NMIC ribbon cutting. From left, Ralph Truitt, Corning Inc.; S.V. Babu, Clarkson Univ.; James Roberts, NYSTAR; Frank L. Thiel IV, ATRI; Vasantha Amarakoon, Alfred Univ.; Catharine Young; Charles Edmondson, Alfred Univ.; Charles Craig, Corning Inc.; and Jon Wilder.
A new nanotechnology center with roots that extend to Alfred University and Corning Inc, has just opened in Alfred, N.Y. The NanoMaterials Innovation Center, a subsidiary of Alfred Technology Resources Inc., is a technology business incubator that will be focusing on nanoscale advanced materials and processing capabilities.
An ATRI news release says the NMIC will provide “open-access research and pilot-scale commercialization facility that enables technology transfer in inorganic nanomaterials science and microwave processing technologies.”
NMIC hopes to be a hub for collaborations among university, industry and entrepreneurial interests that leverages the state-of-the-art equipment and materials expertise of the center and its affiliates. The center says it is particularly interested in next-generation lighting and energy efficiency.
“A strong partnership effort between Alfred and Clarkson Universities, Corning Incorporated, and the State of New York have made it possible for this outstanding set of capabilities to come together under one roof” says Jon Wilder, president of NMIC and executive director of ATRI.
New York State has provided $850,000 for the center, an amount Wilder says was made possible through the efforts of project champion State Senator Catharine Young.
ATRI is a not-for-profit organization and its primary mission is to stimulate upstate New York commercial development and employment through high-technology company incubation. ATRI, which also serves at the parent entity for the Ceramics Corridor Innovation Center, was founded through the support of two principals with extensive experience in advanced materials: Corning Inc. and Alfred University.