, aims to make expert-level sustainability news, research, and education relatable and accessible to consumers, small businesses and educators, with the goal of providing ways for them to take direct action toward creating a more sustainable future. Read more >>
Spaced out: UArizona tops out new $85M research facility in Tucson
University of Arizona has topped out its new $85 million research building on its Tucson campus. Expected to be completed by January 2023, the 89,000-square-foot Applied Research Building will be the future home for research furthering space exploration, advanced manufacturing and the development of imaging technology. Read more >>
UAT environmental studies students explore Arizona energy sources
As part of the University of Advancing Technology’s commitment to excellence and hands on exploration within its courses, Professor Glover’s Green Technology course (SCI-330) spent an afternoon exploring two of the states—and the City of Phoenix’s—supplemental energy sources. Read more >>
Axon acquires virtual reality studio that makes training modules for corporate clients
Scottsdale-based Axon Enterprise Inc., the company that makes Tasers and other safety technology for law enforcement agencies, has acquired a virtual reality studio that specializes in immersive training modules for large organizations. Axon (Nasdaq: AXON) said its acquisition of Atlanta-based Foundry 45 will help it achieve its goal to use new immersive technologies such as virtual reality, or VR, and augmented reality to prepare law enforcement officers for real-life situations in the field — and to make such training more accessible and affordable. Read more >>
University of Arizona launches incubator outpost at Biosphere 2
The University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) held a grand opening yesterday to celebrate its new startup incubator at Biosphere 2, which supports renewable energy and sustainable tech startups. UACI at Biosphere 2 was launched with four startups, all of which will go through UACI’s structured 27-point road map that takes them through a continuum of education provided by mentors, advisers and community collaborators. Entrepreneurs will use various physical spaces at Biosphere 2 that allow them to test and demonstrate the tech in specific environments. Read more >>
KORE Power closes on 214-acre site in Buckeye
KORE Power, Inc. has finalized the purchase of 214 acres in Buckeye, Arizona which will be the site of the KOREPlex, a two million square foot manufacturing facility which will have the capacity to produce 12 GWh of lithium-ion battery cells annually, bringing thousands of jobs to the Valley of the Sun. The KOREPlex will ensure a reliable and independent U.S. supply chain for lithium-ion battery cells that are critical to the future of electric vehicles, power grids and more. The facility will have the capacity to produce enough batteries to power 3.2 million homes each year. Read more >>
DocSolid expands leadership team with IG and records expert, Cadis Stuart-Hodges, IGP CRM, as senior director of services
After near-collapse, Qwick eyes a four-day workweek to double workforce
Just two years after laying off 80% of its staff due to pandemic disruptions, the Phoenix-based hospitality app Qwick is joining a growing corporate faction that’s implementing four-day workweeks. At first glance, the move might seem like a counterintuitive growth strategy for a company that was on the verge of collapse in the not too distant past. But as the startup looks to more than double its workforce and reach record revenue growth in the next year, its CEO Jamie Baxter believes a four-day workweek will be key to curbing employee burnout, recruiting and retaining talent, and fostering a culture of innovation. Read more >>
Intel, Maricopa Community College District launch first-of-its-kind AI lab
Intel and Arizona’s Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) today announced a new artificial intelligence (AI) incubator lab for students aspiring to land jobs in areas ranging from business to nursing to healthcare — and other professions that increasingly draw on AI technology. The new AI incubator lab in Arizona, and the associate degree program it supports, is the first of its kind in the U.S. Read more >>
Banner, UA, Space X partner to host aerospace surgery fellowship
Banner-University Medical Center will host the first-ever Aerospace Surgery Fellowship in partnership with the University of Arizona College of Medicine -Phoenix and SpaceX. The first of its kind, the fellowship program will prepare surgeons and physicians for advanced medical care, beyond primary care of astronauts, in aerospace conditions. Fellows will learn hyperbaric medicine, pilot orientation, flight-readiness examination, aerospace physics and physiology and delivery of care in extreme and resource-constrained environments. Read more >>
Raytheon signs contract worth up to $3.2B for US Navy radar systems
Raytheon’s Tucson-based Missiles & Defense division has been awarded a $651 million contract — which can grow to $3.2 billion with options — to produce and maintain new radars for dozens of U.S. Navy ships. The radars are part of the integrated SPY-6 family, designed to defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hostile aircraft and surface ships simultaneously, Raytheon said. Read more >>
Waymo expanding driverless taxi service to downtown Phoenix
Autonomous driving company Waymo — which has been operating in the East Valley for several years — is gearing up to expand its driverless cars into downtown Phoenix. The program is a taxi service that gives customers rides in driverless cars, including all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles as well as Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans. The company’s Jaguar vehicles have already been seen in recent weeks taking measurements in downtown and midtown Phoenix. Read more >>
Arizona now allows storage of state ID, driver’s license on Apple’s Wallet app
As of Wednesday, Arizona is the first state to allow individual driver’s licenses and state identifications to be stored on the Wallet application on iPhones and Apple Watches, Apple announced. According to the tech giant, the new function serves as a way for Arizonans to quickly scan their way through TSA security checkpoints at Sky Harbor International Airport – a feature they are already planning to extend to Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio and more states in the future. Read more >>
Intel hopes to increase workforce diversity by 2030 through 2 Valley programs
One of the biggest international tech companies, with a large footprint the Phoenix area, is setting out to make its workforce more inclusive and diverse. Intel has a set an ambitious goal to increase the number of women in technical roles to 40%, as well as double the number of women and minorities in senior roles by 2030. The company plans to improve those numbers through two programs it’s now offering. Read more >>