Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker traveled to Albany, N.Y. and Hartford, Conn. on the second leg of her nationwide listening tour. While in Albany, Secretary Pritzker met with senior leadership of SEMATECH and the New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE). SEMATECH is a consortium of leading semiconductor device, equipment, and materials manufacturers and university partners from around the globe working on collaborative research on computer chip technology. CNSE is part of the State College of New York (SUNY) system and is home to the world’s most advanced education, research, and economic development enterprise targeting nanoelectronics and nanotechnology innovations.

SEMATECH and CNSE are both models of how the public and private sectors can work together effectively, advancing innovation, industry collaboration and investment in the United States. Secretary Pritzker also toured and heard from the Commerce Department employees at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Forecast Office.

Secretary Pritzker ended the day in Connecticut, where she participated in a tour and roundtable discussion at APS Technology. APS Technology is a long time client and partner with the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Since 1993, the company has expanded from consulting services to developing, producing, and supplying proprietary tools for drilling operations. The company began exporting in 2003, and now exports account for more than 75 percent of its business. Earlier this year, the company earned the President’s “E” Award for exports, the highest recognition any U.S. entity may receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.

Secretary Pritzker believes it’s particularly important to connect with business and thought leaders early and often, both to hear their ideas on how government and the private sector can partner on strategic initiatives to grow business, and to promote the tremendous work the Department of Commerce does on behalf of U.S. companies. This trip and subsequent stops is part of Secretary Pritzker’s commitment to serve as a bridge to the business community–both domestically and abroad– so that the public and private sectors can work together to create jobs and opportunities for all Americans.