Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, joined by Gov. David A. Paterson and Assemblywoman RoAnn M. Destito, today announced the creation of a high-tech venture between SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome (SUNYIT) and the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), establishing the Computer Chip Hybrid Integration Partnership (CHIP).
This cross-regional partnership will develop the region's physical and intellectual ability and result in a state-of-the-art high tech business incubator/technology accelerator at SUNYIT. This joint partnership will support the attraction and retention of small and medium size nanotechnology companies in the Utica-Rome area and provide the necessary infrastructure to enable innovation, education and commercialization of computer chip solutions in upstate New York.
The project is expected to create as many as 475 supplier and contractor jobs in the Mohawk Valley and expand the nanotechnology industry throughout upstate New York.
“Today we are announcing the genesis of a whole new, job-creating high-tech economy in the Utica-Rome region,” said Silver (D-Manhattan). “We are linking the highly successful nanotechnology partnership at UAlbany with SUNYIT to bring the nanotechnology industry and high-paying jobs into the Mohawk Valley. The shovel ready site at SUNYIT in Marcy is an essential piece in creating a high-tech corridor stretching from Albany to Buffalo. We are encouraging university-industry collaboration and the establishment of upstate New York as a premier location for nanotechnology research, development and manufacturing. This partnership would not be possible without the leadership of Governor Paterson and RoAnn Destito's tireless work in making nanotechnology jobs a reality for the Mohawk Valley.”
“This collaboration is based on the very successful model that has been developed at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Albany,” said Destito (D/WF-Rome). “Today we are announcing a series of “firsts” that are the culmination of several years of discussion and planning that I have been working on with a number of key partners. Most importantly, the $35 million dollars in funding Speaker Silver and I have secured for this project will establish the first regional, cross-university Research and Development nanotechnology facility in upstate New York.”
“When we talk about New York's investment in the New Economy, it's not just money we're investing. Today, we are investing the educational opportunities for students across the State and our reputation as the global leader in nanotechnology,” said Governor Paterson. “I want to thank Speaker Silver and Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito for their commitment to SUNY's Institute of Technology and the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. As I noted in my New Economy address in June, our state has led the world's economy for the past hundred years, and we are poised to lead for the next hundred. We have the brightest minds, the best universities and a thriving tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship.”
“Our congratulations and gratitude to Speaker Silver, Governor Paterson, Assemblywoman Destito, and the New York State Assembly for their bold vision, pioneering strategy, and smart investment in launching the first inter-regional, cross-university nanotechnology research, education, and economic outreach public-private partnership in Upstate New York,” said Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of CNSE. “By leveraging critical state university assets, through SUNYIT and CNSE, and key corporate resources, through IBM and SEMATECH, within the New York nanoelectronics cluster, this partnership will establish in Utica-Rome the state-of-the-art infrastructure and capabilities necessary to enable innovation and commercialization, leading to the creation of hundreds of new high-tech, high-paying jobs. Longer term, this announcement will set the stage for future opportunities for high tech corporate investments in the Utica-Rome area, including at the globally competitive Marcy Nanotech site.”
The CHIP venture also establishes the Computer Chip R&D Integration Center (CCIC) at the University at Albany. The center will partner with leading chip firms including IBM and SEMATECH to concentrate on research and development of “system on a chip” (SOC) technologies in which components of a computer or electronic system are contained on a single computer chip. SOC technologies are integral to the telecommunications, automotive, biomedical, defense and consumer electronics industries. CCIC will create 200 new high-tech research and development positions at the university.
Additionally, the enterprise creates the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (CCCC), at SUNYIT for the assembly and integration of SOC systems developed at CCIC. The commercialization center will include a state-of-the art “cleanroom”, which removes impurities from the air and allows for the integration of SOC. The center will act as a business incubator to attract chip suppliers and contractors at SUNYIT, including the first ever SEMATECH Center in upstate New York.
The project is funded with $92.5 million in capital funds from this year's state budget, as well as a combined capital investment of $133.5 million from the internationally renowned firms IBM, SEMATECH and Intel.
The partnership also creates a joint educational and training curriculum between the SUNYIT School of Information Systems and Engineering Technology and CNSE that would prepare workers for careers in computer chip integration and deployment. The CHIP establishes an inter-regional, cross-university structure for promoting the nanoelectronics industry.