Tampa Bay Area/Industry

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Avionics, Defense & Marine Electronics

The University of South Florida’s Center for Ocean Technology, which has been a leader in MEMS research and development and has been using the technology to collect biological and chemical data to monitor water quality, provided underwater technology for port security at the 2004 Republican National Convention. USF’s Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue used its miniature robots to assist rescue teams at Ground Zero following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Tampa Bay is home to United States Central Command which directs military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the middle East.

Business and Information Services

Nearly one in four of the state's business and information services firms resides in Tampa Bay. These firms range from financial services firms toinformation technologyproviders to professional services organizations such as law firms, accounting firms, engineering firms, consulting and more. As a gateway to the Florida High Tech Corridor, Tampa Bay is home to many information technology firms along with many business services providers.

Wall Street South

Tampa Bay's financial services cluster is the largest in the state of Florida and ranks 20th in the nation in terms of domestic employment. The size and scope of this sector has drawn many service vendors to the region to support the financial services industry.

Financial Service Firms:
*JPMorgan Chase
*Citigroup
*Deposit Trust & Clearing Corporation
*Raymond James Financial
*Franklin Templeton
*Metlife
*USAA
*Progressive Insurance
*State Farm

Information Services

Tampa Bay serves as the gateway to the Florida High Tech Corridor which spans 23 counties. Created as a partnership between the University of South Florida, University of Central Florida and now including the University of Florida, the Florida High Tech Corridor promotes the growth of the high tech industry across Central Florida.

Research

Academic research is a key component of high-tech growth and a powerful economic engine. The presence of cutting-edge research in the region is vital to technology transfer, which enables innovative ideas discovered in academia to achieve commercialization in the marketplace. Tampa Bay has several powerhouse research centers that are engaged in both pure scientific research and aggressively pursuing technology transfer to enrich people’s lives.

Health Care

With more than 50 hospitals, dozens of clinics and ambulatory care centers, the Tampa Bay has an abundance of top-rated health care facilities for children and adults. The region also has a wealth of well-trained medical professionals – nearly 53,000 nurses and more than 9,200 physicians (including physician assistants) – provide care to Tampa Bay residents and visitors every year.

High-Tech Industry

Medical Device Manufacturing

Tampa Bay ranks in the top 20 nationwide for medical device manufacturing clusters. The industry employs more than 10,000 people with an average wage in excess of $49,000 and produces over $2 billion worth of goods and services for an economic impact of more than 51,000 jobs and $5 billion. Tampa Bay's history of manufacturing for the defense industry has created a workforce skilled in high-precision fabrication of electronic parts and assemblies and experience in dealing with government relations, easing the transition to the highly regulated medical manufacturing industry.

Microelectronics/Nanotechonology

Researchers at the University of South Florida's Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Research Center (NNRC), H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and the Center for Ocean Technogy at USF's College of Marine Science are researching how to use nanotechnology for a myriad of targeted uses including drug delivery, mechanized microsurgery, customized laser microchips, ways to turn sunlight into electricity, purifying water, storing hydrogen in small nanotubes, designing and developing marine sensors using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and curing cancer.