Corporate Leader in Clean Energy and Environmental Technologies Joins Faculty of UAlbany NanoCollege

Posted: March 25, 2008
Corporate Leader in Clean Energy and Environmental Technologies Joins Faculty of UAlbany NanoCollege
(Nanowerk News) The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ("CNSE") of the University at Albany today announced that a high-level corporate executive who is recognized globally as a scientific leader in the development of leading-edge clean energy and environmental technologies has just joined the fast-growing ranks of its world-class faculty.
Dr. John F. Elter, who most recently served as Chief Technology Officer at Plug Power Inc., has been appointed as Empire Innovation Professor of Nanoengineering and Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Ecosystem Nanotechnologies within the CNSE.
The Center will provide critical design and analysis, pilot prototyping, and proof of concept to enable advanced systems and structures for integration within a host of renewable energy technologies, including fuel cells, solar energy, hydrogen, biofuels, wind, and hydropower. The research will complement the applications-based programs of CNSE's Energy and Environmental Technology Applications Center ("E2TAC"), providing additional capabilities and expertise to accelerate the path to commercialization for next-generation alternative energy technologies.
Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of CNSE, said, "I am delighted to welcome Dr. Elter as the newest member of the world-class faculty at the UAlbany NanoCollege, where he brings recognized engineering expertise and demonstrated corporate leadership in the development of technologies that promote clean energy and environmental sustainability. His role in leading the new Center for Sustainable Ecosystem Nanotechnologies will both enhance and accelerate CNSE's growing focus in the critical areas of energy and the environment, while providing another valuable asset to attract additional new energy companies to the NanoCollege and New York State."
Dr. Elter said, "It is both a pleasure and a privilege to join the first-rate faculty at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and in particular, to have the opportunity to guide the new Center for Sustainable Ecosystem Nanotechnologies. I look forward to utilizing the significant intellectual and technological capabilities of the NanoCollege, which are unmatched in the global higher education arena, to further expand CNSE's pioneering efforts to enable important advances in renewable energy and environmental technology research and commercialization."
Since 2001, Dr. Elter was responsible for a wide range of activities at Plug Power, leading development of the company's advanced fuel cell systems, developing the technology roadmap in support of the company's multi-generational product strategy, and overseeing expansion of fuel cell technologies for overall product development. Previously, he worked at Eastman Kodak as Vice
President and Chief Technology Officer of their former Professional Division, and before that spent more than 30 years at Xerox Corporation, where he held a variety of executive positions, including Vice President of Strategic Programs, and led the effort to deliver Xerox's first completely recyclable, remanufacturable and reusable fully digital networked product.
Dr. Elter holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University, where he was named an "Outstanding Mechanical Engineer for 2007," an MSME from New York University, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Sciences from the University of Rochester, where he also has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus. He serves as a Director of the National Hydrogen Association, a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ("ASME"), and a member of the ASME Foundation and Industry Advisory Boards, and is a member of the Electrochemical Society and International Society of Industrial Ecology.
About CNSE
The UAlbany CNSE is the first college in the world dedicated to research, development, education, and deployment in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanobioscience, and nanoeconomics. In May 2007, it was ranked as the world's number one college for nanotechnology and microtechnology in the Annual College Ranking by Small Times magazine. CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex is the most advanced research enterprise of its kind at any university in the world: a $4.2 billion, 450,000-square-foot complex that attracts corporate partners from around the world and offers students a one-of-a-kind academic experience. The UAlbany NanoCollege houses the only fully-integrated, 300mm wafer, computer chip pilot prototyping and demonstration line within 65,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanrooms. More than 2,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, and faculty work on site at CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex, from companies including IBM, AMD, SEMATECH, Toshiba, ASML, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Vistec Lithography and Freescale. An expansion currently underway will increase the size of CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex to over 800,000 square feet, including over 80,000 square feet of Class 1 capable cleanroom space, to house over 2,500 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, and faculty by mid-2009. For more information, visit http://www.cnse.albany.edu/.

Source: CNSE