UW Proposes High-Tech Research Park In Seattle

For 10 years, Washington State University has had a research and technology park in Pullman.

Several companies have been formed at the 130-acre complex, which currently has 14 tenants and includes a wood technology laboratory.

Now the University of Washington is asking the Legislature for permission to use existing funds for a similar operation that would cover two to 10 acres within 15 minutes of the Seattle campus.

The project would be financed mostly by private donations and designed partly to attract leading faculty members in biomedical, telecommunications and other fields, the Board of Regents was told Friday.

Robert Miller, associate vice provost for research, said the proposed high-tech park could house operations like the Human Genome Project, in which scientists are participating in an international effort to map the human genetic code. That project receives funds from the Energy Department and other support from the National Institutes of Health.

To win approval, school officials must present a clear message and show more accountability, said state Senate Ways and Means Committee chairwoman Nita Rinehart, D-Seattle, and Senate Minority Leader Dan McDonald, R-Bellevue.

Although the university recently issued a report to the Legislature, “don’t assume everyone has read it or was persuaded by it,” Rinehart said.

McDonald said many lawmakers believe tax money should be spent more on instruction than on research and are unhappy that no one can say how many hours faculty members spend teaching.

“You’ve got to answer that question,” he said. “People are asking for accountability.”