10/1/2011 9:38:00 AM

Observer Dispatch: Could nanotechnology revive region's economy?

Observer-Dispatch

The 900 local jobs that could be generated by the massive private investment in the state’s nanotechnology industry could dramatically change the area’s economic outlook.

The ripple effect on the local economy would be tremendous: Restaurants might fill, supermarkets might sell more food, contractors could find themselves with more work.

The possibilities are endless — if the jobs materialize.

In an area that’s seen its share of disappointments, promises of influxes of jobs and revenue are often met with skepticism.

But the nanotechnology surrounding SUNY’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is already helping to transform Albany.

“There were many people here who did not believe,” said Kevin O’Connor, president and CEO of Tech Valley Communications, a successful fiber-optics firm he started to serve that city’s burgeoning tech community.

O’Connor credited Alain Kaloyeros, the senior vice president and CEO of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Kaloyeros is at the heart of the statewide endeavor as well.

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