ECC Celebrates New Center for Nanotechnology

Amherst, NY - Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer joined SUNY Erie Community College officials, faculty and staff, as well as New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and other state representatives for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the school's $5.75 million Center for Nanotechnology Studies at ECC North Campus.

"ECC offers one of only three available semiconductor manufacturing associate degree programs in New York, and it is now the first and only community college to provide learning experiences to students in a clean room for manipulating particles as part of an advanced manufacturing process. I am pleased that the state's $5.75 million commitment has helped to make it happen. The new nanotechnology annex is another educational tool for our students to get the skills they need to secure a STEM-related job," said Ranzenhofer.

The energy-efficient building—funded in September 2015 through NYSUNY’s 2020 Challenge Grant Program—will house ECC’s Nanotechnology AAS degree program, whose students have already begun training in the space. With features informed by educational partners Genesee Community College and Penn State University, the space was designed to help prepare students for career opportunities in burgeoning Western New York fields such as semiconductor manufacturing, biotechnology and environmental science, working within exciting local developments like RiverBend and the WNY Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park.

The Center for Nanotechnology Studies provides approximately 6,100 square feet of new learning space; $1.5 million in fabrication and characterization equipment, and 36 solar roof panels to provide clean power; a state‐of‐the‐art energy recovery system to reduce heating and cooling costs and energy usage; network capabilities through the Remote Access Instruments for Nanotechnology (RAIN) network to collaborate training with students across the country; and New York State’s only community college-hosted clean room for manipulating particles within an advanced manufacturing process.

###