SRI Industries’ new partnership with James Madison University may be the catalyst for a wave of technological research and development similar to what occurred in California’s Silicon Valley in the 1960’s. More than 40 years ago, Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., began leasing some of its property to high-tech companies, SRI officials explained. Eastman Kodak Co., General Electric and Hewlett-Packard and SRI International all moved on campus. A few microchips later, the multibillion-dollar Silicon Valley was born.

Now, thousands of miles east of sunny California, SRI wants to again build that kind of relationship with a university, said SRI President and Chief Executive Officer Curtis Carlson. This time, JMU gets to be SRI’s bride and biotechnology will be the offspring.

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