TUESDAY MARCH 31,1998 ISSUE 8-12 HTTP://WWW.CONNECT.ORG/CONNECT [email protected] connectTHE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF UCSD CONNECT GEORGE GILDER TO PEEK INTO COMMQUEST/IBM TO CREATE NEW FUTURE AT MAY 27 TELCOM EVENT GENERATION OF MOBILE APPLIANCES By Debbie Andersen, QUALCOMM ([email protected]) By Ann Marsh ([email protected]) George Gilder has spoken at the Vatican, testified before United On February 11 of this year, IBM announced a $180 million States Senate sub-committees on Science and Technology, and buyout merger agreement with CommQuest Technologies, Inc., a Commerce, Science and Transportation, been quoted by Ronald privately held company based in Encinitas, California, which designs Reagan more than any other living author, written speeches for Ri- and markets advanced semiconductors for wireless and digital com- chard Nixon and , studied under Henry munications applications such as cellular phones and satellite com- Kissinger at Harvard and been interviewed in Playboy. One of his munications. Once the merger is completed, CommQuest will be- books, "The Spirit of Enterprise", is credited with sparking the entre- come part of IBM's Microelectronics Division, speeding development preneurial growth of technology investment and of Silicon Valley. His book "Microcosm" \s a history of that growth and his next book, of a new generation of multifunction, low-cost, mobile "information "Telecosm" is the eagerly awaited look into the future of the appliances," such as single chip, watch-size cellular phones and prod- communication's industry. On May 27,1998, George Gilder will be ucts that combine cell phone, e-mail and Internet access functions giving San Diego a peek into that future, as the luncheon speaker at in a single, hand-held package. UCSD Connect's annual Evolving Markets and Marketplaces in Tele- The merging of these two companies appears to be a perfect fit, communications Conference. combining IBM's semiconductor technology and manufacturing with CommQuest's chip design and system skills for wireless communi- George Gilder is President of Gilder Technology Group, In- cations products. jorporated, located in Housatonic, . He is also a In January of this year, CommQuest which was founded in 1991, Senior Fellow at of Seattle, Washington, where unveiled their breakthrough solution for the wireless communications he directs Discovery's program on high technology and public policy. market, the Tri-Band GSM Chipset. The Chipset allows, for the first Mr. Gilder is a founder of and contributor to Forbes ASAP, and a time, manufacturers to produce single cellular phones that can oper- contributing editor of Forbes magazine. He is a frequent writer for ate in virtually all of the world's major cities. Dr. Hussein EI-Ghoroury, The Economist, the Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Jour- founder and CEO of CommQuest, stated at that time, "As our global nal, and other publications. society continues to evolve, people need a single wireless phone they can use everywhere they go...furthermore, by the leveraging of More than a writer, he is a writer that other writers quote. Over the past several years, he has embraced innovative technologies our Total System Solution offering, manufacturers can take a prod- that include: All-optical networks, smart radios, QUALCOMM digital uct from concept to market for a fraction of the cost and in a fraction wireless, Stratacom frame relay, mediaprocessors, Netscape brows- of the time that is typically required when working with multiple ven- ers, and Sun's Java programming language. One article even named dors." (Monday, January 26 8:18 AM ET (BUSINESS WIRE)) him the "21st Century Java Man". While he embraced some, he Commenting about the merger, Dr. Mike Attardo, IBM's Gen- dismissed many of the most touted new technologies — from HDTV eral Manager, Microelectronics Division, said, "We believe joining and interactive television to 3DO game machines and CD-I multime- with CommQuest to design high-speed communications devices dia, from TDMA wireless and Nextel cellular compression to perva- using silicon germanium and copper will provide significantly lower sive ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) networks. He travels over cost chip solutions for manufacturers of communications products." 300,000 air miles a year preaching a technology Utopia, and con- The merger, he said "is a key element of IBM's strategy to bring fronting the controversy that he effects. innovative leadership technology products quickly to customers." Joint product development will include IBM's copper chip tech- Born in 1939 in City, Mr. Gilder attended Exeter Acad- nology along with their unique cost efficient method for manufactur- emy and and later returned to Harvard as a fel- ing silicon germanium chips, which allow the integration of many low at the Kennedy Institute of Politics. Mr. Gilder pioneered the thousands of transistors onto a single chip so that fewer chips are Please see GILDER on Page 2 Please see COMMQUEST on Page 3 UCSD CONNECT • (619) 534-6114 • FAX (619) 552-O649 • [email protected] FROM THE DIRECTOR By William W. Otterson ([email protected]) T, ,E FOLLOWING COMMENTARY IS THE OPINION OF THE WRITER, AND DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINION OF CONNECT AND/OR OUR SPONSORS & MEMBERS. PENNI CRABTREE ARTICLE Kudos to Penni Crabtree for her excellent series in the San Di- on student visas. Upon graduation, they return to their countries - ego Union-Tribune explaining the problem of engineering shortages some would say carrying their taxpayer-paid knowledge with them '"i San Diego, including her article, "Laid-off engineers question talk of (Truth be known, they, or their governments pay much higher enroll- jrtage," on Saturday, March 28. ment fees - but that is a different argument, for a later day.) So, lets "find" these students, who will graduate in June, interview them and It is true that there is a shortage of engineers in San Diego. In tell their story. How many would stay in this country, if they could get fact, UCSD CONNECT's continuing study of recruiting needs of San a work visa? Where are they from? What do they look like? To what Diego's high-tech companies shows that the companies fell 35% short degree have they already assimilated into the American (Californian) of their hiring needs last quarter. culture? Are they the "exploited foreigners" that the opponents are conjuring up, or are they simply intelligent, hard-working students that How serious is this? could benefit our economy and provide jobs for other? COMMQUEST (CONTINUED) Engineers are to high-tech companies what scientists are to required to carry out the same set of functions. The silicon germa- biotech companies. They are the "top of the food chain". They design new products and services and are what make a company grow. Com- nium chip is an ideal technology for wireless communications appli- cations because it can operate at extremely high speeds with low panies only hire engineers when their corporate business plans show power requirements - enabling the transmission and reception of high there is a need for new products in their market place. At the same frequency signals while extending the battery life of hand-held devices. time, in many respects, a company and its products are only as good "Our respective technologies and core competencies are so as their engineers. That is why companies don't want just any engi- complementary that, together, they stand to vault both companies neer - they want the best and brightest available anywhere on earth! into leading positions in the wireless and digital industries," said El- Ghoroury. The companies predict that silicon germanium will be- Qualcomm: A case in point. Qualcomm competes globally with come the core chip technology that will enable a wide variety of hand- its wireless telephones. Its major competitors are Motorola in the U.S., held communications and computing devices connected to voice and Ericsson in Sweden, and Nokia in Finland. Finland is reputed to be data networks. By leveraging the power of networks, these devices *he "most wired" country in the world, with the highest per capita own- will allow individuals and organizations to increase productivity, boost jhip of PC's. Their engineers are well educated, diligent and moti- collaboration and develop new ways of doing business. vated. Sweden also has top flight engineering schools. Wouldn't we Semiconductors used in digital wireless communications appli- like to have the "best and brightest" from Finland or Sweden working cations today represent a rapidly growing opportunity. Analysts ex- for our companies here? pect chip industry revenues derived from these applications to grow more than 20 percent annually over the next four years. Further, we just came back from a tour of South America, where The final merger is contingent upon successful attainment of we saw the beginnings of the Chilean-led economic revolution that is certain closing conditions and governmental approval. sweeping that continent. We also just read the Union-Tribune's edito- rial comment on what President Clinton is finding in Africa - notably in GILDER (CONTINUED) Uganda, Ghana, and Botswana, including the advice of Jesse Jack- formulation of supply-side economics when he served as Chairman son, "If we can see the real Africa, the promise is great (500 million of the Lehman Institute's Economic Roundtable, as Program Direc- potential customers for American products.)" So, we ask, "Do we want tor for the Manhattan Institute, and as a frequent contributor to A. B. these (new) products to come from San Diego?" If we do, we need to Laffer's economic reports and the editorial page of The Wall Street help our companies recruit the best engineers, wherever they may be, Journal. In 1986, President Reagan gave George Gilder the White while, at the same time, trying to retrain talent we already have here. House Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence. In 1996 he was made a (Penny describes the SDSU retraining program for defense engineers Fellow of the International Engineering Consortium. In 1997, Mr. Gilder and the UCSD Extension courses for anyone needing state-of-the-art was named 7th in Upside magazine's list of most influential digital education.) revolutionaries. George Gilder lives in Tyringham, Massachusetts, in the Berk- So, let's find the "true victims" of an H-1B cap that is too low. shire Mountains, where he is an active churchman, sometime runner, According to the National Academy of Engineering, one half of the and with his wife Mini, parent of four children. engineering Ph.D. degrees awarded in the U.S. goes to foreign born udents, over half of whom remain here, many under the H1-B pro- For further information on the Evolving Markets and Marketplaces gram. We are also told that as many as fifty per cent of some engi- in Telecommunications conference, please see our ad on page 4. neering classes at UCSD are made up of foreign-born student here CONNECT NEWSLETTER - MARCH 31, 1998 • PAGE 2 HIGH-TECH NEWS... Boatracs Inc., distributor in the North American and European Genetronics Inc. was given favorable reviews in the recent issue marine markets of the OmniTRACS System, announced they have of the International Journal of Molecular Medicine for their instruments entered into a Letter of Intent with Enerdyne Technologies Inc. to enhancing in vivo gene therapy which the article says provides signifi- acquire 100 percent of Enerdyne's outstanding stock. Enerdyne cant advantages compared to other methods. In vivo electroporation of sells video compression equipment for military and commercial genes uses electrical pulses to open temporary pores in the cell mem- plications. brane, allowing a gene to gain access to the interior of a cell.

EPIC Solutions, a San Diego company specializing in software Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug development company which solutions to criminal justice and public safety, received $4.4 million is planning to file its first new drug application in April, has signed a of capital infusion from three investors in its third round of financing. collaborative deal with a unit of Zeneca Group PLC to manufacture The Mexican Chamber for the Electronics Industry, Tele- antisense oligonucleotides, designed for use in anti-cancer drugs. communications, and Information Technology (CANIETI), which has a successful Chapter in Mexico's "Silicone Valley", Guadalajara, Laser Diagnostic Technologies announced that the GDx Nerve is forming a Chapter in Tijuana to cover the Baja California-South- Fiber analyzer has been selected as a finalist in the Canon ern California region. They will be recruiting top executives of elec- Communication's sponsored 1998 Medical Design Excellence awards tronic-technology companies operating on both sides of the Tujuana- which honor outstanding achievement in the design and engineering of San Diego border. CANIETI is affiliated with testing laboratories and medical products, components and materials. GDx is a diagnostic in- a mandated product certification bureau. strument used to detect and manage glaucoma. Winners will be an- nounced during the 16th annual Medical Design & Manufacturing East QUALCOMM Inc. announced entering into a Code Division Conference and Exposition on June 2-4 in . Multiple Access (CDMA) royalty-bearing, cross-license agreement with Philips Electronics NV. In addition, QUALCOMM has signed a Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that Wyeth-Ayerst Re- contract with the Beijing Telecommunication Administration for a digi- search has filed an Investigational New Drug Application with the FDA tal wireless network trial in the Wukesong area. The trial system has for the compound TSE-424, a tissue-selective estrogen. Ligand and already been deployed and is operational. With successful comple- Wyeth-Ayerst Research are developing the compound for the treat- tion of the trial, Beijing has agreed to purchase the system and will ment of post-menopausal osteoporosis. In addition, as a result of posi- buy market and end-user information about the services and tech- tive results of its international Phase III pivotal trial for Panretin™ gel in •>logy. patients with AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma, Ligand intends to file a U.S. New Drug Application by the end of May. Quality Production & Research (Q.P.R.), an international soft- ware developer, recently launched its market research software MarketMaker. Using MarketMaker, Q.P.R. was able to conduct the Maxim Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Patent Office first on-line survey in North America using MarketMaker designed has issued a second key patent underlying the Company's Maxamine WebCards, the Internet module that captures and analyzes customer technology for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. preferences on the Web. Maxamine is designed to offer a safer treatment that extends life for seriously ill patients. Maxamine protects key immune cells enabling them TriTeal Corp. announced it has launched the Unix/NT Migra- to more effectively fight disease. tion and Integration program, with Tracer Enterprise Solutions, Inc. The program is designed to provide government resellers and inte- Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of grators with interoperability solutions for Unix and Microsoft Gensia Sicor Inc., announced that Pfizer Inc. has extended its collabo- Windows NT. ration with Metabasis in pain research until May 1999. The research collaboration is focused on a subgroup of adenosine regulating agents HEALTHCARE NEWS... which may represent a new class of analgesic drugs for the treatment CardioDynamics International Corporation, a noninvasive of acute and chronic pain. digital cardiac output monitoring manufacturer, announced it has received 510 (k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis- Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP's litigation team has won the tration for the bioZ.com™, the company's next generation, largest compensatory damage award in the State of California history noninvasive cardiac output monitor. by persuading a Superior Court jury to award Mycogen Corp. $174.9 million in damages in a breach of contract suit with St. Louis-based FPA Medical Management, Inc., a national physician man- Monsanto Company. Monsanto was found to have violated their li- agement organization that organizes and manages primary care censing agreement with Mycogen by withholding key technologies for physician networks to contract with HMOs and PPOs, elected making insect-resistant crops. The damage award compensated Stephen J. Dresnick as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mycogen for lost profits.

CONNECT NEWSLETTER - MARCH 31, 1998 • PAGE 3 UPCOMING EVENTS... A BIOCOM Breakfast Meeting, "Recent Developments in Prod- Communications Council Executive Coordinator who will report directly uct Liability," will be held Wednesday, April 8,1998, 7:30 to 9:00 to the Executive Director of the ICC and to the Chair of the ICC Execu- a.m., at the Sheraton Grande Torrey Pines. The fee to attend is $30 to tive Committee. The primary responsibility of the Executive Coordina- members; $50 for non-members. BIOCOM is also hosting two other tor is to work collaboratively with the corporate membership of the ICC, meetings this month: BIOCOM Goes to the Opera featuring Gounod's coordinating their interests and promoting open and regular dialogue. "omeo and Juliet" performed by the San Diego Opera on Friday, April This position oversees and analyzes the membership data, ensures ,, 1998 - BIOCOM members are eligible for 20% ticket discount; and increased membership activity, and organizes the bi-monthly programs "Biomed Facilities Financing: The Market Heats Up" on April 30,1998, of the ICC. The Executive Coordinator arranges for sponsorship for 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. The fee to attend the April 30 event is $50 for mem- speakers or programs that require underwriting. The Executive Coor- bers and $75 for non-members. For more information call BIOCOM at (619) 455-0300 or see their website at http://www.biocom.org. dinator provides the vital communication linkage with the membership, An April MIT Forum special program, "E-Commerce: Executive Committee and the Executive Director. Qualifications include Business© Warp Speed,"a program focused on exploring the alterna- 5-10 years experience, or strong interest, in the Communications field, tives available to companies doing business on the Internet, will be with expertise in Regulation and Public Policy Issues. Some background held on April 8,1998, at 5:30 p.m., at the La Jolla Marriott. The fee to in Administration, Marketing, Journalism, and/or Public Affairs/Public attend is $25 in advance, $30 at the door. For more information, call Relations. Excellent interpersonal skills. If you or someone you know (619) 236-9400 or see their website at www.sddt.com/mitforum. is interested in this position, please fax a cover letter and resume to Gray Gary Ware & Freidenrich is hosting their annual Employ- Mary Ann Egerat (619) 551-0053. ment Law Briefing seminar on April 9,1998,8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. The briefing will provide essential informa- NEW COURSE: APRIL 6-27 tion concerning new developments and difficult human resource man- UCSD CONNECT presents a new 4-week course: agement issues, and will consists of a general session focusing on new How To MARKET A HiGH'TECH COMPANY developments and breakout sessions geared to specific issues con- Mondays, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m., Rm. 2204, fronted by California employers. The fee to attend is $120 per person Warren Lecture Hall, UCSD (subject to change) and $95 for each additional person from the same company. For more information, call Lisa Carmichael at (619) 699-3457. From managing a cost-effective public relations campaign to The Association for Women in Science (AWIS), Inc. San Diego more effectively utilizing your ad dollars, this course will cover what Chapter is holding a spring gala on Saturday, April 4,1998, at the emerging technology companies need to do. In the world of high- Stephen Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. Guest tech, markets are extremely sophisticated and niche markets be- sneaker will be Mark Abrahams, editor and co-founder of The Annals come more narrow by the day. Taught by two experienced execu- Improbable Research and father of the Ig Nobel Awards. All pro- tives from high-tech companies, this course will teach you the strat- ceeds go toward a newly created 1998 scholarship program to be egies and tactics needed for effective marketing. Specific weekly awarded later this fall. The fee to attend is $35 for AWIS members and topics will be public relations, advertising, business development and guests and $45 for non-members. For further information, please call Internet. Instructors for this course will be Michelle M. Mueller, Di- Melody Clark at (619) 658-7693. rector of Corporate Communications, Torrey Science Corp., and Mary Pangea Foundation, Project NEEDS, and the San Diego Zoeller, Marketing Director, Praja, Inc. For further information, please Supercomputer Center present "Building Networks for Community and call (619) 534-6114. Learning Environments," on Tuesday, April 21,1998, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. For information, call MAY 27, 1998 Kristin Berry at (619) 552-8055 ore-mail [email protected]. The San Diego Venture Group & CONNECT Present The American-Russian Business Council is offering a confer- EVOLVING MARKETS & MARKETPLACES IN ence on "Russian - An Emerging Market for the 21st Century," May 5-6, 1998, at the Hyatt Islandia Hotel in Mission Bay. The conference will TELECOMMUNICATIONS examine various aspects of practical realization of American-Russian Sheraton Grande Torrey Pines business relations. The goal of this conference is to introduce the busi- The brochure is due to go to print on this event on April 3. If ness potential of U.S. companies to the various regions of the Russian your company is planning to sponsor, underwrite or exhibit at Federation and promote international business expansion. For further this event, and would like to be included in the brochure, please information, call 1 (800) 428-9308. contact Carole Ekstrom at (619) 534-3861. This year's confer- ANNOUNCEMENT... ence will focus on the battle of bandwidth and satellite communica- Based on the recommendations of its membership, the San Diego- tions. The goals of this year's event will be to: feature keynote Baja Communications Council is being repositioned. The new name is speakers who will present current and upcoming trends in our tele- the SDSU International Communications Council (ICC), and their communications industry; provide the most up-to-date marketplace new purpose is to focus, in large part, on regulatory and policy issues of information about the industry; showcase our local telecommunica- importance to industries large and small, locally and globally. SDSU's tions industry; promote San Diego and bring value to our telecom- ~oal is to make every effort to broaden the new Council into a truly munications companies. Keynote speaker will be industry futur- .liversity wide, community-wide council. The success of the ICC is ist George Gilder, President of the Gilder Technology Group dependent on two factors: membership and quality programming. As and a Senior Fellow at Discover Institute. For further informa- part of this effort, the Council is recruiting for a half-time International tion about this event, please call CONNECT at (619) 534-6114. CONNECT NEWSLETTER - MARCH 31, 1998 • PAGE 4