High-tech instrument makers abound among UW-Madison spinoffs

As scientists and engineers explore the unknown, they frequently end up building the cutting-edge equipment and instruments they need, and high-tech instrument makers that have emerged from UW-Madison labs have been a good foundation for spinoff firms that sell research tools and equipment globally while creating a wide range of jobs in Wisconsin. These enterprises are examples of UW-Madison's broad impact on the state's economy, measured by economists at $12.4 billion annually. Astronautics Corp. of America , in Milwaukee, was founded in 1959 while Nathaniel Zelazo was a UW-Madison graduate student in engineering. The company has almost 2,000 employees making a wide range of electronic systems and flat-panel displays for commercial and military aircraft. The firm's "electronic flight bag," for example, provides digital versions of flight manuals, maps and other information on many Boeing airplanes, including the new Boeing 787. In Middleton, National Electrostatics employs more than 90 people making large particle accelerators that sell to scientific institutions worldwide.