PRESS RELEASES
IDEAS-TEK Awarded 2020 New Mexico Flying 40
October 26, 2020
IDEAS-TEK was selected as a New Mexico Technology Flying 40 company for the third year in a row. The Flying 40 are the forty fastest-growing technology companies in the state of New Mexico, collectively representing over $900 million in revenue and nearly 5,000 jobs for New Mexico’s economy. IDEAS-TEK was proud to once again receive this recognition from the Flying 40 program.
Additionally, IDEAS-TEK was ranked as the #2 highest-revenue-growth technology company under $10 Million in the state of New Mexico, putting it at the top of New Mexico's technology company growth trend.
The New Mexio Flying 40 Program congratulates its 2020 awardees, saying "our 2020 awardees have made substantial contributions to [...] the strength and vitality of our economy," and "these companies and their employees should be singled out as examples of the best New Mexico has to offer."
More information about the New Mexico Flying 40 Program can be found on their website, www.flying40.com.
Photography credit: Jamie Jauriqui Photography
IDEAS-TEK Selected Hyperspace Challenge 2020 Finalist
October 22, 2020
IDEAS Engineering & Technology was just selected as one of thirteen finalists in AFRL's Hyperspace Challenge 2020 to develop new space technologies for the U.S. Space Force. IDEAS-TEK is proud to be part of this year's cohort and looks forward to the opportunity to develop new and stronger relationships with Government stakeholders.
Hyperspace Challenge is a business accelerator program with the goal of developing new technologies to provide the Space Force with secure autonomous capabilities for both manned and unmanned space missions.
AFRL writes, "Hyperspace Challenge was created in 2018 by the Air Force and CNM Ingenuity to accelerate partnerships between the government and startups to shift space innovation into hyperdrive. It does this by building relationships between the startup and government communities that extend well beyond a cohort’s conclusion. Indeed, since its launch, 70% of cohort companies have reported government contracts worth over $7 million linked to their participation in the program."
The program culminates in the Hyperspace Summit pitch-day event on December 3, where an awardee will receive $25,000 in incentives and prize money to expedite follow-on activities related to establishing government partnerships.
Read more about IDEAS-TEK and the 2020 Hyperspace Challenge in the Albuquerque Journal from Friday, October 23 or at the Hyperspace Challenge website at https://hyperspacechallenge.com/hyperspace-challenge-announces-13-finalists-to-participate-in-2020-cohort/.
UPDATE: IDEAS-TEK appears in the Albuquerque Journal on the four New Mexico teams selected as Hyperspace Challenge finalists, along with a quote from Director of Engineering Jorge Piovesan who was interviewed for the article. The article is publicly accessible here on the Albuquerque Journal's website: https://www.abqjournal.com/1510242/3-local-firms-nmsu-chosen-for-hyperspace-challenge.html.
IDEAS-TEK’s New Facility at 10520 Research Road
May 4, 2020
In March, IDEAS Engineering & Technology moved from its old address near the Albuquerque international airport into its new offices at 10520 Research Rd SE, Suite 100 in the Sandia Science and Technology Park. The park, also known as the SS&TP and located near the Eubank Gate of Kirtland Air Force Base, is home not only to Sandia National Laboratories’ IPOC buildings but numerous other aerospace and cutting-edge engineering firms and supporting businesses.
The move has expanded IDEAS-TEK’s facilities to 6,200 sqft. including a new, 750-sqft., ESD-safe laboratory, complete with additional workbenches and an advanced soldering station for IPC Class 3 electronics assembly. After an extensive remodel of the building’s interior, completed earlier in 2020, the new building also provides ample office space for IDEAS-TEK’s growing team of employees.
Says IDEAS-TEK CEO Alonzo Vera, “Moving into the park is a big step for us at IDEAS-TEK. SS&TP has been really helpful and welcoming throughout the process. The prospect for collaboration with other groups in the park is really exciting, and we look forward to what the future holds for us at the SS&TP.”
More about the SS&TP as well as IDEAS-TEK’s appearance in the park’s February newsletter can be found at https://sstp.org/.
IDEAS-TEK Selected for New Mexico Flying 40
June 19, 2019
IDEAS-TEK has once again been selected for the New Mexico Technology Flying 40, making this the second year in a row that the company has been so recognized. The Flying 40 program, sponsored by the New Mexico Technology Council and Innovate ABQ as well as local and national corporate sponsors, recognizes New Mexico’s fastest-growing technology companies. Flying 40 companies collectively represent over $900 million in revenue and nearly 5,000 jobs in the state of New Mexico.
Earlier in 2019, IDEAS-TEK was also one of two New Mexico firms to be awarded with an NMSBIR Matching Grant by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. NMSBIR (New Mexico Small Business Innovation Research) is a competitive grant to support local, technology-focused companies in bringing their innovations to the marketplace as products and services.
Of the NMSBIR companies, State Economic Development Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said, “These companies are contributing to the state’s economy by developing innovative technology, creating jobs, and working to commercialize their products and technologies.”
On Monday June 17, the Albuquerque Journal recognized IDEAS-TEK as one of the Top 5 Flying 40 Growth Companies with Revenues above $1 Million. At an awards ceremony held on Wednesday at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo, IDEAS-TEK CEO Dr. Alonzo Vera accepted the Flying 40 award on-stage when IDEAS-TEK was announced as the third fastest-growing Flying 40 technology company in New Mexico.
Photography credit: Jamie Jauriqui Photography
Rad-Hard RISC Microprocessor Tests Successfully
March 1, 2019
Earlier this year, IDEAS Engineering & Technology received the first units of their new Space-Hardened Processor, SHARP, in ceramic PGA packages. SHARP is a radiation-hardened, 32-bit RISC microprocessor intended for high-reliability systems in space applications.
The first SHARP prototypes passed functional testing in late 2018 and successfully underwent radiation testing at Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) in New Mexico. Heavy ion testing is scheduled for 2019Q3, where IDEAS-TEK’s engineers will gather information about the processor’s resistance to single event effects (SEEs).
SHARP represents a low-cost alternative to the expensive, qualified radiation-hardened components currently on the market. With first-run prototypes clocking in at 50 MHz, the processor is primarily intended for control and monitoring functions, where its reliability, low power consumption and small size will be advantageous.
IDEAS-TEK engineer Will Burke discussed further plans, saying, “The next step will be completing a testing and development platform for the packaged parts that just arrived.”
After further testing, IDEAS-TEK plans to make SHARP commercially available by 2019Q4. IDEAS-TEK currently offers SHARP soft cores and reference designs for Xilinx and Microsemi FPGAs that can be used for development and flight.
UPDATE: A second generation of SHARP is currently in tape-out. This version integrates rad-hard memory into the microprocessor die with planned commercial availability by 2020Q4.
RHEME-2 to Launch on Spaceflight SSO-A
November 29, 2018
The Air Force Research Laboratory's RHEME-2 experiment is scheduled to launch on Saturday, December 1st on the Spaceflight SSO-A SmallSat Express mission. The mission is scheduled for launch at 9:30 AM Pacific Time from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will be live-streamed on YouTube.
RHEME-2 is part of AFRL's Radiation-Hardened Electronic Memory Experiment, on which IDEAS-TEK is a contributor. The RHEME project is a planned series of experiments to observe the effects of the radiation in space on electronic components at different orbital altitudes. The data collection will inform and validate radiation tests and simulations done on Earth. A second objective of RHEME, and where the IDEAS-TEK team has made its major contribution, is to develop radiation-tolerant electronics using inexpensive and widely-available design tools to lower the cost of such components in future missions.
Spaceflight SSO-A SmallSat Express will also be a groundbreaking flight for the SmallSat industry, because it will be the single largest rideshare mission from a US-based launch vehicle to date. Spaceflight SSO-A's flight payload will include 64 spacecraft from 34 different customers, including 49 CubeSats from both commercial and government organizations.
UPDATE: Spaceflight SSO-A successfully launched on Monday, December 3rd after being delayed due to weather. The satellite hosting RHEME-2 was successfully deployed along with all of the other satellites aboard this record-setting rideshide launch.