President Barack Obama is scheduled to discuss emerging innovations at a nanotechnology facility in upstate New York today.  He will be joined by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Nanotechnology involves the tiniest, atom-sized work.  The miniscule lab research involves a big budget, though, and the U.S. has invested $3.7 billion for a National Nanotechnology Initiative.  The payoff could be large however, with potential breakthroughs in advanced nanotechnology leading to more efficient semi-conductors, solar panels, and computer microchips.

To further promote America's fledgling nanotechnology sector, the president will visit a $14 billion, 800,000-square-foot R&D facility at the University at Albany.  A number of high-tech firms, including GlobalFoundries, Intel Corp., IBM Corp., and Applied Materials Inc., have conducted research at the Albany lab.

Breakthroughs in nanotechnology applications could lead to new products in aerospace, electronics, and medicine.  The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) has consistenty urged a rebuilding of innovation in such key high-tech areas. 

Some specific recommendations from AAM have included:

-Making permanent the research and development tax credit and using it to incentivize commercialization and production in the U.S.;
-Focusing federal investments in new technology and workforce training on promoting regional clusters of innovation, learning, and production.

Since nanotechnology developments could offer key breakthroughs for the 21st Cenury economy, let's hope that any U.S. research can lead to products that will be "made in America."

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