The College on Friday received a donation from
IBM that will bring about $1 million in technical support aimed
at helping students gain access to leading-edge technology.
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.
The partnership with Union, announced by President
Roger Hull and John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and group
executive of the IBM Technology Group, will further promote the
sharing of technical knowledge and the formation of joint
programs between RPI in Troy and the University at Albany.
The supercomputer at the University at Albany is an
IBM RS/6000, 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.
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.