San Antonio: A Century of Innovation (1910-present)

San Antonio traces its roots in aviation and aerospace to March 2, 1910. On this historical date, 1^st Lt. Benjamin Foulois
launched a Wright Brothers “Aeroplane” into the air from a wooden take-off ramp at the Fort Sam Houston Parade Field.
This was a day of firsts for Foulois including his first solo and his first crash landing. Necessity being the mother of
invention, Foulois gathered a leather strap from the saddlery and wheels from a farm implement and fastened the first
seat belt and wheels onto an airplane.

March 2, 1910 marks the birth of San Antonio as a city of innovation. From this date forward, aviation and its accompanying
spirit of innovation are the platform upon which virtually all San Antonio technology-based industries can track their lineage.
Bio-life and health science are rooted in San Antonio’s history of medical and surgical research by the US Army and Air Force.
Manufacturing, construction, transportation and logistics industries are rooted in military expansion. World-class
telecommunications and information technologies pioneered by San Antonio’s research establishment owe their existence at
least in-part to San Antonio’s military information operations community.

In 1948, Col. Harry Armstrong convened a panel to discuss "Aeromedical Problems of Space Travel" at the School of
Aviation Medicine (moved to San Antonio in 1926). Efforts of the school were the catalyst for America’s manned space
program and ultimately for our timely response to the launch of Russia’s Sputnik I on October 4, 1957. The ensuing
space race bolstered San Antonio’s position as a center for scientific research, development and leadership. On
February 19, 1957, San Antonian General Bernard Schriever delivered his famous “space speech” with a call to action
that birthed the U.S. Air Force space and missile program and launched the US pursuit of space technology with an
eye toward the Moon and Mars. Collaboration between Schriever and San Antonian General Robert F. McDermott led
to the first implementation of a computer in a classroom (to teach astronauts space physics).

Today, SwRI, the Schriever Institute and other San Antonio high technology institutions are pursuing the Mars
Mission and the transformation of society through science and technology innovation. Ever since Foulois’ first leap
into the air at Fort Sam Houston, necessity has accompanied the need for invention. San Antonio’s ambitions; however,
have always been inspired by an old-west, can-do attitude and goals that often reach beyond the grasp of what is thought
to be possible. Our legacy of science and technology innovation is rooted in 1910 but San Antonio’s spirit of innovation
was forged by a struggle for independence and the realities of a rugged existence that required vision, integrity and ingenuity
to survive. This is the spirit of San Antonio—the spirit that transformed a once outback agrarian town into a preeminent
center of science and technology innovation--the spirit of the Maverick.

Content Courtesy of  Jim Brodie Brazell

Jim Brazell is a market researcher affiliated with Rio Design in San Antonio, Texas. The article above is a summary of his speech “San Antonio: Heart of Innovation.” Jim’s San Antonio projects include launching the spaceTEAMS elementary and middle school education summer camps, acting as historian for the Site Trek Bus Tours of San Antonio’s sites of innovation, and volunteering service to the San Antonio Accelerator Initiative, the San Antonio-Austin Life Science Association, The Corridor Nano-Bio Tech Summit, San Antonio Council for the Cooperation of Engineering and Scientific Societies, the Digital Convergence Initiative, the Department of Community Initiatives and area schools. You can find out more about Jim and his research, work and speeches at www.riodesign.com