A partnership announced Monday in Albany advances nanotechnology and potentially opens doors for economic growth in the Capital Region and beyond - Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports...
The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is partnering with global engineering firm CHA engineering of Colonie, formerly known as Clough Harbour & Associates. and social services provider Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region. The result is nanotechnology-based economic growth for downtown Albany, including 150 new high-tech jobs, and new life for Albany as a national hub for "smart cities" technologies.
The partners plan to set the former downtown Albany centerpiece, Union Station, up as a nanotech incubator site. CNSE is leasing the property: NanoCollege officials say they are investing 15-million dollars in the building, a portion of which will house top executives of CHA CHA Chief Executive Officer Ray Rudolph expects the team will be moved in by year's end.
City officials submitted an application to support the Union Station project with the eight-county Capital Region Economic Development Council.
Partner Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region is a not-for-profit social services agency whose role will entail creating nano-related education and job training for students. CEO Harris Oberlander says Trinity is building a new $5 million academic campus Albany's South End to help support the NanoCollege program.
Groundbreaking for the Capital South Campus Center is expected in the next few weeks. That project is funded by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The partnership between CNSE and Trinity Alliance is touted as "leading to a co-ordinated academic curriculum, outreach activities and work force training and high-tech skills, providing a strong educational path for communities who are traditionally underrepresented."
The announcement follows one made last week by Intel Corporation, one of the companies involved in Albany's ambitious "Global 450 Consortium." Intel plans to invest 4-Billion dollars in ASML, a chipmaker that is embracing 450mm technology - the same technology G450c is planning to invest 1-Billion dollars in over the next 5 years at CNSE.
On a related note, the city of Albany has already created a new high tech job - officials say the Chief Information Technology Officer will provide the city with "a quantum leap in social networking and ecommerce" - no one has yet been selected to fill the position.
