Just a few weeks ago, Governor Cuomo announced a $4.4 billion high tech investment, a deal with five companies that should create or retain about 6,900 jobs in the field. Our Erin Connolly has more on how Albany's nanotech complex is helping prepare students for the growing number of careers in nanotechnology.

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- It was a day of learning about nanotechnology for these middle and high school students from across the state. They got a firsthand look at emerging careers in the field at UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Luke Randazzo, a junior at Coxsackie-Athens High School, said, "It's great because it's such an advanced company and college now that's so involved with UAlbany so we can go in here and get behind the scenes looks students wouldn't normally see and now see it first hand with all these professionals around us."

The NanoCareer Day program allowed students to participate in a number of activities to learn about DNA fingerprinting, separating cancer cells and entering a clean room. The day also had many students thinking about their futures.

Randazzo said, "This is exactly the career I want to go into, especially software development and maintaining ships and applying different technologies that are advancing so fast."

Ashley Bowman, a senior at Coxsackie-Athens High School, said, "I thought it was extremely interesting. I love the whole field, but it's not what I want to do, but I love all the new technology and how much effort is being put into it."

And the students here weren't just excited to learn about nanotechnology, but also they were excited to learn that there are job openings in this field.

Stephen Stewart, an instructional support technician at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, said, "It shows them science is fun. They can learn it. There are jobs available for them in the region so they don't have to travel all over the planet to find a decent job."

Randazzo said, "New jobs up here is great and with the facility going up in Malta now and that's creating more jobs. Albany is becoming this tech hub almost of new technology."

And that fact puts New York on the fast track for growth, despite these difficult times.