Coordinates: 30°23′43.22″N 97°44′6.76″W / 30.3953389°N 97.7352111°W / 30.3953389; -97.7352111
The MCC headquarters building in Austin, Texas
Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (Microelectronics and Computer Consortium - MCC) was the first, and - at one time - one of the largest, computer industry research and development consortia in the United States.
MCC did research and development in the following areas: [1]
- System Architecture and Design (optimise hardware and software design, provide for scalability and interoperability, allow rapid prototyping for improved time-to-market, and support the re-engineering of existing systems for open systems).
- Advanced Microelectronics Packaging and Interconnection (smaller, faster, more powerful, and cost-competitive).
- Hardware Systems Engineering (tools and methodologies for cost-efficient, up-front design of advanced electronic systems, including modelling and design-for-test techniques to improve cost, yield, quality, and time-to-market).
- Environmentally Conscious Technologies (process control and optimisation tools, information management and analysis capabilities, and non-hazardous material alternatives supporting cost-efficient production, waste minimisation, and reduced environmental impact).
- Distributed Information Technology (managing and maintaining physically distributed corporate information resources on different platforms, building blocks for the national information infrastructure, networking tools and services for integration within and between companies, and electronic commerce).
- Intelligent Systems (systems that "intelligently" support business processes and enhance performance, including decision support, data management, forecasting and prediction).
History
In late 1982, several major computer and semiconductor manufacturers in the United States banded together and founded MCC under the leadership of Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, whose previous positions had been Director of the National Security Agency and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency as an American answer to Japan's Fifth Generation Project, a large Japanese research project aimed at producing a new kind of computer by 1991. The Japanese had formed consortia as early as 1956. [2] Such formations were illegal in the United States until the 1984 Congressional passage of the "National Cooperative Research Act" [3] Many European and American computer companies saw this new Japanese initiative as an attempt to take full control of the world's high-end computer market, and MCC was created, in part, as a defensive move against that threat. Several sites with relevant universities were considered including Atlanta, Georgia (Georgia Tech), the Research Triangle, N.C. (UNC), the Washington, D.C. area (George Mason), Stanford University and Austin, Texas (UT) which was the final selection. The University of Texas offered land upon which they would construct a new building specifically designed for the MCC within their Austin campus. Ross Perot also offered the use of his private plane for 2 years for staff recruitiment.
Despite this purpose and the background of Inman and his senior staff, MCC accepted no government funding for many years and was a refuge for some avoiding work on Strategic Defense Initiative projects. MCC was part of the Artificial Intelligence boom of the 1980s, reportedly the single largest customer of both Symbolics and Lisp Machines, Inc. (and like Symbolics, was one of the first companies to register a .com domain). In the 1980s its major programs were Packaging, Software Engineering, CAD, and Advanced Computer Architectures. The latter comprised Artificial Intelligence, Human Interface, Database, and Parallel Processing, the latter two merging in the late 1980s.
Many of the early shareholder companies were mainframe computer companies under stress in the 1980s. Over the years, MCC's membership diversified to include a broad range of high-profile corporations involved in information technology products, as well as government research and development agencies and leading universities.
In June, 2000 the MCC Board of Directors voted to dissolve the consortium, and the few remaining employees held a wake at Scholz's Beer Garden in Austin on October 25. Formal dissolution papers were reportedly not filed until 2004.
See also
- Cyc
- Sematech, a semiconductor-industry focused consortium, also in Austin
Notes
- ^ , Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation, entry from The Free Online Dictionary of Computing.
- ^ , David V. Gibson and Everett M. Rogers, R&D Collaborations On Trial, Harvard Business School Press, 1994, ISBN 0-87584-364-6, Introduction, p. 15.
- ^ , Ibid., Chapter 7.
External links
City of Austin |
---|
| | | Counties | |
---|
| Important businesses | |
---|
| Higher education | - Austin Community College
- Huston-Tillotson University
- St. Edward's University
- University of Texas
|
---|
| Music | - Antone's
- Armadillo World Headquarters
- Austin City Limits
- Austin Lyric Opera
- Austin Symphony Orchestra
- Cinematic Symphony
- Emo's
- SXSW
- Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Willie Nelson
|
---|
| Landmarks | - Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
- Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
- Dell Diamond
- The Drag
- Frank Erwin Center
- Governor's Mansion
- Moonlight Towers
- Sixth Street
- South Congress
- State Capitol
- Treaty Oak
- UFCU Disch-Falk Field
- University of Texas Tower
|
---|
| Museums | - Arthouse at the Jones Center
- Austin History Center
- Austin Museum of Art
- Austin Museum of Digital Art
- Blanton Museum of Art
- Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
- Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
- George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center
- Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum
- French Legation Museum
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
- Mexic-Arte Museum
- Neill-Cochran House Museum
- Elisabet Ney Museum
- O. Henry Museum
- Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
- South Austin Museum of Popular Culture
- Texas Governor's Mansion
- Texas Memorial Museum
- Texas State Capitol Visitors Center
- Umlauf Sculpture Garden
|
---|
| Parks and preserves | - Auditorium Shores
- Barton Creek Greenbelt
- Emma Long
- Hippie Hollow
- McKinney Falls
- Mount Bonnell
- Walnut Creek
- Wild Basin
- Zilker
|
---|
| Bodies of water | - Barton Creek
- Barton Springs
- Colorado River
- Deep Eddy Pool
- Lady Bird Lake
- Lake Austin
- Lake Travis
- Lake Walter E. Long
|
---|
|