UAlbany NanoCollege Head’s Pay Examined

Alain Kaloyeros, PhD, vice president and chief administrative officer of the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (UAlbany NanoCollege), was called "New York's million-dollar man" today by the New York Post, which yesterday revealed that he was New York's highest-paid state worker, at $666,995 a year. It said it has since learned that the "Ferrari-driving professor" is also on the payroll of the State University of New York (SUNY) Research Foundation for nearly $300,000 a year.

Alain Kaloyeros, PhD, vice president and chief administrative officer of the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (Photo courtesy UAlbany NanoCollege)

The paper reported Monday that Kaloyeros, who was earning $525,000-a-year, received what is believed to be a record $142,000-a-year pay hike last week. Today it quoted a research foundation spokesperson who said he also receives $272,000 in additional salary and almost $10,000 in fringe benefits for a variety of nanoscale-related research projects. "That brings his total pay to $947,538," the Post said. (New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's state salary is reportedly $179,000. )

The research foundation receives most of its funding directly and indirectly from the federal government, not from the state, and distributed grants worth $750 million last year, the spokesperson told the newspaper, which also reported that Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) has questioned the amount of Kaloyeros' pay package and sait it warrants explanation.

The State University of New York (SUNY) said Monday after the Post article was published, "As SUNY positions itself to become a world-class research and education player in the global innovation economy, we must successfully and effectively compete with UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, the Universities of Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and others, to attract and retain top talent. Professor Kaloyeros' accomplishments have focused the world's attention to the University at Albany and its College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and we are very grateful for his tireless efforts in advancing research and development and for producing a tremendous positive impact on the region and the state's economy."

It cited UAlbany NanoCollege's recent designation as the "No. 1 college worldwide in microtechnology and nanotechnology" in the Annual College Ranking by Small Times Magazine and said "Professor Kaloyeros is playing an essential role in attracting 450 jobs and $750 million in investments from Sematech and its global corporations, thus adding the $3.5 billion in investments that he was instrumental in attracting to the Albany NanoTech Complex of the UAlbany NanoCollege." The college is located in $3.5-billion, private/public-sector science complex that houses computer-related manufacturing facilities.

"Similarly, in selecting Luther Forest to locate a multi-billion chip-fab plant, AMD cited the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and the work being done at the NanoTech complex as primary reasons for choosing to locate their plant in Upstate New York," SUNY said. LUther Forest is a technology campus near Saratoga, N.Y. (See also: AMD Plans New Plants; Chip Consortium Plans $600M UAlbany Expansion)

The Post said Gov. Spitzer's office also defended Kaloyeros's salary as necessary to retain talent. "The administration stands behind Kaloyeros, who has served as the catalyst for the Sematech project," Spitzer's press secretary, Christine Anderson, was quoted as saying.

The Post reported that SUNY Albany Provost Susan Herbst said Kaloyeros would "soon be given additional responsibilities" but that she did not elaborate. A NanoCollege source who was also quoted attributed the raise to "a significant new university initiative" that would "practically double professor Kaloyeros' duties and obligations and enable the university to use his talents, knowledge and network to attract major additional investments to the entire university community on top of the $4 billion that he has already brought to the NanoCollege."

Monday's Albany-based Times-Union newspaper reported Monday that Kaloyeros' raise took effect April 5. A New York Times article in January had reported on speculation that Kaloyeros might leave the College of Nanoscience and Engineering for a position in another state.

Kaloyeros, who is also a professor of nanosciences at the college, is an internationally recognized expert in nanotechnology. He received his PhD in experimental condensed-matter physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1987. He has written or cowritten more than 150 articles and contributed to seven books on topics pertaining to the science and technology of nanoelectronics and nanooptoelectronics ultrathin film materials, atomic layer vapor phase deposition processes and nanoscale x-ray, electron, and photon-based characterization and metrology, according to the NanoCollege Web site.

For more information, visit: www.albanynanotech.org