News

February 22, 2010

NYS Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology at UAlbany NanoCollege Wins 2010 CBC Prize for Public Service Innovation

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Prize Honors Public-Private Partnership at CNSE'S Albany NanoTech Complex that has set a New Standard for Innovation and Economic Development

New York, NY - February 22, 2010 - The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) today announced that the winner of its 2010 CBC Prize for Public Service Innovation is the New York State Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology (CENN) at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany - State University of New York. The CENN was selected for creating a world-class nanotechnology alliance that has moved New York to the forefront of its field and set a new standard for economic development in the state. 

 

Dr. Edward M. Cupoli, CNSE Professor and Head of Nanoeconomics, and SUNY Chancellor Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher accept the CBC Prize for Public Service Innovation on March 2.

The CBC Prize, created in 1997, recognizes and promotes successful innovations in the delivery of public services by New York City or State governments. The Prize will be formally presented at the CBC Annual Dinner in New York City on March 2nd.
 
The CENN has created an extraordinary combination of intellectual assets, technological infrastructure, and private-sector engagement that forms a unique "innovation ecosystem," supporting pioneering nanoscale education, research, development and commercialization. With anchor partners that include New York State, IBM, and CNSE, the CENN is housed at CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex, an 800,000-square-foot megaplex with more than $5.5 billion in high-tech investments - including more than $4.5 billion in private investments.
 
The economic impact of this globally recognized public-private collaboration is extraordinary. High-tech employment of scientists, researchers, engineers, faculty and students working on- site at CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex has grown from 72 at the time of the CENN's formation in 2001 to more than 2,500 today. Similarly, the list of leading global nanoelectronics companies engaged in partnerships at CNSE has increased to more than 250, including IBM, AMD, Global Foundries, SEMATECH, ASML, Applied Materials, and Tokyo Electron, among a host of major international industrial players.
 
Concurrently, the institution of a first-of-its-kind educational and workforce training curriculum is supporting the development of a highly skilled, high-tech workforce that will play a critical role in attracting additional economic investment and growth to New York State. In 2004, CNSE was launched as the world's first college dedicated to nanotechnology, creating graduate-level programs in nanoscale science, nanoscale engineering, nanobioscience and nanoeconomics. From an initial class of 10 students, the program currently supports nearly 150 graduate research students. In 2009, CNSE announced the launch of the world's first comprehensive undergraduate program in nanoscale science. CNSE is also providing support for an educational continuum from elementary, middle and high schools, to partnerships with community colleges, and through certificate-level skills training leading to the full array of degree-granting opportunities in the field of nanotechnology.
 
"The CENN represents the emergence of New York as a world-class performer in a pivotal field of technology," said CBC President Carol Kellermann. "It demonstrates the impact that targeted, well-conceived, and well-executed economic development initiatives can have; it provides a model for other such initiatives, and it demonstrates the capacity that New York has for leadership in new and innovative economic fields. With this award, CBC honors the CENN and encourages its further growth and replication."
 
"The UAlbany NanoCollege is honored and humbled by this recognition from CBC, which is well-known as a leading advocate for sound and responsible economic investment policies," said CNSE Senior Vice President and CEO Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros. "We share this award with visionary leaders in state government, as embodied by Assembly Speaker Silver and Governor Paterson, and our corporate partners, led by IBM, whose bold foresight and decisive action have created a 21st century high-tech resource that is enabling new opportunities for New Yorkers, as evidenced by the creation and retention of over 12,000 nanotechnology jobs and the attraction of $20 billion in private high-tech investments statewide since the CENN was launched in 2001."
 
About the CBC Prize for Public Service Innovation

Awarded annually, the Prize celebrates creative thinking and shares government achievements with the public and other agencies. In alternating years, it is awarded either to a New York State or a New York City agency. Each year the winner is selected from nominations requested from more than 150 government officials. The nominations are reviewed by CBC staff and a committee composed of CBC Trustees, and that committee of Trustees - co-chaired this year by Avery Byrd and Alan Klein - makes the selection.
 
For further information, contact Kevin Medina at 212-279-2605 x342.
 
Founded in 1932, the Citizens Budget Commission is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic organization devoted to influencing constructive change in the finances and services of New York State and New York City governments.