NY Makes Record $520M Commitment to TBED

New York's initiatives to support technology-based economic development (TBED) will share more than $520 million in state appropriations during Fiscal Year 2003. The highlight: two originally competing budget proposals to support university-based centers of excellence survived with a combined $470 million in state funds (see the Jan. 5, 2001 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest for background). Most of New York's other TBED initiatives also fared well in the new budget, running counter to the fiscal environment facing TBED in several other states.

Governor Pataki's Centers of Excellence proposal will receive $250 million to support major upgrades of research facilities and other high-technology and biotechnology capital projects, allowing colleges, universities and research institutions to secure research funding that will lead to new job creation.

To date, Centers of Excellence have been announced in Albany, Buffalo, Long Island and Rochester, with others being planned throughout the state. These centers have already attracted more than $400 million in new private sector and federal investments. In total, these initiatives are expected to leverage a 3-to-1 ratio in new private sector and other investment, for greater than $1 billion in new investment.

The state budget also provides $225 million for the Gen*NY*sis program (Generating Employment through New York State Science), which was proposed by the New York State Senate. The program was created to maximize the research and development potential of the world class life sciences research being conducted at New York State public, non-profit and private academic research institutions. These funds will leverage more than $1 billion in additional funds to support the construction of Gen*NY*sis centers, which will transform this research into economic development throughout the state.

Some locations will benefit from both the Centers of Excellence and Gen*NY*sis programs. The May 16 issue of the Buffalo News reports the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics at the University of Buffalo, which had been slated to receive $50 million from the Governor's proposal, will receive closer to $100 million in state funds.

The state budget also includes $5 million to launch the "Security Through Advanced Research and Technology" (START) program, which will help colleges and universities secure federal and other research funding for the emerging homeland security industry and other high-tech fields.

In addition, the final budget sustains funding for other TBED programs, including:

• $25 million for the Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs) program;
• $7.5 million to assist universities in recruiting and retaining world-class research faculty;
• $5 million to support university-based technology transfer initiatives;
• $5 million for the joint SUNY Albany/RPI Focus Center-NY research program;
• $800,000 for the Cornell University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center;
• $500,000 for the Cornell University Nanoscale Information Technologies Center;
• $500,000 for Columbia University's Molecular Nanostructures Transport Center;
• $500,000 for the RPI Nanostructures Directed Assembly Center; and
• $300,000 for the Cornell University Nanobiotechnology Center.

More information on most of these initiatives is available from the NY State Office of Science, Technology & Advanced

Research (NYSTAR): http://www.nystar.state.ny.us

The Governor's press release on the budget is available at: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/year02/may15_3_02.htm