John F. Elter, a former Kodak executive, has been appointed a professor of nanoengineering and as executive director of the Center for Sustainable Ecosystem Nanotechnologies at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany. The center will provide design and analysis, pilot prototyping and proof of concept to enable advanced systems and structures for integration within renewable energy technologies including fuel cells, solar energy, hydrogen, biofuels, wind and hydropower. The research will complement CNSE’s Energy and Environmental Technology Applications Center  for commercialization of alternative energy technologies. Since 2001, Elter was responsible for a variety of activities in fuel cell technology and product development at Plug Power, based in Latham, N.Y. Previously, he worked at Eastman Kodak as vice president and chief technology officer of its former professional division. Before that, he spent more than 30 years at Xerox Corp. He has a bachelor's degree from Purdue University, where he was named Outstanding Mechanical Engineer for 2007, a master's in mechanical engineering from New York University and a PhD in mechanical and aerospace sciences from the University of Rochester, where he has been recognized as a distinguished alumnus. He is director of the National Hydrogen Association, a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a member of the ASME Foundation and Industry Advisory Boards, and a member of the Electrochemical Society and International Society of Industrial Ecology.