AUSTIN, Texas

C. Grant Willson, professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has won the Japan Prize, an international award similar to the Nobel Prize, for his development of a process that is now used to manufacture nearly all of the microprocessors and memory chips in the world. He’s sharing the 50 million yen (approximately $560,000 in U.S. dollars) prize with his colleague and friend Jean M.J. Fréchet, who is now vice president for research and professor of chemical science at King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia. The winners were announced today in a ceremony in Tokyo. The Japan Prize Presentation Ceremony and Banquet, with the emperor of Japan in attendance, will take place in Tokyo on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Willson and Fréchet first conceived of “chemically amplifed resists,” the materials for which they are being recognized, in 1979. Willson was a researcher at IBM Corp., and Fréchet was spending a year with the company while on sabbatical from the University of Ottawa. “My boss came to me and said there is a crazy Frenchman who wants to come and spend a year here. Will you be his host?” said Willson, professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Natural Sciences and the Rashid Engineering Regents Chair in the Cockrell School of Engineering. “I said, ‘Let me do a bit of research on the guy,’ I looked at his papers and they were excellent. He was really doing good science, so I said, ‘Sure.’ He came to join me, and we started by having a great discussion about photoresists.” Photoresists are light-sensitive materials that enable the basic process used to  manufacture computer chips. A pattern of light hits the photoresist, which covers the silicon wafer. The resist becomes soluble at only those points where the light hits. The exposed areas can then be dissolved away to leave patterned access to the silicon. The original pattern can then be transferred into the silicon. In this way the tiny electron-controlling patterns that lie at the foundation of modern computing are produced. At the time Willson and Fréchet began talking, IBM was the world leader in manufacturing chips. Every two years or so, in keeping with “Moore’s Law,” the company had been able to write smaller patterns on the silicon and thus double the number of devices on each chip. The company was nearing a point, however, when continuing that pace of development did not look possible.     “We were stuck,” said Willson. “Further shrinking of the devices demanded printing with shorter wavelength ultraviolet light. The light bulbs that were available did not produce much light at the shorter wavelength, and the photoresists then being used took hours to develop in response to the low light. It wasn’t practical in terms of production. So we needed to develop new equipment or find photoresist materials that were orders of magnitude more sensitive.” Willson and Fréchet proposed using a catalyst to amplify the sensitivity of the photoresist. Instead of being dependent on one or multiple photons of light to trigger a chemical change in one molecule of the resist, with catalysts one photon could in theory set off a reaction that would “chew up” many of its neighbors as well. Thus light from the dimmer short wavelength light bulbs would be sufficient. “It shouldn’t have worked,” said Willson. “It should have been too blunt an instrument to draw fine lines. If you put a cow in a pasture, it will not stay put. It will wander around and keep eating until it eats up the whole field. Our catalysts should have eaten the whole field, but they didn’t. For all practical purposes, they stayed put. We got very high sensitivity and very high resolution. It wasn’t until much later, actually, after the thesis work of two University of Texas graduate students, that we finally figured out why the reaction is controlled in the way it is. At that time of the invention, though, we just needed to know that it worked reproducibly." Fréchet, who left IBM at the end of the year, kept collaborating from afar. He and Willson were soon joined by Hiroshi Ito, whom Willson recruited from the State University of New York-Syracuse. Over the next few years the trio developed the process to the point where IBM was willing to put it into production. “I still remember standing in the clean room at IBM’s facilty in Burlington, Vermont, and watching huge numbers of parts being manufactured with our new material,” said Willson. “It was a thrill that is difficult to describe.” The chemically amplified resists and their descendants helped IBM maintain its edge in chip production for many years. The patents were licensed in the early 1990s, and many adaptations of the resist were developed. These commercially available materials are now used throughout the industry to enable technologies as diverse as mobile phones, personal computers, home appliances, automobiles and medical equipment. “The materials have gotten much more sophisticated,” said Willson. “But the fundamental design concept is the same. We made the first cookie, and since then others have made almond cookies and chocolate chip cookies and cookies with a bit of coconut in them that taste better. Hiroshi, who died in 2010, continued to work on chemically amplified resists his entire life and made many important contributions to the modern formulations. If he were alive, he would have shared this prize with us.” If potential next-generation methods such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography prove viable, the resists will live on with them. Ironically, Willson himself has placed his bets elsewhere, on a process called nanoimprint lithography that he and S.V. Sreenivasan, a colleague at the Cockrell School, have been developing and commercializing. “I think that this whole idea of using lasers and lens and resists has reached its limit,” he said. “It’s been amazing, though, to have played the small part in it that we have.” Willson and Sreenivasan were honored in 2012 as “Inventors of the Year” by the university’s Office of Technology Commercialization for their nanoimprint lithography technology. Willson was also awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2007 for his development of chemically amplified resists and advanced patterning technology The Japan Prize is administered by the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan and honors scientists from around the world who have made original and outstanding achievements in science and technology. This year’s other prize is being awarded to Rutgers University professor John Frederick Grassle for his contribution to “marine environmental conservation through research on ecology and biodiversity of deep-sea organisms.”

Gov. Rick Perry delivered his State of the State address to the 83rd Texas Legislature, highlighting our state's strong economic outlook, and outlining his priorities to keep Texas on an upward trajectory. He called on the Legislature to provide at least $1.8 billion in tax relief, invest in the state's water and transportation infrastructure and improve access and choice in both public and higher education, including providing South Texas access to the Permanent University Fund. This is Gov. Perry's seventh State of the State address. "The state of our state is stronger than ever. We remain the nation's prime destination for employers and job-seekers alike, and across the state - in classrooms, on assembly lines, in laboratories, on farms and in office buildings - hard working Texans are today turning their dreams into realities," Gov. Perry said. "Big and small, dreams do become reality in Texas." The governor called on the Legislature to provide at least $1.8 billion in tax relief and pass a constitutional amendment to allow the state to give money directly back to taxpayers. He welcomed feedback from Texans on the best methods of tax relief, inviting them to share their ideas on the governor's website, gov.Texas.gov. The governor also noted that our strong economic growth and expanding population have increased demand on the fundamental building blocks of our communities. To address these needs, he urged lawmakers to use $3.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for a one-time investment in water and transportation infrastructure programs. Additionally, he called on the Legislature to once and for all end diversions from the State Highway Fund, freeing up an additional $1.3 billion of ongoing biennial funding available for transportation. "What I am proposing will support critical water and transportation systems across our state, addresses our needs both short- and long-term, and ensures both water and traffic will continue to flow in Texas for generations to come," the governor said. Recognizing that not every child learns for the same purpose or thrives in the same settings and schools, the governor called for more choice in both public and higher education. This includes the creation of more public charter schools, which are already in high demand across the state and offer a tuition-free alternative to a student's neighborhood school, and the creation of scholarship programs to give students a choice in their education, especially for those locked into low-performing schools. The governor also emphasized the need to give students more flexibility in the courses they take in high school to prepare them for whatever their goals may be, without sacrificing rigorous academic standards. Also highlighting the state's higher education needs, particularly in the dynamic and growing South Texas region, the governor called on lawmakers to provide the region access to the Permanent University Fund. This paired with efforts to make higher education more accessible and affordable to all Texans - such as providing more $10,000 degree options, a four-year tuition freeze and tying a minimum of ten percent of a school's state funding to the number of students it graduates - all represent an investment in our state's skilled workforce and our future. "Texas is not merely strong, but exceptional. We are a testament to the power of freedom, to the entrepreneurial spirit unleashed from government interference," said Gov. Perry in closing. "We believe these ideals are sturdy enough and strong enough to advance any and all Texans regardless of race, color or creed. We embrace a ‘can do culture' for every citizen willing to work hard and pursue a dream. Those ideals propel us forward as we stand as a national example that hard work can breed success regardless of one's station in life, that freedom is the best antidote to poverty, and that each individual deserves to inherit a state of equality and opportunity." The governor also emphasized the principles of the Texas Budget Compact, such as truing up the budget and moving away from budget gimmicks; implementing a stronger constitutional limit on spending that ensures it does not grow more than the combined rate of inflation and population growth; scrubbing the budget for any waste and redundancies; ending the practice of using dedicated funds and specific fees for anything other than the purpose for which they were intended; and maintaining a strong Rainy Day Fund that includes not tapping the fund to meet ongoing expenses.

By Sen. Carlos Uresti  

He who hesitates is lost.

This wise proverb dates to 1713, from English essayist and poet Joseph Addison, but the idea undoubtedly goes back much further than that.  It capsulizes a simple truth that we learn both from the advice of our elders and our own experience — that to accomplish things in life, decisive action trumps delay. Unfortunately, the value of this lesson has been lost on some state leaders who are actually advising delay in one of the Legislature's most important duties — adequately funding our public schools. State Education Commissioner Michael Williams advised the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday that it should wait on the Texas Supreme Court to rule on the school finance lawsuit before restoring any of the $5 billion in budget cuts imposed on public schools two years ago. The lawsuit involves some 200 Texas school districts that are challenging the state's school finance system, claiming it is inadequate and inequitable. The case is currently before a state court, but the Texas Supreme Court will have the final say. That process could go on for more than a year before there is a final ruling. While it is true that the court may eventually order changes in the method for funding public education, it is also true that our schools need help now. According to the comptroller, the Legislature will have $101.4 billion in general revenue available for the next two-year budget, almost 12.5 percent more than the current budget. The comptroller also underestimated the revenues we'd have in the current budget cycle, which ends Aug. 31, by some $8 billion. We have the funds to restore the funding that was cut from the current biennium and plenty to fund student growth the will surely come over the next two years — both wise investments in our future. But Mr. Williams' advice was this:  "Whatever funding we look at — whether it is adding more compensatory education money or additional money for teachers — the more prudent action is to wait at this point.” Williams is not the only one who wants to wait on instructions from the court. Last year the Joint Interim Committee to Study Public School Finance delved into the issue, then issued a final report in December with three recommendations: Continue to monitor the school finance litigation proceedings; Ensure the Legislature acts upon the decision of the highest court ruling; Work with all stakeholders in developing sound school finance policy. As a member of the committee, I refused to sign the report. With our children's future at stake, public education policy must not be based on delay. We don't tell our kids to wait; we tell them to seize the moment. That's what the Legislature needs to do. If we continue to hesitate in doing the right thing for our schools, we will — as Mr. Addison said 300 years ago — be lost.   Four more years There were no tickets to scratch off or six special numbers to buy, but members of the Texas Senate on Wednesday held a once-in-a-decade 'lottery' of sorts that offered a political prize. I won, along with 14 of my colleagues and a yet-to-be-named senator from Houston. Senators usually serve in staggered terms, but everyone must run in the first election after redistricting. The  drawing reset the process until the next round of political boundary making, with the 31 senators drawing either a four-year or two-year term. As some of my constituents looked on from the Senate Gallery — a group of students from Real County — luck was with me, and I drew a four-year term. Although I won't face re-election until 2016, I will continue to be accountable to the people of Senate District 19, as if I was on the ballot every day. Senate Secretary Patsy Spaw drew for the late Sen. Mario Gallegos, whose successor in the upcoming special election will serve a four-year-term.