University Update - Front Page

Lockheed Martin and Albany Form $3 Million Partnership
Citing the state�s wisdom in investing in University at Albany research, Governor George E. Pataki on Nov. 1 announced that Lockheed Martin Federal Systems and the University have formed a multi-million dollar partnership to jointly develop new computer chip interconnect technologies for Lockheed Martin�s telecommunications, satellite, and defense-related applications. The overall funding for the program is expected to exceed $3 million over the next three years.
"This partnership is great news for the Capital Region�s economy and sends the clear message that New York will be one of the nation�s high tech leaders as we enter the 21st Century," said Governor Pataki.
"Our ongoing investments in SUNY Albany�s research programs are already starting to pay big dividends and Lockheed Martin is just the latest company to recognize that New York is the place to be when it comes to developing cutting-edge technologies."
Said President Hitchcock: "We at the University at Albany are very excited about working with Lockheed Martin. This partnership represents a major opportunity for collaborative research with the high-tech industry that will provide significant benefits to the Capital Region and New York State.
"It is the strength of our faculty�s research that attracts industry and provides such wonderful opportunities for our students. Clearly, Governor Pataki�s investment in the University at Albany�s research programs continues to reap tangible benefits for the people of New York."
The Governor agreed: "This partnership will help fuel other research and will be a boon to the Capital District � creating new jobs and encouraging other high tech companies to locate in the area."
The University-centered program, which will conduct research for new generations of faster, radiation-hardened computer chips, will develop the science and technology of specialized copper interconnects � the extremely fine signal-carrying wires that drive communications and functions in the computer chip.
The University�s Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology (CAT) has established itself as a worldwide leader in finding ways to further miniaturize computer chips and develop advanced micro-processors for personal computers and other commercial applications.
By Lockheed Martin converting its chip architecture to the types of copper interconnects developed by CAT, instead of the more traditional aluminum-tungsten wires, the Manassas, Va.- based company expects to achieve significant gains in speed and performance. In addition, Lockheed Martin and CAT scientists will develop these technologies to be radiation-hardened, and able to withstand very aggressive environmental conditions, such as those encountered in outer space.
Physics Professor Alain E. Kaloyeros, CAT director, said the partnership "represents a new and important milestone in the University�s partnership with industry � one that will provide a unique pathway for technology deployment and commercial application. We are honored by this selection and are thrilled about working with an industrial partner of such caliber to develop and implement new high tech products."
Jeffrey S. Kristoff, director of the Semiconductor Technology Center at Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, added, "the University at Albany provides us with a unique capability to develop and integrate copper interconnect technology into our long-term technology road map. The Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology has established the scientific knowledge, technical expertise, and state-of-the-art facilities to support our technology programs. We are extremely pleased to establish this relationship and look forward to significant technology development through this partnership with the University over the next five years."
The Lockheed Martin partnership is the latest high tech linkage success for the University. CAT alone, since its inception in 1993, has generated more than $45 million in funding and equipment, resulted in eleven inventions and yielded approximately two dozen high- technology products.
Lockheed Martin Federal Systems is an operating unit of Lockheed Martin Electronics Sector, a leader in design, development, and manufacture of electronic systems for global defense, civil, and commercial markets.

University Names Marine Ecologist New Vice President for Research
By Lisa James
Christopher F. D�Elia, director of the Maryland Sea Grant College of the University of Maryland System, has been named the University�s new Vice President for Research.

D�Elia is also a professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory of the University of Maryland�s Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies. He received his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Georgia.
In addition to his positions with the University of Maryland, D�Elia is a research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. He also served as provost of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in 1994.
"Christopher D�Elia will bring energy and new vision to the position of vice president for Research," said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Judy Genshaft. "He has considerable connections with individuals and funding agencies in Washington D.C. and, as a faculty member himself, he will understand faculty concerns." She added that D�Elia was selected from a very strong pool of candidates.
One among a select group of the nation�s scientists credited with discovering the importance of nitrogen as a nutrient pollutant, D�Elia has received numerous grants and contracts from a variety of agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.
His areas of academic expertise are nutrient dynamics in aquatic systems, estuarine and coral reef ecology, science policy, marine pollution, global climate change, and analytical chemistry. He has written extensively on these topics for a variety of publications.
In addition to being the leader of Sea Grant network, D�Elia has attained a strong national profile through his past presidency and incoming chairmanship of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents and his board chairmanship of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the nation�s oldest higher education association.
D�Elia spent most of his youth in the New York City area, where his father was a practicing psychiatrist. He said that through living in New York, he developed a familiarity with and concern for state environmental issues. A member of the board of the Hudson River Foundation (HRF) for several years, he has reviewed several science projects on behalf of HRF for most of the last decade.
"I am delighted with the opportunity and look forward to joining the University at Albany," D�Elia said. "Both my wife and I were extremely impressed with the hospitality and team orientation of everyone we met."
The vice president for Research is responsible for the administration of the Office for Research, the Technology Development Office, research subject review committees, a number of institutional research centers, and the ongoing development of two University-related business incubators.

Chamber Singers Add a Christmas Light to Capital Region for 16th Year
By Vinny Reda
Be It Now Known, says David Griggs-Janower, customarily associate professor of music but soon to take up his Yuletide mantle as harmonic Lord of the Manor, "That since the time is nigh to bring in the joy and cheer of the Yuletide season: The University at Albany Chamber Singers will create this event at Hudson Valley Community College Cultural Center, Vandenburgh Avenue, Troy � catered by Prestige Dining."
And so be it proclaimed, the Renaissance Christmas Madrigal Dinners, 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, and Saturday, Dec. 5, will once more usher forth, bringing with them The Procession of Singers Through the Hall, The Hoisting of the Sparkling Toast from the Wassail Bowl, The Procession of Litter Bearers with the Boar�s Head, The Singing of Carols by the Choir and Assembled Guests, The Festive Repast of Sweet Meats and Other Delicacies, The Serenading of the Minstrels at Your Table, The Dancing of Pavans and Branles, The Procession of Servants with the Figgy Pudding, and The Singing of the Concert by the Lords and Ladies.
Now reveling and repasting into their 16th year in the Capital Region, the Dinners have acquired a loyal following, including multitudes who have heralded the event since its days in bygone venues at the 1st Presbyterian Church and State Cultural Education Center in Albany to its present site in Troy.
"We have many people � actually, most people � who come back year after year, usually bringing more of their friends," said Lord Griggs-Janower. "It�s quite common for people to order a whole table or more. In some cases, we�ve had people come back after they�ve missed a year and describe how unhappy they were to have missed it. And year after year people come up and tell us how the Madrigal Dinners �made their season,� or how their holiday isn�t complete without them."
Many of the Manor�s Lords and Ladies, who oft do double and treble-time as jolly minstrels, dancers, or jugglers, and at last as sonorous concertizers, also weigh the Madrigal Dinners as a precious element of their University careers.
"Oh yes, the Chamber Singers absolutely love to do this � even, for some, after four years of it," said Griggs-Janower. "They learn new music, so that�s exciting. But they also get to relive some of the fun from past years � and the seniors always cry at the end."
The Manor Lord must confess, however, at times he wants to cry at the beginning. "I figure these are my 55th and 56th Madrigal Dinners, 14 at Indiana University, the rest here. It gets harder and harder to become enthused as I�m filling ticket orders, running around purchasing candles, and teaching students how to dance the Pavan. But then the checks roll in and I feel better!
"No, actually, the personal challenge for me is to stay excited about them, and in advance of the dinners I do that by choosing repertory that interests me and by tinkering with the script and the ceremonies.
"But the real fulfillment comes when I see all of the audience having such a special time, and hear them singing �What Child is This� with us at the end."

Reservations for the Dinners can be taken by mail only. Tables will be filled in the order received. Seating is limited. Tickets are $35 ($12 as a tax-deductible donation to the University at Albany Chamber Singers). The Great Hall Doors open at 6:15 p.m. There is a cash bar. For information, including menu, call (518) 442-3997 or go to the Chamber Singers� website: https://www.albany.edu/~singers/.