Officials announce the collaboration

BEACON – With both the environment and economic development in mind, the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries and Clarkson University announced their official partnership Thursday afternoon in developing real-time water monitoring and observation technologies.

The collaboration also includes IBM, which previously teamed with Beacon Institute in 2007 in the genesis of the River and Estuary Observation Network, a first-of-its-kind cadre of monitoring platforms. IBM also takes in more Clarkson grads than any other company. According to Dr. Anthony Collins, president of Clarkson University, this alliance will innovate on a global level.

"A couple of weeks ago there was a delegation from China that came here to look at this creative technology. In two weeks’ time, South Korea will be here. They're making a $20 billion investment in real-time water quality monitoring, and they're coming right here," said Collins, who also co-chairs the North Country Regional Economic Development Council.

Lt. Governor Robert Duffy called it a "marriage between two research giants” with long histories.

“This is a perfect example of a project that will focus on our environmental strengths with our rivers to look at helping us make better policy decisions in the future to preserve the beauty and strength of our waterways,” he said. “Good development means enhancing our resources, not taking away from them."

Clarkson University's resources allow Beacon Institute to commercialize present and future REON technology for global use, which will put them on the cutting edge in the years to come, said Beacon Institute Chairman Brian Ruder.

"Water is essentially becoming the new oil. Water is going to be the rarest and most important human resource in decades ahead," said Ruder.

He said with the technology and a data management system from IBM, they have truly a silver bullet unlike any in our industry."

Being able to value and monetize their intellectual property, he said, will lead to significant and sustainable job creation.

John Cronin led the expert commission created in 2000 by Governor George Pataki to establish a one-of-a-kind research and education institute dedicated to the study of rivers and estuaries worldwide, which became the Beacon Institute in 2003.

"New York State could be the water innovation capital of the world," said Cronin. "We've got the skill; we've got the experts; we've certainly got the water. We can do things here that no one has ever done before."

Cronin cited a United Nations study that claimed in 30 years, the demand for water is going to exceed supply by 30 percent.

"Every smart company in the world is pinning its hope for economic expansion on where the water is, and not just where the water is: who is managing it smartly, who knows its condition, who knows its flow, who knows where it is and when," he said.