Sixty years ago, Hewlett-Packard opened its first facility outside California in Loveland.
On Saturday, Lovelanders and others from around the state gathered at that facility, now the Forge Campus, to celebrate innovation.
Attractions included food trucks, live music, drone demonstrations, and distinguished speakers, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Time Magazine’s Kid of the Year 2020, Gitanjali Rao.
Rao, a 16-year-old from Highlands Ranch, already has several inventions to her name, including Tethys, an early lead detection tool, and Enione, a device that can determine the presence and severity of opioid addiction by tracing protein string samples.
She is currently conducting research on early detection of pathogens at the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Rao spoke at length about the importance of creativity and innovation as a tool to improve one’s community.
“We’ve seen all this new technology that’s circulating our planet every single day,” she said. “We’re talking about nanotechnology, 5G technology, AI (artificial intelligence), I could keep the list going on. But I like to say that without an application all of these different forms of technology are just big words. There are things that are waiting to be used and applied in the right manner.”
She also spoke about the importance of mentoring children, saying that she was an authority on the topic.
“When it comes to building the best innovations out there, the key is not having a box around your head,” she said. “And I think that’s what kids are best at, right? Putting themselves out there and coming up with ideas that may not be possible, may not even be feasible in any way shape or form. But they’re ideas. They’re ones that exist and they’re ones that may be possible in the next, 10 or 15 years even. As soon as we restrict ourselves, we’re stopping our brains from thinking of more.”
Polis, who spoke prior to Rao, also talked about innovation, as well as history, noting that then-Gov. Stephen McNichols stood in roughly the same location 60 years ago when the Hewlett-Packard facility was unveiled.
“The Forge is a great concept, really ties into the branding around Loveland, and will encompass all of the innovators and companies that make their home here, and grow their operations to scale in the coming years and decades,” Polis said. “It’s really exciting to see the innovative spirit of Loveland and the innovative spirit of Colorado.”
The HP facility, which at its peak housed 3,000 employees, is now the home of other companies with an emphasis on innovation and technology, like Lightning eMotors, an electric vehicle company.
In addition to the jobs it brought to the town at the time, the celebration’s organizers also credit Hewlett-Packard with putting Loveland on the map, and its growth brought others to the area.
Cecil Gutierrez, former mayor of Loveland, said that the HP building was indirectly responsible for his arrival in town, as the growth it caused led to the creation of a new high school, Thompson Valley High School, where he became the band director.
To commemorate the event, Gutierrez composed and performed a song on a traditional wood flute that he titled “Echoes from the Past.”
