September 2012

Taking Care of the Farm
By Harvey Kaylie, President
Mini-Circuits

I am very pleased and excited to see that America has started to adjust to the new world economy. In spite of the political stalemate, the values that have made America strong still prevail. Americans continue to rely on their creativity, determination, hard work and passion to achieve success. These qualities are not given by government but are derived from within ourselves. The government’s job is to provide an environment that is conducive for these qualities to nurture, grow and flourish.

I have seen changes taking place in our colleges and universities that illustrate the shift to promote and nurture creativity and the American Dream. At The City College of New York (CCNY), part of the City University of New York, an entrepreneurial program and prize have been initiated to encourage teams from the multiple engineering and other multi-disciplines to work on projects that provide better solutions to various issues such as inspecting cables on suspension bridges, non-invasive testing to determine the presence of skin cancer, an artificial heart, a low-cost computer keyboard for blind people, etc.

At the University of South Florida Engineering School, they are setting up an innovation lab for multiple disciplines to encourage student teams to work together on various projects. The students are also working on projects that cover a wide range of innovative solutions, ranging from a new procedure for laparoscopic surgery to low-cost RF signal emulators.

Our engineering schools can help our country move in the direction of innovation and entrepreneurism. These key factors would help promote job growth, provide fuel for economic expansion and lift the mood of our people.

With just a few people starting, we can spawn innovation and, through the natural action of our American character, innovation can spread to a large population. Just look at how the Apple iPhone and iPad have spread to encompass thousands of new products and applications.

At Mini-Circuits we encourage innovation and support creative ideas. We are always trying to improve our manufacturing support and product reliability levels by adding new equipment, adding additional material test capability, redesigning where necessary and providing funds for experimenting with enhanced and creative ideas. As a result, we have introduced miniature surface mount attenuators covering DC to 20 GHz; new low level limiters, 0 dBm, that protect sensitive electronic equipment such as low noise receivers; semi-conductor MMIC amplifiers with a NF of 0.5 dB and 2 tone 3rd order IP3 of +45 dBm, as well as hundreds of new products developed in the past 12 months.

In addition, we have entered a new market of RF portable test equipment for lab and production applications. The bottom line is that today, there is opportunity sitting in front of us. Our mission is to find and exploit these opportunities.

As with a farmer, we must first plant the seeds for growth in our economy. Next, we have to nourish those seeds with the passion, determination and hard work of our American natures, comparable to sunlight, water, fertilizer and well-tended soil necessary to grow a good crop.
Similarly, we must also give nourishment to creative ideas by providing resources for supporting innovation and creativity.

We do not need to focus on big picture politics or government handouts. If we build on the roots of the RF and Microwave industry, and if we can capture the pioneering spirit that has made America great, then job growth and prosperity shall come. Let us go back to the ideas of the America of our past, and spring forward with renewed enthusiasm and confidence in ourselves and America.

MINI-CIRCUITS
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