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New York Lt. Gov. Duffy Announces Nano Utica Construction Ahead Of Schedule

The Cuomo Administration has announced a construction milestone at the so-called Nano Utica initiative.

On Thursday, New York Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy visited the SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica to announce that construction is ahead of schedule on the Computer Chip Commercialization Center. Also known as Quad-C, the $125 million project is part of the Cuomo Administration’s Nano Utica initiative, led by the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany and SUNY IT.

The Administration estimates that Quad-C  will support 1,500 high-tech jobs and will establish cutting-edge academic programs and workforce training opportunities.

Lt. Gov. Duffy said Quad-C will help put New York on the map in the high-tech industry.

“I’ll tell you right here on the SUNY IT campus, there is no doubt there will be some of the things we’ll use in the future – these great technologies with computer chips and the whole nanoscience – there will be a lot of changes across the globe and across the country that will probably eminate from this campus and this building,” said Duffy.  “So there is a lot more to it than just a building and jobs, it really is the future of this whole enterprise.”

As part of the Nano Utica initiative, six global nanotech companies will invest in $1.5 billion into the Quad-C research facility, including IBM, LAM Research, and Tokyo Electron.

SUNY IT Acting President Robert Geer praised the private-public partnership model on display in Nano Utica.

“This is about opportunity. It’s about realizing Governor Cuomo’s vision for revitalizing the area. Really giving New Yorkers, especially young New Yorkers, key advantages in launching their high tech careers,” said Geer. “And I certainly want to say that thanks to the governor’s leadership, thanks to this I think this brilliant private-public partnership model which is spreading across New York, this is what’s leading to these opportunities.”

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente joined the other officials at the conference in extending a “thank you” to CSNE Senior Vice President and CEO Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, on his work with developing Nano Utica, and the partnership between CSNE and economic development agency Mowhawk Valley Edge to develop the nearby 420-acre Marcy Nanocenter, to provide a home for computer chip manufacturing.

“He has really brought forth this area now, as we move forward with Nano Utica, and what we hope to achieve very soon across the road at Marcy. It is because of his vision and pretty soon, hopefully, we can hang that CSNE flag outside this building,” said Picente.

Officials hope the investments will spur economic growth across the region, transforming the Mohawk Valley into a worldwide hub of tech innovation.

Currently, semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries is constructing a new $2.3 billion Technology Development Center on its campus in Malta.   The company, which employs about 2,200 last Fall received OK’s from local municipalities to construct a second chip-fab plant.

Lucas Willard is a reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011.
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