SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (March 8, 2002) – Union College has received a donation from IBM that will bring the College $1 million in technical support aimed at helping undergraduate students gain access to leading-edge technology.
The support — available for a wide array of academic disciplines – was announced today at an event called IBM@Union by President Roger Hull, who called the support “a sign of recognition for Union's unique liberal arts and engineering tradition reflecting an interdisciplinary approach to education.”
President Hull said the IBM educational support package is unique for two reasons. “While many such programs are aimed at graduate students, this one is aimed at our undergraduate community. It builds on our groundbreaking Converging Technologies program and makes it possible for a larger number of undergraduates to gain classroom and laboratory experiences that exposes them to, and teaches them about, the impact of technology across multiple disciplines.”
IBM will assist the College through a combination of software access, software development, visiting faculty and a variety of sophisticated equipment, such as an atomic force microscope for a nanotechnology materials lab and several high-powered computer workstations. Union also will gain, for faculty and student research, access to an IBM supercomputer located at the University at Albany.
“Knowledge is increasingly occurring at the intersection of disciplines,” Hull said. “Whether you are an undergraduate student in biology, chemistry, engineering, economics, physics, philosophy, or psychology, you need to understand both the relationship among disciplines and the importance of technology in furthering knowledge.”
Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and group executive of IBM Technology Group, said the support is part of IBM's ongoing desire to enhance a strong technical presence at select leading colleges and universities. “This is an investment in the future of the College, the Capital District and New York State,” he said.
Kelly said the partnership with Union will further promote the sharing of technical knowledge and the formation of joint programs between RPI in Troy and the University at Albany.
Nanotechnology — technology at the molecular level– is a fast-growing field focused on creating chips, and systems that go with them that are much smaller and faster. IBM is a leader in this field, having, for instance, built the world's first array of transistors out of carbon nanotubes — miniscule cylinders as small as 10 atoms across, 500 times smaller than today's silicon-based transistors.
The supercomputer at University at Albany is an IBM RS/6000 supercomputer, a system extensively used by university researchers as they confront the daunting science and technology challenges associated with the development of new generations of computer chips. The targeted portfolio of computer devices ranges from the more “traditional” microprocessor and memory type computer chips to the emerging areas of biochips, micro- and nano-systems and ultra-high frequency communication devices and associated equipment.
IBM has deep roots in New York State. It is headquartered in Armonk, NY, in lower Westchester County with several factories in the state (East Fishkill, Endicott, Poughkeepsie). The company also has a large sales office in Albany. Last year, revenue from sales and services totaled approximately $85 billion worldwide. The Technology Group, which Dr. Kelly oversees, represents about $10 billion of this total and includes the microelectronics division as well as the storage technology division.
Union, which introduced engineering in 1845 (the first liberal arts college in the country to do so), is launching a new initiative called Converging Technologies. This new educational initiative integrates topics in bioengineering, nanotechnology, mechatronics and pervasive computing into the undergraduate engineering and liberal arts programs. Various engineering and liberal arts courses from the freshman through the senior years touch on elements of these new emerging technologies, providing enhanced exposure to the digital computer, increasing the opportunities for industrial internships, and furthering internationalism throughout Union's curricula.