Capital Region's potential for growth draws praise  John Kelly III, head of research for IBM Corp., is very bullish on the Capital Region. Kelly made that clear Thursday at the for Economic Growth's 12th annual technology awards luncheon, where he talked about the investments IBM has made in the area, and what impact they will have on the local economy.

Biotech Center for Kennedy Square  The vast and vacant Kennedy Square apartment complex will come down, possibly by this summer, to make way for a $30 million to $40 million biotechnical research center, classrooms and research space, state officials announced last Wednesday. SUNY Upstate Medical University is taking over ownership of the property. The research center will cover four of the site's 14 acres, and Upstate will seek proposals from private developers to create commercial projects and student residences on the other 10 acres, Upstate President Dr. David Smith said.

New York's tech industry totals 301,500 jobs  New York State remained the third largest cyberstate employing 301,500 with a total payroll of $24.4 billion. New York's high-tech industry experienced a net gain of 1,600 jobs in 2006, the most current state data available. Venture capital investments in New York totaled $1.2 billion in 2007, ranking the state 5th nationwide by this metric. New York saw growth in several sectors including computer systems design and related services (+4,500 jobs) and engineering services (+700 jobs). New York is also hub for the photonics industry, ranking first in the nation with more photonics workers than California, 8,500 compared to 7,400.

NIST and UAlbany NanoCollege sign partnership agreement  U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced a landmark agreement that will create the first-ever partnership between the federal government and University of Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) that will bring federal research expertise and resources to the nanoscale campus.

NSF Finds S&E Unemployment Rate Dipped to 2.5 percent in 2006  Regional and industry cries of a highly skilled worker shortage, particularly for scientists and engineers appear well grounded based on a recent InfoBrief from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Foundation reports in 2006, the unemployment rate for scientists and engineers in the U.S. fell to 2.5 percent. Decreasing from 3.2 percent in 2003, the figure is the lowest unemployment rate measured since the early 1990s using the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System, NSF reports.