Times Union

Albany

Getting a well-paying job in this tough economy wasn't all that hard this spring for a group of graduates from the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Just ask Ben Backes, who graduated this weekend with a master's degree in nanoscale engineering. Backes will start next week as a characterization engineer at IBM's computer chip factory in East Fishkill.

"I sent out two resumes and I got two phone calls back. I felt like a pretty attractive candidate," the Chicago native said.

Backes is one of several master's and doctoral students in the NanoCollege's graduating class of 16 this spring who have landed jobs in the semiconductor industry. And many of the positions are located right here in the Hudson Valley, including at the new GlobalFoundries computer chip factory, known as Fab 8, that is being built in Malta.

Location is important to Nicholas Connelly, a Niskayuna native who attended Siena College as a physics major before getting his master's in nanoscale engineering from the NanoCollege.

Connelly will miss the UAlbany graduation ceremonies because he is in Dresden, Germany, for two months of training at GlobalFoundries' computer chip factories there. When he gets back home, he will start his job as a factory systems coordinator at Fab 8 in the photolithography group.

Full article