Government research dollars have become scarcer over the past several years, Brian Halla said Monday, and that's setting up the United States for what he calls "Sputnik 2005."

That's the term the chairman and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp.  uses to describe the moment when Americans "first realize that all the technology innovations are coming from China."

"Hopefully, it won't happen," he told those attending a speech he gave at the Nebraska Union on Monday.  "Hopefully, our politicians will say ‘it's important, let's support high tech.'"

Halla, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, was on campus for IEEE's International Conference on Electro Information Technology, hosted by the UNL College of Engineering & Technology. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., a nonprofit technical professional association.

Halla reminded his audience that the original Sputnik was a wake-up call notifying the United States it had fallen behind in the space race.

Within months after the 1957 Soviet launch of the satellite, said Halla, President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized $1 billion for the space program, and the U.S. was the first to the moon.

The opportunities are unlimited for technology leadership and ultimately economic security, Halla said, but only if companies pursue them. U.S. technology firms, he said, tend to focus on the "development" end of research and development, and count on colleges and universities to provide the research. Research is increasing seen as an area ripe for cutting by governments with belt-tightening mandates, he said.

Legislators are too often looking at the short-term, cutting research budgets, out of a "lack of knowledge about the importance of technology to the economic security of the nation," Halla said, while the opposite is occurring in China.

China is becoming a magnet for technology development for several reasons, Halla said, including the availability of skilled workers.

He said about 400,000 engineers graduate from college each year in China, compared to about 50,000 in the United States. China's total is expected to increase, while fewer U.S. grads are expected each year, he said.

National Semiconductor's built a $1.6 billion testing and assembly plant in Suzhou, China, because of staff availability and what he called a "tax holiday," that would save National Semiconductor $1 billion over 10 years, versus a U.S location.

"It has nothing to do with the cost of labor," he said.

Halla said building the plant in China actually bodes well for American jobs, which are created through innovation. Each generation of innovation causes whole new industries to spring up, he said, pointing to the microprocessor, which begat the PC industry, then later the Internet and companies such as eBay and Google.

"Testing and assembly jobs haven't been in the U.S. for 30 years," he said.

The shortage of engineers is compounded, Halla said, by a visa process that makes it difficult for other countries' best and brightest workers to find their way here.

In an illustration of how friendly he feels the business climate is in China, he told the audience how a $3.2 billion entertainment district arose with a five-page contract that took about a week to assemble.

Several electronics industry associations, Halla said are planning a public awareness campaign that will try to drive home to consumers and politicians the importance of technology and of more university research dollars.

Halla's presentation was well organized and gave the audience a look beyond just what would happen at National Semiconductor, said UNL student Aisha Yousuf.

"He's very insightful about what's going on worldwide," she said. "How some little thing can have a huge effect."

Reach Rodd Cayton at 473-7107 or rcayton@journalstar.com.