NY Creates Receives Capital Region Chamber ChangeMaker Award

Image courtesy of the TImes Union

NY Creates was honored to be recognized as a 2026 ChangeMaker at the Capital Region Chamber’s Annual Dinner, held at the Albany Capital Center. Creates President & CEO Dave Anderson accepted the award on behalf of the organization, joining more than 1,100 business and civic leaders for an evening focused on connection, community, and regional progress.

The ChangeMaker Award celebrates organizations driving measurable economic impact across the Capital Region. As a leader in semiconductor R&D, Creates is proud to help advance a collaborative innovation ecosystem, fueling next‑generation technologies, strengthening the workforce pipeline, and supporting economic advancement in the region, across the state, the U.S., and beyond.

A big thank‑you to the Chamber for this recognition, and to all our partners, and especially our Creates team members – who help make this work possible. 

Learn more about the impact we’re making at the Albany NanoTech Complex and watch the video HERE.

Creates featured in JETRO, RISE-A Memorandum of Cooperation News Release

Susumu Kataoka, President of JETRO; Kazunori Yamashita, Vice Chairperson of RISE-A
Susumu Kataoka, President of JETRO; Kazunori Yamashita, Vice Chairperson of RISE-A
From left: Susumu Kataoka, President of JETRO; Kazunori Yamashita, Vice Chairperson of RISE-A

“Convening organizations to pursue shared goals is critical to advancing the semiconductor industry. We believe our valued partners’ collaboration will advance economic goals and further strengthen the ties between the thriving American and Japanese semiconductor ecosystems. NY Creates looks forward to continuing our close work together to create new opportunities for innovation, knowledge exchange, and workforce development. Together, we are building semiconductor ecosystems for joint research initiatives and industry engagement that will help accelerate cooperative R&D projects and reinforce the global partnerships that are essential for driving new leading-edge technologies in New York, the U.S., Japan, and beyond.”

– Dave Anderson, NY Creates President and CEO.

JETRO

Mar 19, 2026

Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) (Chairman: Norihiko Ishiguro, Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan) and RISE-A, the community/platform for semiconductor stakeholders, mainly established by Mitsui Fudosan with volunteers related to semiconductors.(President: Hiroshi Amano, Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan), concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation on March 19, 2026…

Comments:
Susumu Kataoka, President, JETRO

Promoting Japan’s strengths and attractiveness in the semiconductor sector to global audiences, establishing platforms that support domestic and international collaboration, and bridging Japan’s regional semiconductor ecosystems all require strong cooperation among industry-academia government. JETRO has long supported the overseas expansion of Japanese companies, the entry of foreign companies into Japan, and collaboration between Japanese and foreign firms, leveraging its network of more than 70 overseas offices and approximately 50 domestic offices.

We also work to strengthen our support and contribute to the development of Japan’s regional semiconductor ecosystems through partnerships with overseas research institutions, including the U.S.-based semiconductor R&D organization NY Creates.

Through our collaboration with RISE-A, we aim to utilize the organization’s extensive networks among Japanese semiconductor-related companies and academic institutions to contribute to strengthening semiconductor supply chains, advancing next-generation technologies, and promoting the circulation of capital and human resources.

Kazunori Yamashita, Vice Chairperson, RISE-A

RISE-A provides a platform where semiconductor suppliers, users, and supporters—such as government agencies and universities—can collaborate to overcome challenges facing the semiconductor industry and rapidly generate new value. Our goal is to contribute to revitalizing Japan’s semiconductor industry and establishing strong industrial capabilities.

RISE-A has concluded cooperation agreements with NY Creates (U.S.), imec (Belgium), the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan, AIST Solutions (Japan), and OpenSUSI (Japan) to support industrial development. We are delighted to welcome JETRO as a new partner.

We will leverage the networks and expertise of our partner organizations to plan and develop new events and programs, provide advice to member companies, support networking, and contribute to the formation of an ecosystem in which diverse industry players can participate.

Creates’ Education and Workforce Development Coordinator Meredith O’Connell Selected to City & State’s ’40 Under 40′

Congratulations Meredith O'Connell Image
Congratulations Meredith O'Connell Image

Photo courtesy of Siobhan Mullan, City & State

City & State

“At the Center for Economic Growth, O’Connell has managed 45 apprentices, developed a nanotechnology engineering technician apprenticeship program and worked with partners in semiconductor manufacturing. It’s really cool what’s being created in the Capital Region and just how far it’s sent across the United States and even internationally,” she says.

This year, O’Connell started a new role at NY Creates, a research and development innovation hub, partnering with workforce development employers.

NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex Highlighted in IBM & Lam Research Collaboration Announcement

3D Rendering of Albany NanoTech Complex

NY Creates’ world-class R&D infrastructure continues to play a vital role in advancing next-generation semiconductor innovations. In a recent press release, IBM and Lam Research announced a new collaboration aimed at developing novel materials, advanced fabrication processes, and new High NA EUV lithography processes to support sub-1nm logic scaling that will leverage IBM’s advanced research capabilities located at the NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex.

Read more here: IBM and Lam Research Announce Collaboration to Advance Sub-1nm Logic Scaling

News Coverage:

Expanding Cleanroom Education Through AR/VR: Inside NORDTECH-Supported Innovative Workforce Offering

As investment in domestic semiconductor research, prototyping, and manufacturing expands, the demand for a highly skilled technical workforce has never been greater. The Semiconductor Industry Association projects 67,000 unfilled U.S. semiconductor jobs by 2030, a number that doubles when factoring in supply chain roles. To meet this challenge, the NORDTECH Hub is deploying a powerful suite of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) cleanroom training resources that expand access, reduce barriers, and modernize how engineers, technicians, and students learn about semiconductor fabrication.

In addition, as the owner and operator of the nation’s largest and most advanced 300mm semiconductor R&D facility, NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex is in a unique position to offer targeted 300mm Prototyping Fab Facility Microelectronics education. Learners are participating in workforce training at Creates, including AR/VR based training, so that they can be immersed in cutting-edge nanoscale engineering labs and cleanrooms. By interacting with 300mm wafer processing engineering and operations staff engaged in groundbreaking research, students discover diverse career opportunities in the semiconductor industry.

Read more HERE

First Look Tour of NY Creates’ NanoFab Reflection Featured in Times Union

Image courtesy of Times Union

The Times Union just took a tour inside NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex, sharing how “A high-tech powerhouse takes shape in Albany.” The feature article, “First look inside Nanofab Reflection, a computer chip behemoth at Albany NanoTech,” spotlights NanoFab Reflection, our cutting-edge, four-story facility being built to house the world’s most advanced chipmaking tools, as part of Creates’ High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Center. With a massive cleanroom, cutting-edge EUV lithography capabilities, and construction powering toward “first light” later this year, the article captures how Creates is shaping the future of advanced semiconductors. 

“NY Creates President Dave Anderson told the Times Union during a sit-down interview in his office Wednesday that the building remains on schedule for the keys to be handed over by…the summer.”

 “…We have tools (components) coming in in the middle of April, and the ASML tool will actually be assembled on site over the course of several months, and right now, we’re still on course for what we call ‘first light,’” Anderson said. “We’re finishing the siding on the building, putting up the clean room walls. It’s really a lot of moving parts as you saw.”

Read more HERE [paywall]

Learn more about Creates High NA EUV Lithography Center here

Governor Hochul Celebrates Topping Out of NY Creates’ $1 Billion NanoFab Reflection