STEM POWERED GROWTH
Tonko visits local factories
Throughout the week, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, is shining a spotlight on the Capital Region’s growing economy powered by STEM innovation and clean energy technology, with visits to local facilities.
Tonko kicked off his tour by visiting and touring Actasys in Watervliet on Tuesday, recipient of a NASA $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant for the proposal titled, “Active Flow Control System for Commercial Aircraft Using Synthetic Jet, Aerodynamic Efficiency-Active Flow Control Actuators and Design Tools”.
Actasys has its roots in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the co-founders, Prof. Miki Amitay and Dr. David Menicovich, are specialists in the application of the principles of ‘Active Flow Control’ - the manipulation of air flows using active systems.
Officials said that Actasys focuses on the development and commercialization of a groundbreaking technology coming from the aerospace industry to improve the aerodynamic performance of ground vehicles.
On Tuesday, Tonko said that he wanted to visit these types of facilities so that he could get first-hand information about the work they do and how he could possibly help them receive more federal funding.
“I think that the competition internationally is very, very sound and very robust and for us to compete in a global economy, in an innovation economy, we need to make certain that we have workforce development programming to train and retrain folks,” said Tonko. “We need research committing our federal resources to shave some of the risk associated with research, it’s important to develop these policies and to get firsthand information in talking to the whole center here….. These are important developments that keep us great and make us even greater as a nation and make us very competitive.”
Tonko, who graduated from Clarkson University with a degree in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, said that he enjoyed his visit to the Watervliet facility.
“You learn that the applied research that would take us to better outcomes, safer outcomes, more efficient outcomes , more financially wise outcomes begins in center’s like [Actasys], “said Tonko after his tour.
Amitay, who is also an RPI Professor and Director of RPI Center for Flow Physics and Control said that he was glad that Tonko took the time out of his busy schedule to visit their facility.
“This is great, I mean he’s an engineer and that makes a huge difference, he really understands the technology and how engineering can help develop technologies that can be used for green energy or reducing CO2, which I know he is pushing very hard for,” said Amitay after the visit with Tonko. “..... Having exposure to politicians that then can go and maybe change something [is great] and also what he said which was really encouraging, that [he’s] trying to find a way to bridge the gap between academia industry by having government funding to bridge that, that’s huge.”