NY CREATES ANNOUNCES DOUGLAS A. GROSE APPOINTED CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering and Science (NY CREATES) today announced the appointment of Dr. Douglas A. Grose, as Chair of the Board of Directors. Dr. Grose replaces Dr. Bahgat G. Sammakia, Distinguished Professor and Vice President for Research at Binghamton University, who held the position since its inception in December 2019.

Dr. Grose’s new role coincides with his retirement as President at NY CREATES, following a career spanning decades in semiconductors and advanced microelectronics. During this transition, the search for a president will begin immediately.

“While the decision to retire is a difficult one, I am proud of the work we’ve done to grow our organization and look forward to remaining involved during this exciting time for our industry,” said Douglas Grose, Ph.D. “During the past three years, NY CREATES has worked closely with our partners to successfully innovate and accelerate technologies and generate economic opportunities in New York, reaching a number of milestones, strengthening our R&D partnerships, and facilitating multiple economic development initiatives across the state. We are thankful to Bahgat for his leadership and guidance during the formation of NY CREATES, and he has continued to be an integral member of the team throughout his time as chair.”

“I’m grateful to have worked with an array of smart and innovative people around New York State during my time with NY CREATES,” said Bahgat Sammakia, Ph.D. “I remain committed to advancing research that has a transformational impact on society, and I look forward to supporting meaningful R&D initiatives in my capacity as Vice President for Research at Binghamton University.”

During Dr. Grose and Dr. Sammakia’s tenure as President and Chair, respectively, of NY CREATES, the organization was formally established and assumed management of the Albany Nanotech Complex, the most advanced, publicly-owned 300mm wafer R&D facility in the United States and one of the most advanced sites in the world. Under their leadership, the organization has achieved stability, grown its footprint within the semiconductor and emerging technologies industries, and established major new partnerships, including with IBM, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron (TEL), and Cree | Wolfspeed, which is building the world’s first 200mm silicon carbide power electronics chip facility in Marcy, NY.  In addition to the many R&D partnerships, NY CREATES also helped to drive several successful New York economic development initiatives, including Danfoss Silicon Power expanding to the Quad-C facility in Utica; Norsk Titanium establishing operations in Plattsburgh; NexGen Power Systems in Dewitt; Athenex to Dunkirk; and many other impactful programs.

Dr. Sammakia’s decision to step down from the board has no impact on his roles at Binghamton University.

Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President & CEO-designate Eric Gertler said, “Doug Grose has brought leadership, integrity and a mastery of the semiconductor industry to NY CREATES and ESD is grateful for the productive partnership we have built growing high-tech manufacturing and R & D in New York State. Under Doug’s guidance, we have attracted and retained industry leaders such as Cree, TEL, Applied Materials, IBM and others to the state and we are very fortunate that Doug will be remaining in a leadership role on the NY CREATES Board.  Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Bahgat Sammakia for his dedication and knowledge as the inaugural Board Chair of NY CREATES and I wish him well on his future endeavors.”

Larry Smith, President of Tokyo Electron US Holdings said, “All of us at TEL appreciate Doug’s many contributions to the semiconductor industry, especially his steady leadership which allowed the NY CREATES ecosystem to continue its pursuit of world-class technology development. We value the deep partnership between NY CREATES and TEL, and we look forward to working closely with Doug and his team in his new role as Chairman of the NY CREATES Board of Directors.”

Mukesh Khare, Vice President of Hybrid Cloud, IBM Research said, “On behalf of IBM, we thank Dr. Grose for his transformational leadership as president of NY CREATES, and congratulate him on becoming the next Chair of the Board of Directors. During his tenure, IBM and NY CREATES launched a multi-billion dollar AI hardware center in Albany, NY, which has become a hub for innovation in the U.S. and around the world. We look forward to continuing our partnership with him and NY CREATES to grow and accelerate the semiconductor ecosystem in Albany.” 

Dr. Om Nalamasu, SVP and CTO, Applied Materials, Inc. and President, Applied Ventures, LLC said, “We thank Doug for his many contributions to the semiconductor ecosystem and we especially appreciate his leadership in helping drive our partnership with NY CREATES and Empire State Development to establish Applied’s META Center in Upstate New York.  We look forward to working with Doug in his new role to further build on our collaboration with NY CREATES and New York State.”

Dr. Tod A. Laursen, SUNY Poly Acting President and Chair of the AIM Photonics Leadership Council said, “On behalf of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, as well as the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics, I am thankful for the service of both Drs. Grose and Sammakia, who helped NY CREATES navigate fast-changing global circumstances while continuing to foster critical high-tech partnerships to support workforce and public-private research opportunities across New York State.”

Harvey Stenger, President of Binghamton University said, “Bahgat Sammakia’s leadership and work ethic have enabled him to contribute to many significant projects as a researcher and as an administrator during the past several years. I appreciate his efforts to bolster entrepreneurship across New York through his work with NY CREATES, and I know he’ll continue to make a difference as an educator, inventor and researcher.”

About NY CREATES

NY CREATES serves as New York’s bridge to the advanced electronics industry. As the primary resource for fostering public-private and academic partnerships in New York State, NY CREATES attracts and leads industry connected innovation and commercialization projects that secure significant investment, advance R&D in emerging technologies, and generate the jobs of tomorrow. NY CREATES runs some of the most advanced facilities in the world, boasts more than 2,700 industry experts and faculty, and manages public and private investments of more than $20 billion – placing it at the global epicenter of high-tech innovation and commercialization.

Learn more at www.ny-creates.org.

###