New York State Announces Unprecedented High Technology Initiative

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Sep 20, 2010

Infotonics Technology Center and College of NanoscaleScience and Engineering form unprecedented partnership to enable world-classnanotechnology research, development and commercialization

Merger leverages and builds on the state's R&Dassets to drive new opportunities and position New York State as a global center for integratedsystems

For Immediate Release:September 20, 2010

Contact:

ESD Press Office |esdpressoffice@empire.state.ny.us| 1-800-260-7313
Jannette Rondo (NYSTAR) |jrondo@nystar.state.ny.us| 518-292-5700

Empire State Development (ESD) and the NewYork State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) todayannounced the merger of two of New York State's Centers of Excellence-Infotonics Technology Center (ITC) in Canandaigua and the Center of Excellencein Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology at the College of Nanoscale Science andEngineering (CNSE) in Albany. Empire State Development and NYSTAR will invest up to $10 million to themerged operation, the Smart SystemTechnology & Commercialization Center (STC), which will be managed and supported by CNSE.

The merger and theaddition of new processing capabilities at ITC and CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex situate New York State for significant private sector job creation andinvestment in all areas of advanced manufacturing across the state.  In addition, the partnershipleverages the state's investment in these two facilities and positions New YorkState as a global leader in smartsystem and smart device innovation and manufacturing.

"Thecreation of the Smart System Technology & Commercialization Center willadvance and strengthen New York's role as a leader in this innovation economy,"said Governor David A. Paterson. "Our Centers of Excellence have becomenational models for facilitating critical private sector investment in emerginghigh technology fields and for creating and expanding New Economy jobs. This merger will now allow for the best and brightest minds to collaborate andpartner together to leverage these assets and drive new opportunities that willhave a resounding affect not only in the Finger Lakes region but across thestate. I applaud Empire State Development and NYSTAR as well as our partners-InfotonicsTechnology Center and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering-fortheir vision and continued commitment to our Centers of Excellence."

"Today's exciting announcement is a critical piece ofGovernor Paterson's New Economy initiative," said Empire State DevelopmentChairman & CEO Dennis M. Mullen. "Through the deployment of new technologies into real products andmanufacturing processes, this merger will drive economic development, thus creatingvalue and new markets for private sector companies.  These days, every industry has a smart system or smartdevice problem but now, together, theseCenter of Excellence facilities will help companies all over the world and theU.S. Government reduce the time and cost associated with bringing smartsystem/device solutions to the market. This partnership will allow for an improvement in the overallcompetitiveness of ITC and CNSE by not only expanding capacity, but enhancingoperational efficiency and creating more synergy when bringing economic opportunitiesto the Finger Lakes region and New York State."

"Thismerger represents a strategic alignment of the state's technology assets innanotechnology creating new synergies in research, prototyping and productdevelopment," said Executive Director of the New York State Foundation forScience, Technology and Innovation Edward Reinfurt. "We congratulate PaulTolley and Alain Kaloyeros for the leadership they have provided in developingan exciting business model that enhances the many strengths of each center."

Significantmarket opportunities exist in the area of systems and devices with "smart"features, such as those commonly found on consumer products like smart phonesor a Wii controller.   A smartdevice is simply a mechanical device integrated onto a computer chip.  It can analyze a situation-usually withsensors-and make decisions/actions based on data collected.  The challenge, and therefore,opportunity, is to take this know-how and translate it across every majorindustry sector.

Thismerger will position CNSE as a vertically integrated "one-stop-shop" for smartsystems' device development and process manufacturing, coupling CNSE'spreeminence in nanoelectronics R&D with ITC's expertise in integratingcomputer chips with hundreds of mechanical devices. These capabilities will beunmatched the world over, with regards to capacity, infrastructure andoperational capabilities, and create immediate job and investment opportunitiesin all areas of advanced manufacturing, such as aerospace, defense, medical andenergy industries.

Similarto the successful strategy developed and deployed by CNSE with thenanoelectronics industry, the merger will take advantage of a highly fragmentedindustry through the creation of a New York State-based private-publicconsortium of stakeholders to develop the technology roadmap for smart devicesand accelerate the path from research to commercialization.  The merger also positions New YorkState to be a key partner with U.S. government and private industry in reducingthe time and cost associated with bringing these devices to market.  Furthermore, as New York State makesinroads on the smart system/device integration, this strategy will put the NewYork State at the center of future industry expansions and consolidations.

Collegeof Nanoscale Science and Engineering Senior Vice President and CEO AlainKaloyeros said, "The merger of the Centers of Excellence at the UAlbanyNanoCollege and the Infotonics Technology Center is testament to the vision of the New York State Assembly andSenate, as embodied by Assemblymen Joseph Morelle and Brian Kolb and SenatorMichael Nozzolio, and the leadership of Empire State Development CEO Dennis Mullen, in further expandingNew York's globally recognized ecosystem for nanotechnology research,development and commercialization. Leveraging CNSE's world-class research and infrastructure resources with the advanced development and prototypingcapabilities at the Infotonics Center will enable the Center to accelerate the deployment of innovative nanoscale systemtechnologies, while creating exciting opportunities to attract high-techjobs, companies and investments to the GreaterRochester Region."

InfotonicsTechnology Center CEO Paul Tolley said, "In order for the innovation economy tosuccessfully create sustainable job growth in our State and nation,commercialization and manufacturing are of vital importance.  Without them, we fail to capture thefull economic benefits generated by this innovation activity.  This merger, creating the new SmartSystem Technology & Commercialization Center, and the infrastructureinvestment being made here, further underscores that New York State is leadingthe nation in supporting an industrial plan committed to keeping high techmanufacturing on our shores. Together, CNSE, a proven leader in creating economic growth in theAlbany Region, and ITC, a center dedicated to transitioning innovation tocommercial products, will leverage our combined resources to enable smartdevices to reach their full market potential and be competitivelycommercialized here in New York State."

Terry Taber, ChiefTechnology Officer at Kodak said: "At Kodak we are very pleased to see that theITC is being reinforced through this merger. Microfluidic MEMS technology is akey component in Kodak's inkjet businesses both in consumer and commercialdevices. This aligns perfectly with the ITC's mission, so we hope to see ourcollaboration with the center expand over time to encompass feasibility,prototyping and low-volume manufacturing."

TheCollege of Nanoscale Science and Engineeringis the first college in the world dedicated to education,research, development, and deployment in the emerging disciplines ofnanoscience, nanoengineering, nanobioscience, and nanoeconomics. CNSE's AlbanyNanoTech Complex is the most advanced research enterprise of its kind at anyuniversity in the world. With over $6 billion in high-tech investments, the800,000-square-foot complex attracts corporate partners from around the worldand offers students a one-of-a-kind academic experience. The UAlbanyNanoCollege houses the only fully-integrated, 300mm wafer, computer chip pilotprototyping and demonstration line within 80,000 square feet of Class 1 capablecleanrooms. More than 2,500 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, andfaculty work on site at CNSE's Albany NanoTech, from companies including IBM,AMD, GlobalFoundries, SEMATECH, Toshiba, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron,ASML, Novellus Systems, Vistec Lithography and Atotech. An expansion currentlyin the planning stages is projected to increase the size of the CNSE AlbanyNanoTech Complex to over 1,250,000 square feet of next-generationinfrastructure housing over 105,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanroomsand more than 3,750 scientists, researchers, and engineers from CNSE and globalcorporations.

TheInfotonics Technology Center of Excellence in Photonics & Microsystems is atechnology commercialization center that assists firms transition newtechnologies from concept to manufacturing. ITC maintains a 140,000 square-footfacility with over 25,000 square feet of cleanrooms for micro electromechanicalsystems (MEMS) fabrication and packaging. ITC works with large and medium sizedcompanies to help them bring new technologies to market, with small companiesready to transition from prototype and low volume manufacturing to scalablemanufacturing, and with various federal agencies to develop technologysolutions addressing areas of critical national need.  The collaboration includes industrial participants such asCorning Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, and Xerox Corporation. Academicparticipants include approximately twenty New York State colleges anduniversities, including the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Universityof Rochester.

NYSTARis a public benefit corporation that helps grow New York's innovation economywith its support of high technology development and commercialization throughacademic and business partnerships.

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