Q. Why is the competition so intense among Hawai'i and other states to attract high-tech companies?

A. The salary base is very high. And the other really important part of science and technology is that it creates opportunities. For example, in a biotech company you have a whole division called quality assurance that deals with the FDA and rules and regulations. What you find is there is a career path that begins with somebody who may get a specialty diploma from a community college. But then there's a career pathway that goes all the way up to the vice president for quality assurance. So it's not just about the high paying jobs, its about creating opportunities. There's no reason a young person starting off at an entry level community college position couldn't say, "I want to go back and get my Ph.D. or get a degree in this."

Q. What is the genesis of the Hawaii Science & Technology Council?

A. The council was created Jan. 6 when we (the Life Sciences Council) merged with the Hawaii Technology Trade Association. We created first our charitable entity, which is the Hawaii Science and Technology Institute and then we followed up with the creation of the Hawaii Science and Technology Council. The mission of these two sister organizations is to accelerate the growth of Hawai'i's science and technology economy.

Q. How many members do you have, and what are your membership goals?

A. We have about 70 or 80 members. We just last week did kind of our first membership outreach. We've just gotten the governance clarified with these two organizations and we're just now hitting the ground running on membership. We hope to be at 200 members by the end of the year.

Q. What are some of the immediate challenges facing the council?

A. We're still in the process of getting organized so that we can define ourselves so we know what our strengths are. One of the big projects of the Science and Technology Council is to create a directory of industry and have the capacity to show in that directory which various industries these companies are involved in. The trick is, it's got to be a grid, because you can have one company, take Oceanit for example. They are a life sciences company, they're a medical device company, they're an aerospace company and they're a marine science company. So what gives a community strength when you're developing science and technology is to understand what your sectors are and to be able to define the convergences.

Q. Why is the creation of such a directory so important?

A. When you have convergences you're able to leverage your assets. So a big deliverable for us this year is the creation of this industry directory. It's not just a company directory, but an industry directory. Hawai'i has a lot of critical mass in research. So for example we might have within the University (of Hawai'i) several centers of excellence. Research is an area where we have critical mass, where we need to work and partner with those folks to end up taking that intellectual property, spinning it off and growing more companies.

Q. How big a blow was the Legislature's failure last session to appropriate $100 million for the proposed Innovation Special Fund that would provide capital for tech companies?

A. It failed at the last minute, so that was disappointing. On the other hand, in the past they've created bills like Act 221. The Legislature, I think is very cognizant, of the importance of diversifying the economy. There is a lot of support there. They voted to support the Cancer Research Center, which is very important. Things like the Cancer Research Center, the regional biosafety lab, the medical school combined with Kamehameha Schools' proposed research center in Kaka'ako. If we get all that, we'll have 1.4 million square feet of scientific space and infrastructure that puts us in the ball game.

Q. What are some examples of companies that represent the future of Hawai'i's high-tech sector?

A. There are a whole bunch of them. There is a wonderful little company here that's called Chitopure (www.chitopure.com). They're taking shrimp shells, getting the chitin out of it to supply a company on the Mainland that makes a medical patch. It's in every soldier's pack in the battlefield. You slap that on if you've got a deep wound on the battlefield and that patch will stop your bleeding. They use the shrimp shells because our shrimp is so pure here. There is also Navatek (www.navatekltd.com), the marine ship builder; Oceanit (www.oceanit.com); Hawaii Biotech (hibiotech.com). At a company called Cellular Bioengineering, Hank Wuh is using regenerative medicine to create — this is amazing — corneas. It's amazing. These are all things that are happening here. Tissue Genesis (www.tissuegenesis.com) has a medical device which will create human tissue right in the operating room based on regenerative medicine.

Q. There has been a fair amount of controversy over plans to create a Navy-financed University Affiliated Research Center at the University of Hawai'i. Why do you think the critics are so passionate in their opposition to the center?

A. First the Hawaii Science and Technology Council testified with strong support to bring UARC here. I think there are some misunderstandings about how these monies are being used for basic research. And that's critical to grow this state. And the truth is the science that's being funded up there is basic research, and the solutions for the world, for the earth and for all of humanity are going to come out of science and technology. And so it's critical that the university and the professors there get the funding that they need.

Q. You were a history major in college. How did did you end up in economic development?

A. I got involved in economic development in 1990 when the (Hawai'i) economy collapsed and everybody kept saying, "It's going to get better next year, it's going to get better next year." And I watched friends leave and people and companies go bankrupt. And it wasn't going to get better. So I became involved because I wasn't going to leave. I'm married to someone from here and he said, "Honey, I'm on the last boat out." So I said you can either get upset, or I can get involved.

Q. Why is good leadership so important in a field such as technology?

A. Fundraising doesn't happen unless you've got strong leadership. Before there's money, there's leadership, and the best mission, the best organizations have clarity, urgency and boldness. Those are the things that cause an organization to succeed. And if you've got the support of strong leadership, a community can do anything it wants.