Contact: Phyllis Levine at 845.896.6934 X3001 or by Email
HVTDC to Host Cornell Program on Resources Available
to Hudson Valley Businesses on March 22, 2006
HVTDC recently formed a partnership with the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) Small Business Outreach Program. The ambition of the partnership is to provide research expertise and resources to Hudson Valley small businesses and manufacturers. Thomas G. Phillips, HVTDC”s Executive Director states, “Cornell’s CCMR facilities are an incredibly valuable resource for any company that develops product or is in the manufacturing arena. CCMR has generously opened its doors to assist small businesses and manufacturers throughout New York State via its active Industrial Outreach Program.”
On Wednesday, March 22, Hudson Valley businesses are invited to attend a CCMR Regional Information Meeting from 8:30 to 11:30 AM hosted by HVTDC. The meeting will be held at the offices of the Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce in Wappingers Falls. The intention of the meeting is to introduce Hudson Valley companies to CCMR test and measurement facilities and outreach programs to businesses, and to meet CCMR’s Ithaca-based staff. The meeting will feature a keynote presentation on Technology and Applications of Green Composite Materials by Center Professor Anil Netravali, plus details on CCMR’s innovative small business outreach program, including their April Facilities 101 course, and JumpStart program that helps small businesses start collaborative projects with Cornell faculty members.
“This is an ideal opportunity for small companies that do not have R&D capabilities,” states HVTDC’s Phillips, “to access a notably accomplished group of materials experts and a broad variety of materials synthesis and characterization equipment. Cornell University is one of our nation’s most respected research institutions. By partnering the resources and technologies of our resource center with their Small Business Outreach Program, collaboratively we can offer businesses in Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Sullivan and Westchester Counties unparalleled opportunities to address materials-related cost and productivity issues by accessing cutting-edge materials research available at Cornell.” HVTDC Field Engineer, Robert Stein, explains, “By adding the world-class capabilities and equipment of Cornell University to the our own efforts to assist small businesses, we can notably enhance the competitiveness of companies that work with us.”
The CCMR facilities available to small businesses range from Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to MALDI Mass Spectrometry and X-Ray Diffraction equipment to Scanning Electron Microsope (SEM), and more. These instruments can provide a company with greater understanding of its materials and solve process issues. Each sophisticated piece of equipment is maintained by CCMR’s expert staff who can assist and train company employees to determine answer to their materials and process questions and interpret the results. CCMR’s experts can perform the work for a company and/or train that company’s staff to use the equipment effectively. “This is a win/win situation for most small businesses,” states Phillips. “Exposure to the expertise offered by such an elite institution as Cornell University can innately help a company build a network of contacts that may also be conducting research relevant to that company’s next generation of products.”
CCMR is part of the U.S. network of 30 centers for Materials Research funded by the National Science Foundation. Its mission is to advance, explore, and exploit the forefront of the science and engineering of advanced materials. The unifying theme of its research is the study of materials purposefully structured at the nanoscale (near atomic dimensions). Its aim is to be a world leader in the design, control, and understanding of the behavior of both crystalline and disordered nano-materials. This objective is pursued through fundamental experimental and theoretical studies of the assembly and processing of nano-materials and of their resulting behavior.
Due to space limitations, reservations are required for the March 22nd CCMR Industrial Outreach Program presentation hosted by the HVTDC. Reservations should be made by contacting Phyllis Levine, HVTDC Marketing Manager, at 845-896-6934 x3001 or via email to plevine@hvtdc.org. Deadline for reservations is March 13th.