| Spread over 7,000 acres in the heart of North | | | | fund the purchase of the land that was required |
| Carolina, The Research Triangle Park is a research | | | | for the research park. By the end of 1957, they |
| park that was created in 1959 by leading North | | | | acquired 3,559 acres and in January 1959, the |
| Carolina business men, industrialists and | | | | Research Triangle Institute was established. |
| academicians. It is currently home to over 150 | | | | Construction of its headquarters began soon |
| organizations from diverse industries and | | | | after, and RTI became the Park's first tenant. In |
| work-place to over 39,000 full-time professionals. | | | | 1965, two giant corporations, the National Institute |
| Successfully overcoming its initial hurdles, the Park | | | | of Environment Health Science and International |
| now recruits some of the world's top talents in | | | | Business Machines Corp. (IBM) set up huge |
| various fields including information technology, | | | | facilities at the park, and they were soon followed |
| biotechnology, telecommunications and | | | | by many others. Today as many as 157 |
| pharmaceuticals and is often refereed to as the | | | | organizations have established facilities within The |
| Silicon Valley of the East. Worried about the | | | | Research Triangle Park. What started off as an |
| imminent brain drain resulting from graduates | | | | innovative concept turned out to be a reality and |
| leaving North Carolina for better job prospects, | | | | a stupendously successful one at that. Today |
| many Triangle area professionals formed the | | | | world-class research and development |
| concept of a research park that would promote | | | | organizations from various fields including |
| development of new industries and boost | | | | telecommunications, information technology and |
| cooperation among research organizations. The | | | | pharmaceuticals have huge investments and |
| idea found favor with many prominent citizens, | | | | facilities in the Research Triangle Park. They |
| including entrepreneur Romeo Guest and Howard | | | | provide employment not only for North Carolina's |
| Odum, sociology professor at the University of | | | | graduates, but also for graduates from all over |
| North Carolina. They went all out to promote their | | | | the world, completely transforming the economic |
| idea and in 1957, investor Karl Robbins agreed to | | | | profile of the state. |