Center for Economic Growth President F. Michael Tucker commented on President Obama’s visit to the Capital Region Tuesday.

Below is a statement from Tucker:

Today President Obama is making the third visit of his term to Tech Valley, this time to the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany.

It’s exciting to have the president take such strong notice of what this region has worked so hard to achieve for the last 25 years.  A major theme of his administration’s economic policy is the goal of a new generation of American high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs, and Tech Valley is proud to serve as a model for that vision.

Tech Valley’s long-term growth strategy dovetails with what President Obama is focusing on today: Ensuring that next-generation research and development takes place here, that we innovate here, and that advanced manufacturing takes place here.

The president’s focus on workforce and education issues is highly relevant to this larger economic development picture. This region has recognized that we absolutely need to better align our education and training pipeline with the needs of the 21st century, in order to ensure that we can continue to grow high-tech industries and that the benefits of growth are widespread among Tech Valley residents.

If anyone in the Capital Region is still skeptical of the Tech Valley vision, and the high-tech industries that are emerging here, this is a wake-up
call. The action is here.

ALBANY — At President Barack Obama’s third visit to the region since the fall of 2009, a sense of pride was almost tangible among the dozens of area leaders who have worked for the past two decades to help the Capital District put its mark on the High-Tech map.

In the moments after the president took the stage at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, state Assemblyman Jack McEneny said to his colleagues, “Our little CAT has grown up.” He was referring to the origins of the CNSE, the Center for Applied Technology.

McEneny, along with state Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari and a myriad of other public servants, remembered the Hudson Valley’s evolution into a high-tech destination. They not only remembered when Albany came in second to Austin, Texas for a new SEMATECH location in 1985, but also all of the years that CAT’s funding was left out of the governor’s budget and had to be included in legislative allotments.

“We ran into our fair share of issues but we never stopped and never gave up,” said McEneny. Now the Capital District is home to CNSE in Albany, multiple high-tech businesses at the Watervliet Arsenal, and GlobalFoundries in Malta.

The Center for Economic Growth’s Michael Tucker noted, “It’s exciting to have the president take such strong notice of what this region has worked so hard to achieve for the last 25 years.”

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President Barack Obama made his third trip to the Capital Region on May 8. He used the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering to tout his economic agenda.

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CEG’s David Rooney speaks with News Channel 10 about growth in the region – View Video

The new growth in the Capital Region begins the old fashioned way, with a good idea.

“It’s the R&D capacity,” says David Rooney, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Marketing at the Center for Economic Growth in Albany.

Ideas created and tested by some of the best minds in the world, backed by both public and private funds like the $14 billion pumped into the Nano-Tech Complex at Ualbany.

“It is the finest in the world. we are extremely fortunate and very opportunistic in how we try to leverage that,” says Rooney.

Working with atoms at facilities like this form the nucleus for a whole lot more activity. The Capital Region has mastered the economic development concept called clustering.

“Having a set of resources, these can be corporations or academic institutions that can feed off each other within a certain proximity,” says Rooney.

A map from the Center for Economic Growth shows us the impact of the cluster concept. We begin with the research and development facilities like GE. Then we add in the sites like the Luther Forest Tech Park. Next, the facilities that develop nanotechnolgy. Then, there’s the biotechnology and live sciences sector and the plants that work with advanced materials, such as GlobalFoundries. Clean energy is another key cluster as is information technology.

Put them all together and you have quite a cluster with these entities feeding off each other spurring even more growth, including their suppliers which are all over the map, each one creating jobs.

“It creates opportunities for people living here to grow here and creates opportunities for them for the rest of their lives,” says Rooney.

Economic Developers like David Rooney say the Capital Region hasn’t see this kind of growth since the post World War II era and it will bring opportunities we haven’t seen in generations, “As the region grows and as these companies in different industries continue to grow here, we are bringing in people from outside the region who have different experiences and from different cultures.”

Rooney says that will only enrich the Capital Region and make it stronger.
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View news coverage of Tuesday’s visit by President Obana,  including commentary by CEG’s Peter Pritchard

It’s exciting to have the president take such strong notice of what this region has worked so hard to achieve for the last 25 years.  A major theme of his administration’s economic policy is the goal of a new generation of American high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs, and Tech Valley is proud to serve as a model for that vision.

Tech Valley’s long-term growth strategy dovetails with what President Obama is focusing on today: Ensuring that next-generation research and development takes place here, that we innovate here, and that advanced manufacturing takes place here.

The president’s focus on workforce and education issues is highly relevant to this larger economic development picture. This region has recognized that we absolutely need to better align our education and training pipeline with the needs of the 21st century, in order to ensure that we can continue to grow high-tech industries and that the benefits of growth are widespread among Tech Valley residents.

If anyone in the Capital Region is still skeptical of the Tech Valley vision, and the high-tech industries that are emerging here, this is a wake-up
call. The action is here.

In coordination with The White House, GLOBALFOUNDRIES today helped host a visit by President Barack Obama to New York’s Capital Region. The President’s visit, originally planned to be held at Fab 8, was moved to the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering’s (CNSE) NanoTech Complex at the State University of New York in Albany for logistical reasons.

As part of President Obama’s visit to highlight the historic public and private investments in new advanced manufacturing, research and       development, and education facilities helping to revitalize upstate New York and strategically position the United States in the global economy, GLOBALFOUNDRIES CEO Ajit Manocha addressed the crowd of over 500 people:

“It is an honor to welcome President Obama, a champion of American innovation, who recognizes the importance of manufacturing, the value of technology, and the critical need to build a skilled workforce, as the cornerstones for staying competitive in the global economy.

President Obama’s visit is another example of his commitment to bringing new manufacturing jobs home to the U.S. Thanks to the President’s leadership, American manufacturing is climbing back, with almost half a million jobs added in the manufacturing sector since 2010. The Administration’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership and support for the America Invents Act, is moving the country forward.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is proud to be part of this momentum. Our Fab 8 project is the first leading-edge, pure play, semiconductor foundry to be built in the U.S. and is one of the largest new manufacturing projects in the world. It is here that GLOBALFOUNDRIES is working on innovation and advanced technology to create products that change and improve the way we live and work.

At GLOBALFOUNDRIES, we continue to invest in R&D which is creating new job opportunities and industries, driving the flywheel of economic growth. We have seen that Fab 8 is a key driver in the revitalization of Tech Valley – well on its way to becoming the country’s premier nanotech center.

Furthermore, by being located right here in the United States, we are helping to protect our homegrown innovations and ensuring the security of our customers’ intellectual property.

None of this would have been possible without support from federal, state and local governments, the State University of New York, community colleges, and the larger business community. Public-private partnerships  supporting advanced manufacturing and research are invaluable to advancing the nation’s economy. We are so proud to be a part of this success.

Because of the success of this partnership, Fab 8 is expected to be the most advanced semiconductor fab in the world, creating more than 1,600new direct jobs and approximately 8,000 additional new indirect jobs, representing an annual payroll of over $300 million.

And we are proud that veterans make up approximately 10 percent of Fab 8’s current workforce. Our recently announced ‘Field to Fab’ initiative will continue to find great new careers in advanced manufacturing for our veterans returning from the field of military operations.

We are also working with community colleges and high schools to provide skills for those looking for a new career path. Together with regional partners and the Center for Economic Growth we are launching a 13-county education initiative to add new programs to the education system, supporting the growth and opportunities we see here in Tech Valley, bringing it all full circle.

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Today, President Obama returns to the Capital Region for the third trip in his presidency—this time, to Albany.

Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech on the economy at around 1:30 p.m. at the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, according to the White House.

Before the address, Obama will tour the NanoTech complex with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as well as Alain Kaloyeros, senior vice president and CEO of the R&D facility. Air Force One will fly into Albany International Airport  late this morning.

Obama is expected to tout Albany NanoTech as a prime example of a successful government investment in education and the private-sector. The college itself employs 2,700 people researching semiconductor technology, which is used in everything from computer chips to solar panels.

The world’s largest computer-chip makers are funding the bulk of a new $4.8 billion venture at the NanoTech complex to design the next generation of computer chips. A $300 million research center is under construction now to house the consortium.

Obama has come to the Capital Region three times in the last 32 months—more trips than some major metro areas have seen. Obama visited Hudson Valley Community College  , in Troy, in fall 2009; he gave a speech at General Electric’s turbine plant in Schenectady early last year..

Today’s visit is Obama’s 24th visit to New York state, a tally behind only Virginia and Maryland, according to Mark Knoller, a White House correspondent for CBS Radio who tracks presidential travel.

“What other region of the country has the president used to showcase his agenda three times?” asked Mike Tucker, head of the Center for Economic Growth, in Albany. “It’s been 20 years of engagement across business and government and education to get us to this tipping point.”

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In less than 24 hours, the Capital Region will be hosting President Obama for the third time since 2009.

Preparations you can see and those you cannot are underway between Albany International Airport and UAlbany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

The bulk of this work is being done behind the scenes for security reasons.

Even though this is the third time around for many in law enforcement and in the business community, no one FOX23 spoke with is taking it for granted.

The first sign that something big is happening in the Capital Region is an Air Force C5 transport plane on the tarmac at Albany International Airport.

It is for the vehicles for the president’s motorcade and other necessary equipment to keep the Commander in Chief safe while he is in the Capital Region.

Colonie Police Chief Steve Heider said his department will be essentially all hands on deck since the president will be within town limits for much of his visit.

“All of law enforcement in the Capital Region is doing what they can do to assist the Secret Service, and to that extent, the President of the United States, to come into the Albany Airport, get from there to Point B and back again to the Albany Airport and out of here safely,” said Chief Heider.

Even though this is the third time the department has had to prepare for such an event, Heider said the fluidity of the situation means thinking and acting on the fly.

“Every case is different,” said Chief Heider. “Every month brings new security measures, new security precautions, and every trip that he makes is its own special thing in its place for us.”

Center for Economic Growth President and CEO  Michael Tucker said this visit showcases what has been going on at CNSE  and in Tech Valley for the last 20 years, creating public-private  partnerships to use technology, education and manufacturing to create  jobs, which is what the president is trying to present as a model for  growth elsewhere.

“There’s nowhere else in the world that has the resources, the assets and the collaboration that goes on at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering,” Tucker said. “We are certainly on the  world stage and it’s an opportunity for all of us to take some sense of  pride and accomplishment, but we need to keep our foot on the gas.”

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