NYSTAR director: CU in line for more funding

Kathryn Boor, second from left, associate professor of food science, describes the development of molecular diagnostic strategies for ensuring the quality and safety of dairy foods, to, from left, Roland W. Schmitt, chair of the NYSTAR executive council; Henrik N. Dullea, Cornell vice president for university relations; and Russell W. Bessette, executive director of NYSTAR, while Kyle Sasahara, Cornell postdoctoral research associate, right, gives a demonstration in Stocking Hall May 30. Charles Harrington/University Photography

Russell W. Bessette, executive director of the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), said Cornell is likely to receive greater state funding due to the university's role as a hub for new high-tech inventions and innovative technologies.

Bessette was visiting Cornell May 30 with other NYSTAR officials for discussions with Cornell administrators and scientists and CEOs of high-tech firms. The visit included a tour of several of the university's research facilities. Accompanying Bessette were Roland W. Schmitt, chair of the NYSTAR advisory council, and Lisa Damiani, NYSTAR deputy director. The three met with Cornell officials, including President Hunter Rawlings and Vice Provost for Research Robert C. Richardson, and toured facilities with Vice President for University Relations Henrik N. Dullea.

NYSTAR is charged with helping the state promote economic development by expanding the state's position in funding research at public and private universities and promoting scientific and commercial collaboration. The state's 2000-01 budget includes $120 million for NYSTAR programs, and, Bessette told the Ithaca Journal, Cornell is a "very eligible candidate" for a piece of those funds when its researchers bid for them in the fall. He noted Cornell's impressive research record in its Center for Advanced Technology in Biotechnology -- one of 14 state Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs) that NYSTAR funds.

Ninety-five million dollars of NYSTAR's funds will go to the capital facilities program to support the construction and/or reconstruction of research and development facilities at CAT institutions and State University of New York centers. Ten million dollars will provide additional grants to designated CATs to enhance and expand activities; $7.5 millionwill provide grants to colleges and universities to attract and retain research faculty; and $5 million will support efforts of colleges and universities to commercialize high-tech innovations.

The state is stepping up its role in creating university and business partnerships, partially mandated by Gov. George Pataki's Jobs 2000 Act, which created NYSTAR in 1999. NYSTAR's predecessor, the Office for Science and Technology, had a $20 million budget while NYSTAR had a $200 million budget its first year, Bessette said.

On May 17, at a conference in Saratoga Springs titled "The Genomics Revolution: Implications for New York State," Rawlings presented a check to the state (accepted by Bessette and Carole E. Stone, acting state budget director) for $452,786.91 as a return on the state's investment in Cornell research. Dullea noted that one Cornell project in particular that helped to boost the figure on the royalty check was "Rice Actin Gene Promoter" -- a gene introduced into cereal crops to promote yield and enhance insect resistance.