NASA has tasked a Fayetteville company with creating circuit boards that can withstand conditions on the surface of Venus.
In the past 12 months Ozark Integrated Circuits Inc. received five grants -- four from NASA and one from the U.S. Air Force -- totalling more than $1.2 million. Many of the engineers working through these grants will be University of Arkansas at Fayetteville students and graduates.
Ozark Integrated Circuits, which specializes in designing semiconductors and circuits that can survive exposure to extreme environments, began as Matt Francis' Ph.D. thesis at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Francis, originally from Oklahoma, was looking for a way to stay in Arkansas while doing what he loved -- working with integrated circuits. In 2011, he created Ozark Integrated Circuits.
"I realized along the way that in order to stay in Arkansas and work with integrated circuits, I had to start my own company because there wasn't really anyone doing that in Arkansas," said Francis, chief executive officer of the company.
Alan Mantooth, distinguished professor and chairman of the electrical engineering department, was Francis' professor and helped him start the company.
"Matt had that good combination of technology know-how and a head for business," Mantooth said. "I wish I had more students like that because I have two more ideas for companies that I want students to start with me."
The company operates out of the Arkansas Research and Technology Park and now has three full-time employees, three interns and two part-time employees.
Jim Holmes, the chief technology officer for Ozark Integrated Circuits, said the company keeps a close relationship with the university. All three of the interns this summer are either graduate students or undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Holmes said he's proud to offer high-tech jobs to recent graduates in Arkansas.
"Every May a tremendous amount of top-notch engineering students get jobs on the West Coast, in Texas, on the East Coast," Holmes said. "For many students, the only way to apply the skills they just learned, the really high-level skills, is to leave the state. We're trying to give them the opportunity to stay here."
Tom Chilton, director of science and technology at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission said companies like Ozark Integrated Circuits highlight the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville's strong electrical engineering department.
"We really suffer when these highly skilled graduates don't stay in Arkansas," Chilton said.
In 2015, NASA awarded Ozark Integrated Circuits $245,000 for two projects -- an ultraviolet imager for use in space and a microcontroller suitable for use on Venus.
"Ultraviolet is used in a whole slew of applications," said Ian Getreu, director of business development and strategic partnerships for Ozark Integrated Circuits. "It's more than just your nightclub strobe kind of thing."
The company completed phase one of both the microcontroller and the ultraviolet-imager projects last year, delivering a report to NASA. The company began work on phase two for the ultraviolet imager this year using funding from another NASA grant.
After the success of these projects, Ozark Integrated Circuits received two additional grants -- one from the Air Force and another from NASA.
While working on these projects, the company is planning to roll out its first commercial products by 2017.
"Everything we do is related to high- or low-temperature environments, but there are a lot of different problems for us to solve in extreme-temperature environments, so there's room for us to grow," Holmes said.
Phillip Stafford, president of the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, said investment from local firms and individuals keep startups in the state.
"Investors in Arkansas want to see that company stay here in Arkansas, so that's the strongest glue that keeps them here in the state," Stafford said.
Ozark Integrated Circuits is one of many companies in Arkansas that take advantage of the state's resources for technology startups. Ozark Integrated Circuits received assistance from the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Authority, the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, Innovate Arkansas and Startup Junkie.
"I've been very pleased with all the support we've gotten," Francis said. "Every year it seems like there's more resources."
SundayMonday Business on 07/24/2016