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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 23, 2004

SCHUMER VISITS NEW ROME AIR FORCE RESEARCH LAB FOR RIBBON CUTTING AND BUILDING DEDICATION CEREMONY

In 2000, Schumer and Rep. Boehlert obtained $12 million in federal funds for new facility at Rome Labs

New lab will allow Rome Labs to consolidate research activities and help researchers collaborate more easily to make operations more efficient

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today attended the building dedication ceremony for the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Information Directorate Laboratory Complex at the Rome Air force Research Lab. Schumer and Congressman Boehlert secured $12 million in federal funds for the lab's new facility in 2000 and pushed through legislation that enabled New York State and Governor Pataki to match the federal funds with $12 million for the new building.

"This is something we've worked long and hard for," Schumer said. "Rome Labs is really beginning to live up to its promise – not only in aiding our nation's defense but in creating private sector jobs as well."

Schumer said that the new facility will allow the Rome AFRL to consolidate research activities related to a number of information technology projects in order to make operations more efficient, and will allow researchers to more easily collaborate on innovative technologies. The 105,000 square foot building will house 300 government employees and contractors, a technical library, a common research lab, auditoriums and conference room space.

The Rome Research Site operations consist of more than 800 military and civilian employees and are the Air Force's center of expertise for research and development of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence (C4I) and related surveillance technologies. Work is conducted across a broad spectrum of information technologies in areas such as information fusion, communications, collaborative engineering environments, modeling and simulation, high performance computing, distributed computing, defensive information warfare, intelligence information systems, surveillance and photonics.

Schumer also attended the groundbreaking of the Air Force's Rome Consolidated Intelligence and Reconnaissance Laboratory (CIRL) in November of 2000.

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