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President Barack Obama Visits UAlbany Nanotech Complex

For the third time in three years, President Barack Obama visited the Capital District for a Tuesday appearance at UAlbany's CNSE NanoTech Complex - Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas was there and files this report.

Air Force One touched down at Albany International Airport just before noon: the President immediately taken to CNSE, where he joined New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on a brief tour.  Some observers believe Obama's change of venue from Global Foundries to UAlbany has ties to his working relationship with Cuomo.

 

Albany CNSE is the future home of the Global 450 consortium - a group of businesses and partnerships working on cutting edge technology: 450 millimeter wafers of chips, which are state of the art, and ahead of the rest of the world. New York State and Governor Cuomo have pumped in millions of dollars to leverage billions in private investment money.

 

President Obama took to the podium in the NFX or Nano-Fab Xtension building after a warm introduction by Governor Cuomo - the two embraced for a moment in an event that could become a political milemarker for both: Cuomo telling the crowd that Obama spearheaded financial recovery.

The blooming technology sector that has opened up throughout upstate New York had the President suggesting that Nanotechnology in the Capital Region be a model for the rest of the country.

Obama used the occasion to highlight his new "to-do list" for Congress.  The  list includes help for people in trouble with their mortgages, continued tax breaks for clean energy companies, tax breaks for small business owners who hire more workers and job assistance for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan... and last, but not least on Obama's list: technology.

Obama told the crowd Congress needs to act on his "to-do list" before July First. New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says Nanotechnology has put New York State "on the map."

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.