NY Nanotech Research Institute Planned

ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 3, 2006 -- A $435-million Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery and Exploration (INDEX) -- one of only two to be created in the nation -- will be located at the Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics at the University at Albany, Gov. George E. Pataki announced today.
Pataki also announced that, as part of this effort, the Albany Center of Excellence will be the site of a 250,000-square-foot building that will include a new 100,000-square-foot clean-room wing. He said more than 10 states competed to be the location for the institute; the other will be located in California's Silicon Valley.
INDEX will focus on research in nanotechnology, including the development of nanomaterials, fabrication technologies, nanochip designs and architectural integration schemes for realizing the computer nanochip designs of the future.
The institute is the result of a joint effort by the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Semiconductor Research Corp. to create the "Bell Labs for the 21st century" through partnerships between research universities and semiconductor research, development and manufacturing companies.
INDEX, under the leadership of University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, will involve parnerships among researchers from Harvard University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with onsite corporate researchers from semiconductor companies such as Intel, Micron, AMD, IBM, Texas Instruments and Freescale Semiconductor.
Total public and private funding for the project will reach $435 million. New York State is committing $80 million in matching funds to help INDEX establish the scientific, technical and manufacturing infrastructure and for work-force training. Extensive funding will also be provided by the federal government, semiconductor equipment manufacturers and semiconductor material suppliers. Some of the funding will be used to construct the INDEX facility, and $160 million will be used for operating expenses.
The Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics at the University at Albany has attracted over 100 industrial partners, including IBM, Tokyo Electron, ASML, Infineon, Micron and AMD, as well as more than $7 billion in industrial investment throughout what state officials refer to as "Tech Valley." It is one of several Centers of Excellence statewide focusing on high-tech fields, including the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, the Rochester Center of Excellence in Photonics and Microsystems, the Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences and the Long Island Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology.
For more information, visit: www.nystar.state.ny.us