Automotive Technology

Austin's attractiveness as a place to live and work is a huge advantage for technology companies working in the automotive industry. Our technological infrastructure, business climate and talent pool make Austin home to diverse companies like National Instruments, IBM, Spansion and Venkel, to name a few. Home grown success stories include Fortune 500 giants Dell and Whole Foods Market.

Recognized around the world for our great quality of life and dynamic high-tech economy, our region is defined by stunning growth, lower business and living costs than most major metro areas and a young, well-educated population. Austin has quietly positioned itself as a new center for innovation in the automotive industry.

• TASUS Texas is an ISO-certified automotive manufacturer located in the Austin metro (Georgetown) that supplies the new Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas plant in San Antonio.
• Silicon Laboratories mixed-signal ICs, including MCUs and satellite radio tuners, are used in a variety of automotive applications, including XM Radio.
• SMSC's Automotive Infotainment Systems group currently supplies major European automakers, including Audi, BMW, Land Rover, Daimler, Porsche, Saab and Volvo with MOST-based infotainment semiconductor solutions. SMSC's MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) is now used in over 30 different vehicle models, with tens of millions of systems on the road.

Some of the most influential members of our automotive community include:

Driven to Know

As a world-class research institution, UT Austin has annual research expenditures of more than $497 million. The University consistently ranks in the top 10 nationally for the number of science and engineering doctoral degrees and is the fourth most patent-earning university in the country. The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department has ranked as one of the top 10 in the country. UT Austin is home to more than 100 organized research units including:

• Advanced Computational Engineering Lab (ACE)
• Advanced Manufacturing Center — Coordinates research and education in manufacturing and materials processing including design, control, materials, measurements, mechanics, modeling and thermal-fluid dynamics.
• Center for Electrochemistry — A multi-disciplinary group of researchers spanning the chemistry, materials, and engineering aspects of electrochemical science fostering collaborative research programs coupling fundamental electrochemistry and materials science.
• Center for Electromechanics — Research in high specific power electromechanical devices, energy storage systems, electric vehicle suspensions and vehicle power management systems. The center has joined with Texas Energy Conservation Office and other agencies to organize the Texas Electric Vehicle Program.
• Center for Energy & Environmental Resources — Focuses on efficient and economical use of energy and on ensuring a cleaner environment by developing, in cooperation with industry, processes and technologies that minimize waste and conserve natural resources.
• Center for Transportation Research — Nationally recognized research institution within the Cockrell School of Engineering focusing on transportation research, education, and public service
• Combustion & Engines Research
• Microelectronics Research Center — A NSF/NNIN-funded research laboratory contributing to advancements in microelectronic devices, integrated circuits,
  and optoelectronic components.
• Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences — An interdisciplinary research center for computational sciences and engineering, mathematical modeling, applied mathematics, and software engineering.
• Computer Engineering Research Center — One of the leading research centers in the country for design and testing of VLSI, fault-tolerant systems, sequential synthesis, binary decision diagrams, timed/stochastic systems, distributed systems, computer architecture, and software engineering.
• Society of Automotive Engineers — UT's chapter of SAE participates in the annual Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility Competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors.
• General Motors Foundation Combustion Sciences & Automotive Research Labs — Conducts research in alternative fuels, emissions control, engine modeling, and IC engines.