Release

New UAlbany Nano+MBA Program to Produce "Industry-Ready" Leaders

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 5, 2005) -- The University at Albany announced today that its College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) and School of Business have partnered to create a first-ever joint degree program dedicated to producing highly skilled business leaders equipped to compete in today's global high-tech industry.

The Nanotechnology Management Program, or Nano+MBA, combines the resources of the world's first college devoted exclusively to innovative nanoscience concepts with the strengths of the University at Albany business administration program to offer a rigorous 63-credit course. The two-year program will begin enrolling students in 2006.

"The Nano+MBA program makes possible a new level of success for our graduates - success in a highly competitive, rapidly evolving high tech business world," said University at Albany President Kermit L. Hall. "The program teaches students with strong scientific and engineering backgrounds how to be effective administrators in nanotechnology-based organizations."

"Nanotechnology is the disruptive science and technology driver of the 21st century, and it's having profound effects on both the educational community and the high-tech industry," said Alain Kaloyeros, vice president and chief administrative officer of CNSE. "The Nano+MBA Program is the first in the world to respond to the nanotechnology revolution, leveraging UAlbany's strong business program with the state-of-the-art facilities and intellectual expertise at CNSE to provide students with the winning competitive integration of business acumen and scientific training. We thank President Hall for his leadership and support and look forward to working with Dean Leonard to make the program a resounding success."

"We as business educators must be committed to constant innovation in order to keep our students competitive in the global marketplace," said Paul Leonard, dean of UAlbany's School of Business. "The Nano+MBA Program is a prime example of how we plan to combine our core business programming with specialty areas that are particularly relevant to the changing business landscape."

Nanotechnology is a cross-disciplinary scientific platform that involves manipulating matter at the atomic scale and holds great promise for innovation in such fields as chip making, fuel cell development, drug delivery and sensor technology. The size of the nanotechnology manufacturing market is estimated to grow from 0.1 percent of global manufacturing output today to 15 percent in 2014, totaling $2.6 trillion. The market will approach the size of the information technology and telecom industries combined, and will be ten times larger than biotechnology revenues.

"The model adapted by UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and School of Business to educate future management in this focused program will resonate in academic, corporate and research circles," said Roger Saillant, chief executive officer of Plug Power, Inc.

"The need for clean, renewable forms of energy has never been as clear as it is in today's global energy marketplace," said John Tuttle, CEO of Daystar Technologies, Inc. "The University at Albany has combined the resources of two highly respected centers of learning to train a workforce who understand the technology and have the business acumen to market the resources to consumers."

Development of the Nano+MBA Program was spearheaded by Business School Dean Paul Leonard and Pradeep Haldar, Ph.D., M.B.A., professor of nanoscience at CNSE and director of the Energy & Environmental Technology Application Center at Albany NanoTech. In his ongoing nanotechnology research collaborations with high-tech energy companies, Haldar spotted an opportunity to develop a unique program that could produce "industry-ready" graduates.

"The Nano+MBA program will fill a void for highly-motivated, academically strong students who have a solid grounding in science and engineering pursue an advanced research degree while learning skills required to succeed in the business world," Haldar said. "We want to create scientists who are also skilled managers with acute market sensibility --conversant in both 'languages' -- so they can more readily take on strategic roles within high-technology companies. Given the increased competition in the MBA job market, growing necessity for high-level technical knowledge among high-tech managers, we believe the Nano+MBA program graduates will have a significant edge."

The dual degree program will require 36 credits to be earned at the School of Business and 27 credits at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE). The Nano+MBA program will take two academic years to complete on a full time basis, including a funded research program during the summer between the first and second year. Students will take courses offered in the existing M.B.A. and M.S. in Nanoscale Science and Engineering programs, mixing such courses as Financial Management, Managerial Accounting and Economic Analysis with Chemical Vapor Deposition of Nanostructured Materials and Integrated Circuit Manufacturing. Students applying for the Nano+MBA Program must be eligible for and accepted through the admissions process of both the MBA and the M.S. in Nanoscale Science and Engineering programs.

About CNSE: The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany is the first college in the world devoted exclusively to the development and deployment of innovative nanoscience concepts. Located within the Albany NanoTech complex, a $1 billion center for public/private nanotechnology research and development, CNSE's facilities are unparalleled in the academic word. With over 100 industrial partners on site, including IBM, Infineon, AMD, GE and Tokyo Electron, students and faculty work alongside scientists from industry on fundamental cutting-edge research underlying the real-world problems that most concern industry.

About the School of Business: Recognized as one of the most comprehensive and competitive business schools in the Northeast, The University at Albany School of Business helps students build critical business management skills essential for achieving long-term success. Offering both full-time and part-time opportunities, the School of Business incorporates a multi-faceted approach to learning that fosters an interactive and "high tech" learning environment, and applied experiences in on-site field projects with local and regional firms.