Alain E. Kaloyeros

Alain E. Kaloyeros
Name	Alain E. Kaloyeros
Birth date	1956
Birth place	Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Known for	Founding president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute; Buffalo Billion; corruption conviction
Occupation	Academic, administrator

Alain E. Kaloyeros. He is an American academic and former university administrator best known for founding and leading the SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany. His career was defined by ambitious initiatives in nanotechnology and economic development for Upstate New York, most notably the Buffalo Billion program. His tenure ended with his 2018 federal conviction on corruption charges related to the bid-rigging of state contracts, a case that was part of a broader political corruption scandal involving associates of former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Early life and education

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he immigrated to the United States for his higher education. He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. He then pursued graduate studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he received his Ph.D. in experimental solid-state physics. His academic work focused on materials science, laying the foundation for his future career in advanced technology research and development.

Career at SUNY Polytechnic Institute

In the late 1980s, he joined the University at Albany as a faculty member in physics. Recognizing the potential of emerging semiconductor and nanotechnology research, he became the driving force behind creating what was initially known as the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Under his leadership, this entity evolved into the standalone SUNY Polytechnic Institute, with campuses in Albany and Utica. He served as its president, overseeing significant growth and attracting major corporate partners like IBM, GlobalFoundries, Tokyo Electron, and Applied Materials to establish research facilities in New York.

Nanotechnology initiatives and economic development

He was a central architect of New York State's strategy to become a global hub for high-tech research and manufacturing. His most prominent project was the Buffalo Billion economic revitalization program, which aimed to transform the Buffalo region. Key initiatives included the development of the RiverBend facility in Buffalo for SolarCity (a subsidiary of Tesla) and the construction of the Computer Chip Commercialization Center at the Albany NanoTech Complex. These efforts were supported by state funding and tax incentives orchestrated through Empire State Development and were championed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Federal and state corruption charges

In 2016, he was charged in a federal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, and in a separate state complaint by the New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman. The indictments alleged he conspired with executives from COR Development and LPCiminelli to rig the bidding process for state contracts associated with the Buffalo Billion and other projects in Syracuse. The charges included wire fraud and conspiracy, alleging the schemes benefited certain developers with ties to the Cuomo administration.

Conviction and legal proceedings

Following a trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a jury convicted him in July 2018 on all counts. The prosecution presented evidence showing he manipulated request-for-proposal guidelines to favor preselected companies. In 2019, he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in federal prison. His conviction was part of a wider series of trials that also involved Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Andrew Cuomo, and executives from the development firms.

Post-conviction developments

He began serving his sentence at a federal prison in Pennsylvania. However, in 2021, his conviction was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The appellate court ruled that the trial judge's jury instructions were erroneous regarding federal honest-services fraud law. Following this decision, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan declined to retry the case. All federal charges against him were dismissed in 2022, though the related state charges had been previously dropped. The dismissal marked the end of the major legal proceedings against him.

Category:American academics Category:American convicts Category:People convicted of corruption Category:SUNY Polytechnic Institute