Binghamton University Professor M. Stanley Whittingham recently won a Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work with lithium ion batteries.

Whittingham is now taking on a very important role: He's been chosen to expand the state's electric vehicle industry.

The goal is reduce carbon emissions by relying more on electricity, and he says that starts with converting fleet vehicles. 

"The easiest vehicles to convert from internal combustion to electric are fleet vehicles, whether the state can take initiative to start converting hundreds of vehicles to electric, convert all the buses to electric," Whittingham said.

Binghamton is already leading the way with electric transit. Whittingham says they have the highest proportion of electric buses in the country.