A MEMS facility is a living, breathing thing, like a baby. Nader Najafi, like his brother, studied under Wise and got his Ph.D. from the university. The facility is capable of making up to 5 million units each year, Najafi says. The firm is developing several MEMS sensors, all tied to U-M research. If all goes well, Najafi expects his firm will employ 100 or so workers within the next few years, up from 15 today.
Several initiatives are under way, however, to try to make it happen.
Right now, the business is in an exploratory mode, Snyder says. He started by hiring a consultant who's doing a market research study, which will be finished in the next few months. The firm might license technology from U-M or other universities, says Snyder, who is president of MEMS Tech. It might partner with other venture capital firms, such as EDF, or try to get state funds. At U-M, Carignan and his colleagues also are plotting for change.