The University at Albany at Night

The University at Albany at night during Homecoming Weekend. The uptown campus was designed by Edward Durell Stone and it has undergone quite the transformation over the past couple of years as new buildings have been added, and the campus reimagined. It takes a bit of getting used to, but the podium hasn't really changed.

 

 

 

SUNY Albany's Nanotech Center Building Next Generation Semiconductor Facility

SUNY Albany has been working on nanotechnology for the better part of the past 20 years, and has been a major center for research as part of the Sematech consortium. The facility is undergoing a major expansion that would double the space for clean rooms and production facilities to test new technology.

The focus of the new technology is to increase the size of the silicon wafers used in semiconductors from the now standard 12 inch (300mm) wafer to an 18 inch (450mm) design that would reduce production costs significantly. This is the kind of advance that has application potential not only for semiconductors, but for solar power cells:

Renderings and other documents obtained by the Times Union show a dramatic, 500,000-square-foot structure that will nearly double the size of the existing College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering campus. The project, to be built in two phases, is rising opposite Washington Avenue Extension from the existing campus.

Officials from Sematech, the computer chip research consortium headquartered at the NanoCollege, have touted the expansion to insiders in recent months, describing the effort to move the industry from making chips on 12-inch, or 300 millimeter silicon wafers, to 18-inch, or 450 millimeter wafers.

The move could revolutionize the way chips are made by drastically reducing costs while increasing output.

A small-scale 450mm research program has been operated by the International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative, a Sematech program that has received millions of dollars in state funding. NanoCollege officials called it a "limited seed program" only two months ago.

But presentations made at semiconductor conferences around the world by Sematech CEO Dan Armbrust and Paolo Gargini, director of technology strategy at chip giant Intel Corp., show that the 450mm program is poised to grow significantly here.

The focal point is a 45,000-square-foot clean room being built as part of the first phase of the NanoCollege project, which is located on an 11-acre, state-owned parcel between Interstate 90 and Washington Avenue Extension.

Gargini showed numerous photos of the Albany construction project in July at SemiconWest, an annual conference held each year in San Francisco for companies that make computer chip manufacturing equipment, also known as "tools."

The main question is why all the secrecy over the expansion plans and funding sources. Aside from that, it's awesome to see my alma mater at the forefront of tech research and plans made while I was still a student there to come to fruition to turn the university into a major research institution for nanotechnology.

Iran Convicts UAlbany Student In Secret Trials

I've previously reported on this story, but word comes now that Iran has convicted the Alaei Brothers in a sham secret trial. The two men, a University at Albany public health doctoral student, Dr. Kamiar Alaei, a prominent AIDS expert from Iran, and his brother Arash Alaei, were sentenced to three years and six years, respectively for plotting to overthrow the Iranian regime.

Physicians for Human Rights spokesman Jonathan Hutson told the Times Union Tuesday the doctors don't know all the charges on which they were convicted.

The doctors were interrogated for six months and possibly coerced, Hutson said in an e-mail. The prosecutor then "paraded them through a one-day trial on New Year's Eve without informing them of all the charges against them, and without disclosing all the evidence," Hutson wrote.

"If due process means anything, it means the right to know the charges, hear the evidence, and face the accuser," he wrote. "The doctors did not receive a fair trial, either by standards of international human rights law, or even by Iran's penal code."

Iran, Free the Doctors, notes that this is likely Iran's way of testing the Obama Administration.

In the wake of President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Iran has signaled that the espionage trial of two world-renowned AIDS doctors is a bellwether for the future of US-Iranian relations.

The Washington Post reported on Jan. 19 that an unnamed Iranian senior counter-intelligence official warned the new Obama administration that the case of Dr. Kamiar Alaei and Dr. Arash Alaei exemplifies a “full fledged intelligence war” between Iran and the US.

“If Kamiar and Arash are engaged in any war, it’s the battle against HIV/AIDS,” said Sarah Kalloch, Director of Outreach for Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). “They traveled the world to share the Iranian model of HIV prevention, and to learn from other countries about innovations in infectious disease treatment. Treating AIDS is not a crime—it is good medicine.

Expect to see more tests in coming days. Iran could care less about human rights, due process, or other freedoms that we in the US take for granted. This is a naked display of power and a test to see how Obama responds.

UPDATE:
Amnesty International doesn't have a current statement out, only that the trial occurred on December 31 and didn't meet international standards. I'm sure they'll have something to say now that the verdict has been rendered.

Ahmadinejad Regime Silent While Holding UAlbany Student

A doctoral student from my alma mater remains held by Ahmadinejad's foul regime. The Iranians are holding Kamiar Alaei and his brother, Arash, claiming that they were plotting to topple the Iranian government. The brothers are internationally known AIDS physicians and were arrested in June. Kamiar is enrolled in SUNY Albany's PhD public health program.

Demonstrators held a rally outside the Iranian mission protesting the ongoing detention. Physicians for Human Rights is also protesting the action and have signed a petition demanding their release:

More than 3,200 HIV/AIDS advocates and researchers worldwide have signed a petition requesting that the brothers be released.

According to the Post, the brothers' arrest reflects a trend of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration to detain professionals who are suspected of promoting Western interests. According to Hadi Ghaemi of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, a main focus of Ahmadinejad's administration is a "broad crackdown on dissidents of all kinds" and a refusal "to acknowledge that anything of the sort is happening."

An unnamed Iranian lawyer who has been in contact with Physicians for Human Rights said the Alaeis likely were the targets of intelligence and security officials in Iran. Hasan Hadad, deputy general prosecutor of Tehran, in an August statement said the brothers attempted to recruit and train people to topple the Iranian government. Hadad said that the brothers were "involved in organizing gatherings on topics such as AIDS that have received attention from domestic and international" non-governmental organizations, adding that they "acted to recruit individuals to travel abroad with the aim of training them on overthrowing the system. They were well aware of their activities and topics of training, such as velvet revolutions."

The brothers were involved in establishing a well regarded AIDS/HIV clinic program in Iran. The regime was tracking the Alaei brothers because of their close ties to the West.

UPDATE:
Larry King didn't bother to raise this question in his puff-piece interview with Ahmadinejad when he had a chance. Iran's record on human rights is abysmal, and King had an opportunity to press the case for these two doctors and did nothing. I guess he wanted to retain access for future interviews?

UPDATE:
PHR has a petition to sign demanding the release of the Alaei brothers. For more information, see Iran, Free The Doc.org.

Sorry Hawk, Great Danes' Bark Worse than their Bite

As many of you know, Lawhawk is an alumni of Albany University, in New York. The Albany Great Danes made it to the NCAA's march madness for the second year in a row, after defeating Vermont, 60-59, in a thriller to win the America East title. The Danes, who last year played # 1 ranked UConn tough in a 72-59 loosing effort, were ranked # 13 and and facing the #4 ranked Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. However, the Danes again fell short of advancing to the second round.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Flat on his back after a hard foul, J.R. Reynolds figured he might as well give it a shot.

Why not? Everything else was going in.

The high-scoring guard with a balky hip made shots from everywhere on the court Friday -- including a just-for-fun fling from his back -- while leading Virginia to an 84-57 victory over Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"When you get it going like that ..." Reynolds said sheepishly, referring to his on-the-back bank shot. "That was a tough shot."

Everything came easy for the Cavaliers (21-10), who advanced in the South Regional with their first tournament win since 1995, when they reached the final eight. It was their most lopsided win in 37 NCAA Tournament games.

***

The America East Conference champs gained distinction last year, when they made the tournament for the first time and, as a No. 16 seed, took mighty UConn to the limit. Huskies coach Jim Calhoun was so impressed that he later embraced Brown and told him: "You guys are special."

They returned to the tournament with senior guard Jamar Wilson, the conference's two-time player of the year, and a confidence bordering on brashness. They told everything that they had packed enough clothes to spend the weekend in Columbus.

Wilson missed five of his first six shots, allowing Virginia to take control. He finished with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting, but it wasn't nearly enough.

"We've been eating and sleeping (thinking about) the Virginia Cavaliers," Wilson said. "The fact of the matter is, they took us out of our game."

And sent them home with a lot of clean clothes.

Well congrats to the Danes for a great run, hopefully they can improve again next year.

One Step Away From Big Dance

My alma mater, SUNY Albany, is one step away from landing another automatic berth in the Big Dance. They need to win the America East Conference Finals against top seeded Vermont to have another shot.

Albany is the defending champion, and nearly made history in their first ever appearance. They not only played top seeded UConn close, but nearly pulled off the first ever upset of a number 1 seed by a 16 seed until UConn pulled away with a late game surge.

Good luck Danes!

The Rematch - UConn v. UAlbany

The Albany Great Danes are meeting the UConn Huskies this afternoon in a rematch of their encounter in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament last season. When I was at Albany, the Danes were never considered a powerhouse, let alone worthy of being on the floor with a team like UConn. The game last season showed just how far Albany has come, and how much further the team wants to go.

It set a benchmark by which Albany will judge its future seasons. The team can take a huge step forward today in its meeting with UConn. The national exposure has resulted in season ticket sales doubling.

The University at Albany has turned a memorable loss on the basketball court last March into a resounding long-term victory for the school, according to university officials.

The UAlbany men's basketball team meets 18th-ranked Connecticut today in Storrs, Conn., a rematch from that riveting night eight months ago when the Great Danes caught the attention of sports fans all over America.


On St. Patrick's Day, the Great Danes were poised to pull off the greatest upset in NCAA Division I Tournament history. They led top-seeded UConn of the Big East Conference by 12 points with 11 minutes, 34 seconds remaining before a CBS regional television audience and a crowd of 19,990 at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Gradually, UConn's superior talent took over and UAlbany ran out of gas in a 72-59 first-round defeat that ended the school's first appearance in the tournament known as March Madness.

But the national exposure the school received from that game helped contribute to an increase in student applications, greater alumni support and, say university officials, an overall better atmosphere on campus.

"The tournament had a huge effect on the university," UAlbany officer-in-charge Susan Herbst said. "It galvanized alumni around the country who saw the game, and it kind of re-opened their loyalty channels back to the university."

Herbst said she'll try to attend today's game, which coincidentally was scheduled before UAlbany and UConn played last March.

The tangible results of the previous meeting are obvious at UAlbany's SEFCU Arena, where season-ticket sales have nearly doubled from about 600 last year to almost 1,200 this year in the 4,538-seat building.

UPDATE:
The rematch wasn't nearly as close as last year's matchup. UConn won 86-55.

Albany Makes The Big Dance?!

Are You Kidding Me?! SUNY Albany - aka University at Albany, aka Albany State, aka SUNY at Albany, and aka where I did my undergraduate and some post graduate work, never so much as sniffed an NCAA tournament bid while I was in college (they were Division III back in the day).

Now, not only have they gone Division I, but they've actually managed to make the Big Dance.

Against UConn. Welcome to the big time.

Good luck Great Danes!!!! You're gonna need it.