Bruce Faulmann, Publisher |
The year 2003 was a turning point of sorts for research in Florida. In June that year, Florida Trend published its first edition of Research Florida, a compilation of stories about the medical and technological achievements from research universities across the state. Four months later, in October 2003, The Scripps Research Institute of La Jolla, Calif., announced its intention to open an East Coast branch in Jupiter on Florida’s east coast. These two developments, which seemed only marginally connected six years ago, helped launch a statewide movement.
With the official opening of Scripps Florida this past February, the dream of positioning our state as the place where innovation is sown, grown and nurtured is a brick-and-mortar reality. Between that 2003 announcement and the 2009 ribbon cutting, four distinct bioscience clusters of private research institutions and public universities have emerged, and the resulting high-tech corridor across Florida’s midsection along I-4 is well on its way to becoming the next Route 128 or Silicon Valley.
Florida’s story is no longer simply about laboratory discoveries. It is about innovation. And the label Research Florida no longer fits, which is why, in 2008, we created a new one — Florida Innovation. Within the pages of this second edition, you will read about Florida’s vision for an innovation economy and examples of how government, education and private industry are working together to address today’s challenges and solve tomorrow’s problems. |
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