But that "guy" also needs to be trained well: "Silicon Valley is
the most capable, but [people] also assume it will win. There's no
support." Government should step up to offer that support, Waitz
says. It can be an active partner in Silicon Valley's retooling by
helping foster new businesses and growth of existing ones via
funding, tax breaks, and legislative support.
To help Silicon Valley truly rebound and flourish, many say, could
also require changing its boundaries. Historically, it has been
neatly defined as the area south of the 92 Freeway, including towns
like
Santa Clara,
Palo Alto,
Mountain View,
Menlo Park, and San
José. But if Silicon Valley is to succeed by melding disparate
businesses and technologies, the map has to be redrawn, at least
mentally. Companies need to think about forming alliances with
those outside their own provinces, geographically and
technologically. "You can't ignore the South San Francisco area if
you're going to talk about Silicon Valley and the convergence of
technology," says Gary Hooper, the tech industry veteran. "Some
great things are going to happen because we're recognizing that
Silicon Valley is really the entire Bay Area."
In fact, this convergence and expansion is already underway. In
Hayward, across the miles-long San Mateo Bridge from the
traditionally defined Silicon Valley, is just such a company.
Inside Quantum Dot's squat, stucco building, you won't find the
foosball tables, water pistols, and other playthings associated
with work hard, play hard dot-com businesses. Instead,
goggle-wearing, white-coated lab technicians quietly examine
beakers of fluorescent liquids.
Those beakers are their business. They contain quantum dots, which
are nanoscale - meaning very, very small, or, in scientific terms,
10 to the negative-ninth power - bits of
semiconductor material
that emit bright colors. "You can take these different colors of
the quantum dots and attach them to bio molecules, and a research
scientist can use them to visualize their experiments," says Carol
Lou, the company's
president.