UAlbany Research Boosted by Xray Optical Systems Gift

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ALBANY, N.Y. (February 28, 2002) -- X-ray Optical Systems is donating $116,000 of custom x-ray optics to strengthen University at Albany research efforts in medical imaging, genomics/proteomics and pharmaceuticals.

The Capital Region firm, a developer and manufacturer of x-ray optics that support cutting-edge research, materials development and manufacturing control, over the years "has provided almost $500,000 of cash funding for UAlbany research," said company president David Gibson. X-ray Optical System's most recent gift, an x-ray source and six polycapillary lenses that redirect x-rays into highly parallel or slightly focused beams, will enhance the research being done by Professor Carolyn MacDonald and Assistant Professor Susanne Lee of the Physics Department and the University's Center for X-ray Optics.

The collaboration exemplifies an ideal arrangement - and a long partnership - between industry and higher education. Gibson's father, X-ray Optical Systems co-founder Walter Gibson, was a UAlbany physics professor when he started the firm in 1990 as an incubator company paying rent for space in a University basement.

The University and X-ray Optical Systems have jointly applied for and received funding from NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Army Breast Cancer Research Program.

UAlbany, Gibson observed, "is at the forefront of life sciences research. The University and the new Life Sciences Center are part of the cutting edge, using their strengths in physics, nanosciences, chemistry, biology, and other fields to drive for a fundamental understanding of the life sciences. For example, professors MacDonald and Lee will use the gift to develop better tools for determining the structure of proteins and for understanding and controlling pharmaceutical forming processes. Another example is the development of devices on a chip that can monitor life science processes - research being done at the University's new School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering."

Gibson added that the University has provided invaluable resources to X-ray Optical Systems, including its "faculty, staff and student expertise; extensive research libraries; and specialized and expensive equipment."

Established in 1844 and designated a center of the State University of New York in 1962, the University at Albany's broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, research and public service engages 17,000 diverse students in eight degree-granting schools and colleges. For more information about this nationally ranked University, visit https://www.albany.edu. ###

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