“Our geeks are going to ‘out-geek’ the rest of the country,” said Gov. George Pataki, in announcing completion of the International SEMATECH North contract. Joining in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new cleanroom facility are, from left: Betsy Weitzman, SEMATECH’s chief technology officer; Edward Braun, CEO of Veeco Instruments; Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings; Alain Kaloyeros, director of UAlbany’s Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics; and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Photo by Mark Schmidt

New York State, International SEMATECH and UAlbany Close Deal
New York State, the University at Albany, and International SEMATECH (ISMT) have completed negotiations on a joint five-year program to accelerate the development of next-generation lithography for the computer chips of the future. Full Story

HumaniTech Revitalizes the Humanities
The University has announced the launch of the “HumaniTech Semester: Humanity and Culture in an Age of Technology.” This bold interdisciplinary initiative aims to revitalize the humanities in an age of rapid scientific and technological advancement, and to raise philosophical questions about how technology is reshaping humanity. The project’s diverse blend of programs, exhibitions, performances, seminars, film and media presentations will run through the Spring 2003 semester and showcase faculty research and educational programs in areas where the humanities, sciences, and technology intersect. Full Story

Black History Month Observed
The Department of Africana Studies is sponsoring the following activities to celebrate Black History Month at the University at Albany. All activities, which are free and open to the public, will take place during the month of February, and will be held in Humanities 039 on the uptown campus:

Issues in Black Psychology, lecture by Edwina Dorch, Ph.D., Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1 p.m.;
Issues on Black Scientists, lecture by George Smith, Ph.D., Wednesday, Feb.12, 1 p.m.;
Issues in Sociology, lecture by Nicholas Young, Ph.D., Wednesday, Feb.19, 1 p.m.;
“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: The Making of the PBS Film Series,” lecture by Richard Wormser, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m.;
Issues on Africa, lecture by Gareth Griffiths, Ph.D., Wednesday, Feb. 26, 1 p.m.;
Issues in Black History, lecture by Oscar Williams, Ph.D., Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2 p.m.;
Issues on Africa, colloquy by Helen Desfosses, Ph.D., and Kwadwo Sarfoh, Ph.D., Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact Leonard A. Slade, Jr., chair of the Black History Month Committee, at 442-4726.

Jo Anne Carson
Sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum
In the spring of 2002, JoAnne Carson, chair of the University at Albany’s Department of Art, received the first Sculpture Purchase Prize ever awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The sculpture, Bouquet (2001), was subsequently acquired by the Brooklyn Museum and is currently on display in the museum’s fifth-floor American Wing. Full Story