The Center for Environmental Sciences and Technology Management (CESTM), the distinctive new building on the University at Albany campus that is designed to be a catalyst for economic development, was dedicated today (June 30) at a ceremony attended by governmental and business leaders who worked to make the building a reality.

"This center is an example of business and government working together at their best," said Gov. George Pataki. "The $10 million investment the state has made in this center represents our commitment to promoting new business opportunities and technology, instead of forcing them away through high taxes and excessive bureaucracy. This center is further proof that we can improve our environment and our economy at the same time."

CESTM was financed by a $10 million state economic development grant, a $2 million federal grant, and about $1.4 million in contributions from businesses and individuals.

"CESTM was designed to help move the best ideas of University researchers into the marketplace. By bringing together under one roof University researchers and businesses whose work relates to the research, we expect an exciting synergy that is certain to promote economic development in this region," said University President Karen R. Hitchcock.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, U.S. Reps. Michael McNulty and Gerald Solomon were among governmental and business leaders who attended the dedication

"Today's dedication is the culmination of a vision and a goal that was conceived a decade ago," said Bruno. "The new center will serve as the impetus for what we hope will be a new high-tech corridor in the Capital Region — providing new opportunities to create businesses and jobs and to help boost the local economy for years to come."

"This center, and all it will bring to the businesses and families of the Capital Region, further proves that a strong state university system is vital to a strong Empire State," said Silver. "We look forward to the great achievements this center will bring to the Capital Region."

"Make no mistake about it. The creation of CESTM has set the stage for the Capital Region's own high-tech corridor. This has the potential for creating thousands of high-tech jobs in our region. I want to commend the SUNY leaders for their vision," said Solomon.

CESTM is the new home of the University's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, a leader in research on such environmental issues as global warming and urban and regional pollution, and the new home of the National Weather Service Forecast Office at Albany.

The University's growing Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology, where researchers work to develop the computer chips and other advanced materials of the future, occupies two laboratories. And businesses such as MKS Instruments, which manufactures equipment for the computer industry, and AWS Scientific, Inc., which specializes in renewable energy technology and environmental studies, are also located in the building.

The basic idea of "technology transfer" was central to the design of the building from the earliest stages. "When we first approached the design competition for this project, we were fascinated with the idea of a technology transfer facility," said Michael Winstanley, vice president of Cannon Corp., the architectural firm that designed CESTM. "We began to imagine the path by which technology moves from its initial conception, through actual discovery, through application in today's world... This path of technology was the original concept of the building."

The two wings of CESTM reflect the path of technology. One wing houses the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) and Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology (CAT) laboratories, where University researchers conduct the basic research that underlies advances in science and technology. The other wing houses businesses whose work relates to University research and the National Weather Service, which benefits from advances in scientists' understanding of weather phenomena. CESTM's impressive three-story entrance rotunda connects the two wings.

Other elements of the building facilitate the actual transfer of ideas. The cables that carry the information highway throughout the building are exposed overhead in laboratories and hallways. The mast-like tower that reaches for the skies is a vital link in the network used by the National Weather Service to forecast weather across the country; it also holds research antennae used by the ASRC.

Instead of traditional ceilings, the laboratories have "unistrut" grids that expose overhead wiring and equipment, a feature popular with the scientists. "You can set up your laboratory benches anywhere. You can move equipment around, because you have easy access to the services you need. You can hang heavy-duty equipment off the grids," says Kenneth Demerjian, director of the ASRC, which moved into CESTM from space a short distance away on Fuller Road. In Demerjian's view, the "whole facility is a big plus."

The ASRC, founded in 1961, has long conducted distinguished research into atmospheric phenomena. ASRC researchers created, and continue to develop, complex computer models useful in investigating regional pollution problems and climate change. They are now part of a national study of the chemical, physical, and meteorological processes that control ozone formation and concentrations over North America. And they are leaders in the development of high-technology instrumentation for the measurement of chemical constituents in the atmosphere and of solar radiation. ASRC research attracts funding averaging more than $4 million a year.

Integrated in the building's south-facing exterior skin are rows of photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight to electricity to power ventilator fans and emergency lighting. The integrated photovoltaic array, which was funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, is one of the first and largest in a building in the Northeast, according to Cannon.

Even while the Albany office of the National Weather Service (NWS) was located at Albany County Airport, University atmospheric scientists, primarily in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and NWS meteorologists shared data and working relationships. But the fact that the NWS office is now on campus is expected to strengthen those relationships and lead to collaborations that will benefit both University scientists and the National Weather Service. Especially in recent years, the NWS, recognizing the benefits of tapping university expertise in weather research, has located a number of its forecast offices on campuses, notes University alumnus Gene Auciello, B.A.'72, the meteorologist in charge of the Albany NWS office.

At the dedication ceremony, President Hitchcock unveiled the Founders Circle Plaque, honoring major donors to CESTM. They are: Jessie Englehardt Eaton '34, Key Bank of New York, MKS Instruments, Inc., National Savings Bank, Sun Microsystems Computer Company, Gary R. Allen '70, Edith Tanenbaum Rudolf '47, Community Health Plan, Coopers and Lybrand L.L.P., Fleet Bank of New York, Intermagnetics General Corporation, the Times Union, Urbach Kahn and Werlin PC, Augusta R. Brown '30, Lewis A. Swyer Foundation, Picotte Family Foundation, John Nigro, Morris Massry, Lawrence and Marie Shore, Rose&Kiernan, Inc., Simmons Machine Tool Corp., The Troy Savings Bank, Trustco Bank, N.A., and Turf Hotels, Inc.