Hitachi promotes technology transfer

Hitachi, maker of consumer durable products and appliances, has made a bigger name in the global IT market by being the third largest manufacturer of sliders and storage devices currently estimated at $6.5 billion worldwide. Being the third biggest firm in this arena, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies naturally has to ensure its sustainability by linking up with the academe and teaching its new technologies to students and faculty, its future source of manpower pool.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) recently launched its Integrated University Program, which entails a donation of $3 million worth of robotics and metrology laboratory equipment to the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU).

The $3 million laboratory donation focuses on robotics (multi axis robots, precision stages, servo motor control and vision systems) and metrology (interferometry, microscopy and measurement).

The program also includes scholarship and research grants and yearly on the job trainings based on the different universities’ schedules. Grant and scholarships focus on academic disciplines in engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical and industrial), the science (chemistry, physics, materials and computer sciences) and statistics. The six beneficiary schools are: AdMU, De La Salle, Mapua Institute of Technology, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, UP and the University of Santo Tomas .

Scholars will be trained to work with state of the art robotics, metrology and design resources at Hitachi ’s Laguna plant. Faculty research grants will fund the study of subjects concerning the environment, including hazardous waste treatment, power efficiency and water utilization.

Hitachi GST facility in Laguna is now centered on the production of sliders, a tiny flying wing that supports the read/write head above the surface of the disk. Continued advancement in slider technology will allow hard drive suppliers to continue improving in areas of power consumption, shock tolerance and overall storage capacity.

The 80-year old Hitachi Limited of Japan (known for its airconditioning units, refrigerators, elevators, electronics, electrical appliances and construction aids) diversified in the electronic IT business when it acquired IBM in 2003, thereby creating HGST initially for the storage technology business.

The company’s vision is to enable users to fully engage in the digital lifestyle by providing access to large amounts of storage capacity in formats suitable for the office, on the road and in the home. Hitachi Global is positioned to immediately advance the role of hard disk drives beyond traditional computing environments to consumer electronics and other emerging applications.