The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany (UAlbany) – the first college in the world dedicated to nanotechnology education, research and economic outreach – has been ranked by the prestigious Small Times magazine as the world's number one college for nanotechnology and microtechnology, according to the publication's annual University Rankings.

This year's survey is included in the May/June issue of Small Times, the world's leading publication covering micro and nanotechnology, and for the first time included colleges and universities from across the globe, rather than just in the United States. It also comes one year after the UAlbany NanoCollege was ranked by Small Times as the nation's top college for nanotechnology and microtechnology.

CNSE was ranked first overall among all colleges and universities in the world, as well as number one in the areas of education and facilities, receiving the highest five-star rankings in each category from Small Times. CNSE ranked second in commercialization and sixth in research, up from eighth last year.

CNSE's ranking as number one in the world placed it ahead of Cornell University (2), the University of Michigan (3), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (4), Penn State University (5), Arizona State University (6), the University of Washington (7), North Carolina State University (8), the University of Maryland (9), Rice University (10), Rutgers University (11) and Stanford University (12), among others. CNSE also received top-10 rankings from its peers in three areas: nano commercialization, micro commercialization and micro research.

Small Times sent surveys to research institutions across the world, asking about funding, facilities, micro- and nano-specific courses and degree programs, research programs and more.

"Launched three years ago, CNSE is widely recognized as a global resource for research, development, workforce education, and economic outreach in nanotechnology and its applications," Small Times wrote in its analysis. "UAlbany offers more micro- and nano-specific degrees than any other university: six in total, with small-tech minor/emphasis allowed in additional M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. And, UAlbany was awarded more nanotechnology patents (98) than any other respondent in the Small Times' survey."

These 98 nanotechnology patents were produced on site at the CNSE Albany NanoTech facilities either by CNSE research teams, by the CNSE partners' research teams resident at Albany NanoTech and cross-licensed to CNSE, or by joint CNSE and partners' research teams resident at Albany NanoTech and cross-licensed among the partners.

In addition, 7 microtechnology patents were awarded and 68 microtechnology patent applications and 188 nanotechnology patent applications were filed in 2006 by CNSE research teams, by the CNSE partners' research teams resident at Albany NanoTech and cross-licensed to CNSE, or by joint CNSE and partners' research teams resident at Albany NanoTech and cross-licensed among the partners.

In the education category, CNSE ranked first, followed by the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Penn State University and the University of Maryland. In the facilities category, CNSE also ranked first, higher than the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan and Rutgers University.

To read the full press release, click here.