India's Privately Funded MEMS Lab

The small tech industry in India is poised to take a step forward with the launch of the new CranesSci MEMS Lab, in October 2002.
The MEMS research lab is a collaboration between the Bangalore based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and an Indian software company, Cranes Software International Ltd., also based in Bangalore. According to Cranes, the lab will get started with a $600,000 seed fund contributed by India's University Grants Commission, a government agency that helps develop educational organizations in the country; a government assisted program on smart materials called the National Program on Smart Materials; NSc and Cranes Software. The lab's primary objective is to conduct research in MEMS and develop designs for MEMS-based devices. Cranes said the lab will house a design studio and a microdynamics lab. According to the company, the CranesSci MEMS Lab will only conduct design and testing, while fabrication will be done at the Indian government-sponsored MEMS foundry owned by the state-run semiconductor maker, Semiconductor Complex Ltd., in the Indian city of Chandigarh, or any other fabrication facility.