Students gain valuable opportunities through Quad-C initiative

Students gain valuable opportunities through Quad-C initiative

Published:
Thursday, September 5, 2013 - 08:04
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Student interns involved in the the Computer Chip Commercialization Center project were featured recently in a front-page Observer-Dispatch article. Bernard "Bud" Zahn of Staatsburg, N.Y., and Brent Demick of Stephentown, N.Y., described their experience with the project in the article and in the following news release: 


 


SUNYIT STUDENTS GAINING VALUABLE NANOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH QUAD-C INITIATIVE


Internships with M+W Group offer real-world experience in support of $125M project that represents partnership between SUNYIT, CNSE, and Mohawk Valley EDGE 



In accordance with Governor Andrew Cuomo's innovation-enabled strategy for high-tech education and economic development, SUNYIT students are turning a hands-on educational experience into a career-building opportunity through internships with M+W Group during construction of the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) on the Marcy, N.Y., campus, a joint effort between the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), SUNYIT, and Mohawk Valley EDGE.

"CNSE’s nanotechnology research and development are leading economic drivers across New York and Quad C will help make the Mohawk Valley a key location in this global industry," said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. “Giving SUNYIT students the opportunity to be a part of this project from the very beginning will provide them with a unique academic experience and help build the highly skilled workforce that makes New York such an attractive location for the world’s leading companies.”

"SUNY's business partnerships and cooperative education programs allow students to develop the skills New York companies need through tailored on-the-job training," said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. “As CNSE and SUNYIT fuel the growth of nanotechnology in accordance with Governor Cuomo's innovation agenda, SUNY will expand its efforts to work with strong partners like the M+W Group to meet workforce needs so our students can pursue their high tech careers in the State of New York."

"These types of high-value internships with leading global corporations like M+W Group clearly demonstrate how the Quad-C initiative is realizing Governor Andrew Cuomo's vision for revitalizing the Upstate economy by giving young New Yorkers key advantages in launching high-tech careers," said Robert E. Geer, acting president of SUNYIT. "Thanks to the Governor’s leadership, and CNSE's successful academic-business-government model, these opportunities for students during the construction phase of this project are just the beginning of what will be a catalyst for regional economic transformation."

"The opportunities that SUNYIT students are receiving through these valuable internships on the QUAD-C project are helping to build a nanotechnology-savvy workforce in the Mohawk Valley," said Steve DiMeo, President of Mohawk Valley EDGE. "The presence of such bright and talented young professionals can only serve to further bolster our efforts, working in partnership with CNSE, to attract high-tech manufacturing jobs and companies to the region."

"M+W Group is delighted to have the opportunity to engage SUNYIT students in this exciting project that will bring new opportunities to their campus and the entire Mohawk Valley region," said Rick Whitney, President and CEO of M+W U.S. Inc. "We are thoroughly impressed with the professionalism and work ethic of our initial recruits, and fully expect this partnership to grow in the future."

Bernard "Bud" Zahn of Staatsburg, N.Y., and Brent Demick of Stephentown, N.Y., both Civil Engineering Technology students at SUNYIT, are participating in internships with M+W Group, the general contractor for the $125 million project now taking shape.

Zahn, who completed a bachelor's degree in civil engineering technology and is now pursuing an MBA at SUNYIT, began his internship on July 1. He is engaged in various roles, including involvement in all phases of daily site and field coordination and safety practices, as well as preparation of required project documentation.

"I value the experience greatly. Seeing all of the work that goes into creating a building helps with my ultimate goal of designing buildings," Zahn said. "The project can revitalize the Utica area and I am grateful to be able to help with that. The Quad-C will be known all over the country when it’s completed, which will help open many doors for me down the line."

Zahn's performance as an intern so impressed his supervisors that he was offered—and accepted—a full-time job with M+W Group upon completion of his internship. His new position, as part of M+W’s field site team, begins this month; he'll be working with the project's environmental health and safety director.

Demick, a senior majoring in civil engineering technology, began his SUNYIT internship this month after a previous experience at an M+W project site in the Albany area. He says the Quad-C experience is a tremendous opportunity.

"Having an internship allows you to take what you've learned in the classroom and see how it actually applies in the field. It has been extremely valuable to have the opportunity to work and interact with recognized leaders in the construction fields, and it will be very important in helping me land a job after graduation," Demick said. "It's exciting to be able to see a building the size of Quad-C built from the ground up, and also really cool to play even a small role in something that will stand and benefit SUNYIT for many years."

To be completed in the fall of 2014, the Quad-C will result in the creation of hundreds of high-tech jobs, groundbreaking academic programs, and cutting-edge workforce training opportunities in the kind of academic-business-government collaboration that CNSE has demonstrated successfully in Albany and is expanding across the state.

SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, is New York's public polytechnic, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in technology and professional studies. Its academic offerings in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies, and its programs in professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing, are complemented by athletics, recreational, cultural and campus life programs, events and activities. Founded in 1966, SUNYIT is a unique high-tech learning environment on hundreds of acres, offering degree programs online as well as on campus. The SUNYIT family of alumni now numbers 25,000.

The SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Enginering (CNSE) is the first college in the world dedicated to education, research, development, and deployment in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanobioscience, and nanoeconomics. With more than $17 billion in high-tech investments, CNSE represents the world's most advanced university-driven research enterprise, offering students a one-of-a-kind academic experience and providing over 300 corporate partners with access to an unmatched ecosystem for leading-edge R&D and commercialization of nanoelectronics and nanotechnology innovations. CNSE’s footprint spans upstate New York, including its Albany NanoTech Complex, a 1.3 million- square-foot megaplex with the only fully-integrated, 300mm and 450mm wafer computer chip pilot prototyping and demonstration lines within 135,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanrooms. More than 3,100 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, and faculty work here, from companies including IBM, Intel, GlobalFoundries, SEMATECH, Samsung, TSMC, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, ASML, and Lam Research. CNSE’s latest expansion, which includes NanoFab Xtension (NFX), headquarters for the world’s first Global 450mm Consortium (G450C), and the Zero Energy Nanotechnology (ZEN) building, a living laboratory for green energy technologies, will add more than 1,000 scientists, researchers, and engineers from CNSE and global corporations. CNSE's Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, which provides a prototyping and demonstration line for next-generation CIGS thin-film solar cells, and the CNSE Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility (CNSE MDF) in Rochester, the solar industry’s first full-service collaborative facility dedicated to crystalline silicon, support CNSE's leadership of the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC). CNSE's Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center of Excellence (STC) in Rochester offers state-of-the-art capabilities for MEMS fabrication and packaging. CNSE also co-founded and manages operations at the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (QUAD-C) at SUNYIT in Utica. For information, visit  www.cnse.albany.edu.