From enhancing the manufacturing processes for quantum components to developing new solutions for space exploration, New York’s academic and industrial collaborations are driving real progress in the field. These advancements are aimed not only at accelerating the development of quantum computers, but also at ensuring these technologies can seamlessly integrate with existing systems, benefit industries across sectors, and train the next generation of quantum computer scientists and space technology researchers.

Here’s a look at just some of the exciting work being done throughout the NYSTAR network:

Driving Quantum Tech Innovation

Researchers across the NYSTAR network are exploring ways to make it easier for companies to develop their quantum technologies and for those technologies to connect with each other.

Robust work is being done with qubits—the main building block for quantum computers. Producing qubits in larger quantities has been a challenge, so one of those projects is examining ways to make qubits on a larger silicon wafer, which would allow more qubits to be produced at once. This can introduce issues with the stability of the qubits, so researchers at Albany-based NY CREATES, with the help of new tools funded by the Center for Advanced Technology in Nanomaterials and Nanoelectronics (CATN2), are working on improving the process of making these qubits on larger wafers. The end goal is to provide this new technology to New York companies as they create their quantum circuits.

Down the I-90, the Rochester Institute of Technology was awarded $3.97 million from the Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH) to advance quantum chip technologies. The project is focused on making quantum systems stronger and more powerful by connecting them together using entangled photons (light particles).

Meanwhile, Dr. German Kolmakov, chair of the Physics department at New York City College of Technology, and Shaina Raklyar, a former doctoral student at the school, are developing a new technology called “quantum interconnect” that allows traditional internet connections to link up with quantum computers. After participating in the National Science Foundation I-Corps Hub through the NYC Innovation Hot Spot, they were able to develop a product from their technology, forming the company NextGen Quantum to help tech companies and data centers work faster and use less energy.

Building the Moon’s Infrastructure

The moon has long captured creative and scientific imagination, and New York State is helping to lead the way in the future of space exploration.

At Alfred University, the Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology (CACT) is a lead partner in the creation of the Space Materials Institute (SMI), currently working with Blue Star Manufacturing, a small materials-science company located in Allegany County, with ongoing NASA-funded programing. The project is creating new technology called “top-down microwave sintering” to heat and harden dust and rocks found on the moon. The technology is used to create strong surfaces, like durable landing pads, with resources found on the moon. Building essential infrastructure with material found on the moon will make it easier and cheaper to explore space.

At Brookhaven National Laboratory, another NASA-led project is underway. LuSEE-Night is a mission to land a sensitive radio spectrometer on the far side of the Moon, where the radio-quiet environment will enable searches for cosmic signals that are impossible to observe from Earth or Earth-orbiting satellites. Brookhaven Lab is responsible for several of the main electronic modules of the spectrometer, and in September completed the fabrication, testing, and delivery of the flight. The next steps will be to complete and test the onboard flight software, assemble the flight configuration, and begin the extensive environmental tests prior to integration with the spacecraft in preparation for the late-2025 launch.

Building the Next Gen Workforce

From bridging educational gaps to collegiate hackathons and the hiring of world-class faculty, New York is not only investing in technology development but is also helping students gain the skills and experience necessary to be the future leaders in the quantum and space technology fields.

The Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) co-founded the New York Consortium for Space Technology (NYCST), which focuses on driving growth in education, space technology, advanced manufacturing, and supply chain development. The consortium awarded $100,000 to the non-profit Science Buddies to develop hands-on explorations and career discovery activities for students in kindergarten through 12^th grade to support the STEM talent pipeline needed to grow the space industry workforce.

While the high school pipeline develops, the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) at Long Island’s New York Institute of Technology found that students who learned traditional and classic computer science skills needed an educational bridge to learn the different concepts and skills required for quantum computing. Based on the work of Shwetha Jayaraj, who created an end-to-end transitional program to quickly bring traditional computer scientists into the world of quantum computing for her thesis, ETIC launched a quantum training program for students and entrepreneurs, including an upcoming video seminar on its YouTube channel (@NYITETIC).

Putting skills into action, nearly 700 students across three campuses (NYU Tandon School of Engineering, City College of New York, and Columbia University) participated in the NYC HAQ Hackathon this past September. After completing a rigorous week of online training hosted by QWorld, 60 selected students formed 10 teams for the competition. During the opening weekend, held at City College and Columbia, participants tackled challenges in cryptography, finance, and health presented by SandboxAQ, qBraid, and DoraHacks, using quantum computing to address these problems. The event culminated at NYU Tandon with a final showcase where the winning team earned an all-expenses-paid invitation to the 2025 NYU Abu Dhabi Quantum Hackathon.

Meanwhile, New York-based universities continue to attract the best minds in the world. In October, Syracuse University announced that Dr. Alexander Maloney, an international leader in quantum information science, joined the College of Arts and Sciences as the inaugural Kathy and Stan Walters Endowed Professor of Quantum Science. At Syracuse, Maloney will work with four new researchers—now being recruited by the University with support from Invest Syracuse and Empire State Development—who will grow curricula and research in quantum science, providing opportunities for students to advance understanding of nature and design the next generation of quantum technologies. 

Creating More Efficient Infrastructures

Researchers and companies are utilizing quantum and space technologies to solve a variety of real-world challenges, including optimizing heating and cooling systems for buildings, integrating communication networks, and improving radar sensor technology.

A major source of both electricity usage and greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is HVAC systems for residential and commercial buildings. Researchers at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) developed a quantum computing method for model predictive control of a rooftop HVAC unit. Compared with traditional approaches, quantum computing solutions resulted in significant energy savings and reductions in electricity usage. The study was published in the academic journal Applied Energy in March 2023.

Following its acquisition of satellite TV provider DirecTV, AT&T wanted to explore if satellite dish receiver costs for subscribers could be reduced by using ground-based networks.

The Center for Advanced Technology in Telecommunications (CATT) worked with AT&T to quantify the savings using a novel approach that led to a patent. The work showed that a cost-efficient wireless framework for delivering live TV services—consisting of a mix of wireless access technologies—requires 75–90% fewer satellite dish receivers, compared to traditional structures.

The Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) Sensor CAT has been working with Astrabeam, LLC on a new type of radar sensor that works at a very high frequency which can be used for a variety of purposes involving wireless sensing such as weather monitoring from space satellites, industrial safety, building security and automation, in-vehicle passenger monitoring, and vital sign detection for healthcare. Astrabeam has been working with the CUNY-ASRC Sensor CAT program on several projects since 2023, including developing new material that helps improve the radar sensor’s performance and to creating a prototype of a CubeSat, a small satellite for space deployment.

Driving Industry Connections

Throughout the year, events across the state provide opportunities for researchers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and funders to meet. The introductions lead to collaborations and are a hallmark of the power of the NYSTAR network.

Seeqc is a Westchester-based quantum company which works with the Hudson Valley Venture Hub, exhibited and gave a talk at the Quantum for International (Q4I) Workshop at Griffiss Institute in June. Oleg A. Mukhanov, Seeqc CTO and company founder, presented at the event’s Quantum Alley and was invited to participate in international trade missions by Global NY.

August featured “Future of Air & Space,” produced by Upstate Capital, in partnership with GENIUS NY and the Griffiss Institute, to highlight innovation in uncrewed systems, dual-use and enabling technologies in Upstate New York. This annual event provides visibility and access to key Upstate New York assets to a national audience of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals active in aerospace, defense, uncrewed systems, robotics, and enabling technologies.

Thanks to the many NYSTAR centers, hotspots and incubators for submitting their success story. Click here to submit your stories to share with the NYSTAR network — we want to hear from you!

Behind the modern-day jobsite are companies like neARabl, a startup that was spun out of the City College of New York Visual Computing Research Laboratory. The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation through the Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) Program and the Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program, a partnership with Bentley Systems, Incorporated and a collaboration with Rutgers University and Lighthouse Guild.

The company has developed software that combines accurate indoor navigation with augmented reality resulting in more efficient project management.

The software also provides real-time updates to offsite stakeholders like project managers and building owners.

But this game-changing technology wasn’t meant for construction — at least not at the outset.

neARabl founders Jin Chen, Arber Ruci, and E’edresha Sturdivant knew they had a powerful technology application. Their precise indoor navigation solution brought real accuracy to indoor spaces — to within 1 centimeter — where traditional GPS systems were lacking.

At first, they saw their mobile application as a way to help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate indoor spaces. While the initial vision showed potential, there wasn’t any demand for the product to take off.

The company then pivoted to indoor navigation for first responders — a potentially life-saving application for its technology, enabling firefighters and paramedics to access, navigate, and ultimately, safely exit spaces that they have never been in before. Similarly, the founders learned that there wasn’t substantial demand in this sector, as safe building egress is a very small portion of first responders’ daily jobs.

Not to be discouraged, the company used the technology’s versatility to adapt to market needs, which were uncovered with the help of their partners in industry and innovation.

So neARabl began the process of transforming the infrastructure sector.

While taking part in the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps’ immersive seven-week program, the neARabl team interviewed 113 potential customers, discovering the market that most needed its technology was infrastructure.

The feedback they heard was that infrastructure professionals could use neARabl’s technology to visualize their digital twins on the ground, keep multiple stakeholders updated in real time, visualize workflows, and save significant money on physical signage at job sites by going digital. And the response was strong. Today, the company’s software is deployed on five job sites including in New York City, while preparing to launch its technology at job sites in the western United States as well as overseas.

Through the entire process, the company has leveraged the expertise and support of 13 different centers backed by NYSTAR — Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Ruci, the company’s CEO, had experience navigating the NYSTAR Innovation Network, having led the New York City Innovation Hot Spot for five years.

“I knew the rich resources that were available throughout the state and how committed New York and NYSTAR are to cultivating collaborative innovation,” Ruci said. “And it’s not just in New York City. We received support from the Western New York Incubator Network, the New York I-Corps Hub at CUNY and Central NY Biotech Accelerator at Upstate Medical University.

“Key for us as well was the New York State Science & Technology Law Center, which is based at Syracuse University. They helped us ensure our technology didn’t infringe on any other company’s intellectual property.”

With solid grounding from the NYSTAR ecosystem, neARabl has partnered with Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq : BSY) — an influential global infrastructure engineering software company. This partnership allows neARabl to adopt the iTwin Platform and earned the powered by iTwin designation, which serves as a channel enabler to a large ecosystem of architecture, engineering, and construction firms, developers, and Bentley partners building digital twins and the infrastructure metaverse.

“This partnership is a gigantic step towards establishing our imprint on the infrastructure market. As an academic spin-out, integrating with Bentley’s open-source digital twin technology was a no-brainer for many reasons,” Ruci said. “Where we found the most value was in familiarity and ease of use for our end-users — we launched as a mobile-first application to great initial early reviews of our mobile visualization, but soon enough we realized that our end users were much more comfortable editing and changing neARabl mobile content on an iTwin desktop/web interface. We quickly integrated the process and have been deploying it in some cool places.”

neARabl’s solutions have served diverse audiences including not only construction site managers but digital tourists, people with low vision, and metaverse enthusiasts. To find out more about the technology, visit nearabl.com.

In communities across New York State, some of the world’s brightest minds are pursuing groundbreaking and life-saving discoveries in partnership with research and innovation centers backed by NYSTAR, Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation. NYSTAR’s Profiles in Research series will share the stories of incredible researchers who are creating positive change and fueling technology-led economic growth statewide.

In his home country of France, Christophe Vallée went looking for a research activity for his doctorate program in physics and found himself facing a common decision – did he want to structure his research for a career in the academic world or for business? 

That’s when he learned about cold plasma, an emerging technology with vast potential in the semiconductor space. He became enchanted with the prospects of straddling both the university and industry worlds.

“I looked at doing some plasma research activity in France and thought it could be fun,” Vallée said. “It’s experimental research and I like to play with my hands as I try to play with my brain. So, I say it’s perfect for me. 

“What I liked about this research activity is that it’s related to the industry. So sometimes I can do very fundamental research with no application in mind. It’s just to understand something basic about the plasma. But sometimes I may have a project really connected with the industry and very important for industrial people. So we can learn together.”

The learning together continues in Albany, N.Y., as Vallée was named the first Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) Innovation Scientist at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, located at the most advanced publicly owned semiconductor research-and-development facility of its kind in the country. With additional support from the school’s Center for Advanced Technology in Nanomaterials and Nanoelectronics (CATN2), backed by NYSTAR, Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Vallée has been able to build out his research group, creating more opportunities for fundamental research and practical applications for industry partners.

“SUNY Poly is an ideal place for what I want to do. You have staff and faculty so you can do research activity, and at the same time you have industry using [your] research in real life for semiconductor devices,” Vallée said. “You have a direct connection between what you can do in research and what is used in industry.”

Vallée is also excited about giving meaningful experiences to the next generation of scientists and industry leaders — opportunities enhanced by the state-of-the-art facilities at SUNY Poly and CATN2.

“You can teach cold plasma everywhere in the U.S.,” he said. “I can give the same lecture anywhere. But everyone in the U.S. will not be able afterward to go to a clean room and use the 300-millimeter plasma process. That is the main difference. Here you can give training to students and then they can practice on real industry tools. So here it’s very different because you have a direct connection between fundamental research and industry.”

Vallée’s research looks at ways to use plasma deposition and etching to process semiconducting materials for use in the fabrication of electronics. To improve function and efficiency, the process of creating microchips has become more specialized and involved. 

Think about the evolution of cars. Gone are the days when you could take apart your car and fix it yourself. Aside from minor repairs, cars have become too advanced with computer circuitry. You need trained experts to work on your car. The same can be said for computers. Gone are the days of building a computer in your basement. The technology has gotten smaller and more complex.

And therefore, researchers and manufacturers need more specialized, and expensive, tools.

That’s where CATN2 and NYSTAR have stepped in, purchasing a 200-millimeter wafer tool for Vallée’s lab at SUNY-Poly. While Vallée and his graduate students have been able to use the 300-millimeter plasma tool at Tokyo Electron Limited for industry-level applications, their fundamental research using different conditions and materials calls for its own tool. 

“The [NYSTAR-backed center] has invested in the purchase of a 200-millimeter wafer tool, which allows for more freedom to try things that may not be authorized within the 300-millimeter line because you have to be very careful not to jeopardize other projects or processes being run on those industry tools,” said Michael Fancher, director of CATN2. “What Christophe is studying is a potential technology driver for the next generation of computer chips. It’s an enabling area of science that will have a broad impact not just on advanced computer chips but potentially on power electronics, sensors, and a variety of non-scale processes.”

The program and partnerships that brought Vallée to Albany — bringing together an industry partner, the university, and NSYTAR-funded centers — is something that Fancher and SUNY Poly are trying to replicate, making New York’s Capital Region an attractive destination for scientists to build out their research teams.

“We’re constantly trying to attract more companies to come to the region and there are companies interested in working with Christophe,” Fancher said. “Companies that build these tools have expressed interest in locating their tools in Albany because he’s here, but also because of all the other things that are going on at SUNY Poly and CATN2.”

Please tell us about CAMP and its mission.

CAMP was established in 1987 because of Clarkson’s very strong reputation and performance in particles, dispersions, and surface science, specifically chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). We’ve had four performance-based contract renewals as a CAT since then. We’re still engaged in CMP, but CAMP, in general, engages in research collaborations with New York companies ranging from startups to global manufacturers. We help them achieve their R&D goals, specifically around advanced materials design and processing. Our mission is to achieve excellence in applied research and provide manufacturers with the expertise to improve their products and materials performance—to solve manufacturing challenges while at the same time lowering costs and the risks involved.

It’s really about promoting economic development. We work throughout the state with MEP partners, economic development partners, innovation centers, and other NYSTAR-funded research institutions. Over the past decade, CAMP has helped New York State companies achieve $245 million in self-reported economic impact. We also help to create and retain jobs with the work that we do.

What do you do as Business Development Manager?

My role is to bring together the right university researcher with the company that needs that particular expertise. Once I’ve facilitated the meeting, my role becomes about stewarding the relationship. That is very critical because building these relationships takes a lot of time and a lot of nurturing. We work with companies of all sizes, and their needs vary greatly. You need to think about what the company needs and how you can help them over the next obstacle.

Very often, the cost is the biggest hurdle – and that is where we, as a NYSTAR-funded CAT, can provide a very significant advantage. We can apply NYSTAR matching funds, and we offer a very low overhead institutional rate for our collaboration. For those who really don’t have any money, we can help them with other things, such as grant applications or other resources, or a referral to NY MEP or another New York State asset. We are part of a network to help these companies succeed.

What do you like best about your job?

Truly, the most fascinating and satisfying aspect of this position is learning about the products. Learning how things are made and the research that goes into developing them is mind-blowing. I visit these manufacturing sites and I watch these processes and I often marvel at the knowledge, the capabilities, and the vision these companies have, and that Clarkson researchers have, in order to understand the problem, in order to improve, and innovate. Plus, the relentless determination and focus of these teams to make a successful collaboration is really inspiring.

These relationships are not one-offs. The most fun ones start off with “Can you do this?” and we say “Yes”, and then it comes to the point where they say “Wow, I didn’t think about this solution”. Then these relationships grow over time and all of a sudden you see this new energy. These ideas come to life, and that is the best.

Tell us about your background and what brought you to CAMP.

I call myself a global citizen. Nationality-wise and in terms of where I’ve lived, I’ve been all over the globe. My parents are Austrian, I lived in the Middle East for the first part of my life, and then I came to the U.S. and got married.

I first got into business development by working for the Austrian trade commission in New York City. I was studying at NYU and wanted to do something, so I worked helping Austrian companies promote their products in the U.S. I did that for 15 years.

Eventually, I became a corporate relations officer at RPI in Troy, New York. I helped companies provide students with scholarships and fund research labs for RPI faculty. That was where I got the first taste of what is possible in academia. During that time, I organized many corporate visits focused on technology transfer and technology road mapping, so I learned about the objectives and the perspectives that exist in industry-academic collaborations

When the job at CAMP opened up in 2015, I saw a great opportunity to work with New York State companies and facilitate collaborations with Clarkson researchers. Before joining RPI, I was Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Clarkson, so I already had a good idea of Clarkson’s research capabilities and its reputation. While working at CAMP, I became really interested in economic development. In 2017 I took a course with the International Economic Development Council, and I just loved it. So, I enrolled in the IEDC Economic Development program and took all of their courses. That provided some great insight into the challenges and needs of the companies I’m working with while also highlighting available resources and best practices to find solutions. I think that made me a more qualified professional to help these companies.

Why should manufacturers work with CAMP and what should they expect?

If companies need scientific or technical solutions that they are not set up to tackle in-house, or if their R&D department just wants to outsource them, a university-based research center like CAMP is an incredibly cost-effective solution. Because of our low overhead costs, plus the additional savings companies get through cost-sharing, those research projects really do become feasible. They become possible.

Also, engaging with experts at a research university brings a whole new level of creativity and a really innovative approach to finding solutions to research problems. That is really critical for discovery and innovation. If you work in a lab at a company, you may be driven but certainly, you have limitations such as budgets and time constraints. Our researchers are in the lab looking at all of these things and asking, “What if we did this? What if we did that?” Suddenly doors open up and it’s a luxury I don’t think most companies have. Working with universities where the research is conducted by students under the supervision of faculty is a great way to stoke the fire if you will.

It is also a way to scout future hires. The students are here 24/7, so they can really play around with these materials. They see things, they find things, and they report things. There is a great exchange between the students and the company. What better way to get to know a person you might want to hire who has the expertise you need because they are working on your product anyway? So, if a company has an ongoing collaboration with us, it is a veritable recruitment pipeline for qualified workers for years.

One thing that manufacturers must understand is the importance of managing expectations in working with universities. That is very critical. Universities are not run like businesses and industry must adapt to some academic idiosyncrasies. It has to do with student availability and student funding and all of that has to be managed by the principal investigator, or PI, and the whole work schedule has to be managed around the academic calendar. We are actually pretty good at this. Our faculty really do try to accommodate industry. We are also a smaller university so that makes it a bit easier for us to manage things. We just have to make it very clear that even with the deliverables we are ready to provide, we are still an educational institution. We are not a contract manufacturer. If you understand that, the value is great.

Can you share some examples of successful collaborations?

The most rewarding experiences have come from collaborations that really surprise our sponsors because of the ingenuity and the practical applicability. I remember some cases where companies called me and told me they were really frustrated. They had been looking for a solution to this problem for years and they didn’t think we could assist, but could we maybe help them? And in at least two of those cases, we came through. And that’s fantastic. It’s really fun because it puts a smile on everybody’s face.

Most of these research collaborations are hidden, they are buried, and you don’t see them. But part of the fun of the job is that once in a while there are things that hit close to home. One is a new project with Estée Lauder on Long Island. They are funding a project to develop advanced sunscreens that you don’t have to reapply over the course of the day because sunscreen normally degrades. One of our researchers at Clarkson who works with metal-organic frameworks came up with the technology solution. So, in the future, you may not have to remember to reapply it. Another is a product that is already on the market called XRCEL, a sports drink that includes smart microparticles developed at Clarkson that gradually deliver nutrients to athletes to increase performance. Those are really nice examples of applied research.

CAMP started with Chemical Mechanical Planarization. What is the status of that work?

The researchers here at Clarkson are very busy working with national and international companies to come up with new technologies that address the needs of the growing microelectronics market, so we are still in the middle of CMP work. I believe that with Clarkson’s capabilities in this area and the emerging research areas that are related to the use of CMP technologies, CAMP will continue to play a leading role in this area. It is a central part of our historical identity, and our future identity as well.

Give us a brief overview of CFES and its mission.
We work with companies ranging from startups to the Fortune 100 to collaborate on projects in areas such as wind energy, solar energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, and green hydrogen. One of the things we can do for New York State companies is cost-share a portion of their R&D project expenses using NYSTAR funds. If they come to us after receiving a grant from the Department of Energy or NYSERDA, we can use our cost-share to take the research a step further.

The other thing we can do is help companies acquire third-party funding, such as DOE or NYSERDA grants.

Since our inception in 2006, we have helped over 50 New York State companies, which collectively reported $93 million in economic impact from their collaborations with us. This would include increased revenue, cost savings, federal funds received, and capital raised. During this same period, these companies reported over 200 jobs created.

Why is this important to New York’s future?

We are in sync with New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which spells out ambitious goals, including 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040 and economy-wide, net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Now tell us about your role with CFES.
I came up with the phrase “opportunity broker.” There are funding opportunities for entrepreneurs and young companies with the DOE and NYSERDA and I marry those opportunities to industry partners. As I network and make contacts with different energy companies, I get to know what they do and what their technology is about, and when I see a relevant funding opportunity, I can direct it to a company that would then hopefully bring us in as a research collaborator on any award that they win.

I also broker faculty to industry. Sometimes a faculty member will say “Hey, I have this idea for a research project. Can you find a company in this segment?” Or I may have an industry partner looking for someone in faculty with the needed expertise.
Basically, I hook up funding with companies, funding with faculty, and companies with faculty.

Then at a more macro level, I am responsible for the promotion and marketing of the Center, including quite a few events. I meet a lot of companies through networking events – most are still virtual, but now in-person events are trending up. FuzeHub events, in particular, have been a great use of my time. In fact, CFES is partnering with FuzeHub to co-host the Green Energy and Sustainability Forum in April.

Tell us about your background. What brought you to CFES?
I am relatively new to academia and R&D. I spent 30 years in corporate America in sales, marketing, and product management. I started in sales with Johnson & Johnson and then received my MBA from Syracuse University. I majored in marketing and fell in love with product management and brand management and strategy. I left my sales career and went into marketing strategy in positions with Vermont Castings, Crane Papermakers, and Taconic Biosciences. I went from wood and gas stoves to stationery to transgenic mice. But the interesting thing is the principles of strategic planning and product management are all the same regardless of the product, so I was able to move across industries.
While I was doing that, for about 10 years I was an adjunct here at the Lally School of Management. That exposed me to the fact that there was business marketing and development being done in academia and I was attracted to make a move to that.

From a marketing perspective, what is the main obstacle to selling the public on clean energy?
I think the biggest challenge is that it requires behavioral change. It is not dissimilar to when you go into a drug store and reach for a certain brand of pain killer. You reach for it every time. For a consumer to decide to reach for a different brand, there needs to be a reason – a benefit to them. In the long run, I think it will come down to economic benefit.

What is your message to energy entrepreneurs who want to work with CFES?
I think some people can be intimidated by a large research university and the feeling that “Gee, I am just a startup in my garage” or “I’m not ready for commercialization” or “I don’t have a lot of dollars to spend on R&D.” I think the message I would want to send is how easy it is to initiate a potential collaboration with the university and, at CFES, it would be reaching out to me. We don’t work for free, but we have the cost-share, and we can connect you with funding opportunities. It may not be the right fit but you never know. Just make the contact.

Can you share some CFES success stories?
One would be a New York City company that worked with the Center and faculty member Dr. Theo Borca-Tasciuc to produce a conceptual prototype to assess the feasibility of a proposed micro-climate, solid-state HVAC system. Additionally, the company was able to conduct analysis around product-market fit, customer needs, and go-to-market strategy. The company received financial support from NYSERDA in the amount of $330,000 and used part of the funds to characterize the prototype at Borca-Tasciuc’s Nanoscale Thermophysics and Energy Conversion (NanoTEC) lab. With CFES cost-sharing, RPI was able to conduct a more thorough analysis of the prototype. The anticipated next steps are to develop and evaluate the performance of a full-scale prototype, validate the product benefits, and establish relationships with potential manufacturers.

Another would be a Brooklyn company whose technology cleans automotive sensors and cameras for transportation efficiency and the cooling of electric vehicle batteries. The company’s relationship with the Center, faculty member Dr. Miki Amitay, and the work completed at Rensselaer were instrumental in enabling the company to attract $5 million in seed funding led by a leading automotive manufacturer and additional support from NYSERDA. Technical contributions from the collaborative research effort advanced the development of the company’s synthetic jet module and improved understanding of synthetic jet placement in transportation and camera vision applications. The company has contracted with automotive OEMs and camera manufacturers to move the process to full-scale testing and sales.

Demand had already exceeded supply in the years before the pandemic, but the factory shutdowns and shipping disruptions that emerged as the coronavirus spread exacerbated the problem.

The current supply issues follow a significant drop in the U.S. share of semiconductor production over the last 30 years. While about 40% of semiconductors were manufactured in the U.S. in the 1990s, just 12% were produced domestically in 2020.

It’s a complex challenge with global and national implications — but New Yorkers don’t ignore challenges. They tackle them head-on — and New York State is ready for it.

Not only is New York home to major chip manufacturers like GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Wolfspeed, but the state has also built a robust, statewide network of innovation resources through NYSTAR, Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Among the most prominent New York-based assets serving the industry, the Albany NanoTech Complex is the most advanced, publicly owned, 300-millimeter semiconductor research facility in North America. Corporate partners collaborating at the site include IBM, Samsung, Intel, Applied Materials Inc., Tokyo Electron Limited, ASML, and Lam Research. New York State has also developed more shovel-ready sites for microchip factories than any other state in the U.S.

Recognizing the state’s powerhouse capabilities for the semiconductor industry, Governor Kathy Hochul recently called for New York State to be selected as the headquarters for the National Semiconductor Technology Center, which is one of the provisions within the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America, or CHIPS, Act. The governor’s Bloomberg Opinion essay – “America’s Microchip Resurgence Runs Through New York” – has brought national attention to New York’s readiness to lead the country out of the semiconductor crunch. The state has prepared for this moment, Governor Hochul explains, through decades of statewide investment, collaboration and development.

A Growing Innovation Ecosystem Attracting Talent and Companies to New York

NYSTAR oversees ongoing, annual investments into the state’s innovation infrastructure — which provides researchers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders with access to the support they need to solve challenges and keep growing. This network includes several university-based centers that are specifically focused on semiconductors and microelectronics, and their work is complemented by centers working in the interconnected field of photonics.

Over a dozen NYSTAR-funded centers in regions across New York State are driving innovation in the semiconductor, microelectronics, and photonics industries. They conduct their own research into emerging fields of thinking, partner with companies to drive breakthrough discoveries, and work with entrepreneurs to launch startups and commercialize new technologies.

Working collaboratively, this network of organizations has created an innovation ecosystem that nurtures the development of individual tech and manufacturing companies while growing the industries’ statewide economic impact. This ecosystem has made New York State a destination for talent, startups, and established firms that specialize in semiconductors, microelectronics, and photonics.

Accessing the NYSTAR Network of Innovation Resources

The state’s innovation infrastructure in the fields of semiconductors, microelectronics, and photonics includes:

• Center for Advanced Technology in Nanomaterials and Nanoelectronics (CATN2) at SUNY Polytechnic Institute
• Center for Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology (CENN) at SUNY Polytechnic Institute
• AIM Photonics
• Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences (CEIS) at University of Rochester
• Integrated Nanosystems Center at University of Rochester
• AMPrint (Additive Manufacturing and Multifunctional Printing) at Rochester Institute of Technology
• Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IECC) at Binghamton University
• FlexMed (Center for Flexible Hybrid Device Manufacturing) at Binghamton University
• Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility
• Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP) at Clarkson University
• Advanced Science Research Center – Sensor CAT (ASRC CAT) at the City University of New York

These centers, primarily based at universities, accelerate academic-industry collaboration and drive technology-led economic growth. While several centers apply an industry-wide focus to their work, others offer specialized expertise in specific sub-sectors within the semiconductor and microelectronics industries.

Beyond these resources, NYSTAR provides funding support to 10 Innovation Hot Spots, over 20 state-certified business incubators, 11 centers of the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership as well as several other Centers of Excellence and Centers for Advanced Technology. Together, they offer wraparound services that help early-stage and established companies solve challenges, develop technologies, gain traction and grow faster.

Researchers, startup founders, and business leaders interested in tapping into this network of resources can get started by contacting FuzeHub for consultation and assistance in navigating the state’s innovation infrastructure.

Recent Highlights in Semiconductor, Microelectronics, Photonics Innovation

NYSTAR-backed innovation centers across the state are continuously marching forward to deliver new discoveries, launch companies, and build impactful partnerships and collaborations. They have cultivated the growth of the semiconductor and photonics industries regionally while serving as a magnet for people and businesses that want to be a part of New York’s thriving innovation ecosystem.

NYSTAR serves as the catalyst, providing state investment and facilitating collaborations to fuel efforts like those below.

SUNY Poly’s Center for Advanced Technology in Nanomaterials and Nanoelectronics (CATN2)

Conceived, created, and launched by CATN2, the NY Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium played a significant role in attracting Wolfspeed and Danfoss Silicon Power to New York State. Now that they’ve helped build a cluster of companies in the power semiconductor industry, they’re working to build on the momentum.

They want to establish a High Voltage Testing Center to support SUNY Poly research and industrial partners, including NextGen Power Systems in Syracuse. They expect this new center will be key to bringing more grant funding to SUNY Poly’s Capital Region facilities.

They’re also expanding R&D capabilities to accelerate the switch from silicon-power semiconductors to wide-bandgap technology, and they’re growing NoMIS Power Group, a SUNY Poly-born startup that has already secured $500,000 in federal funding for its next-gen power semiconductor and packaging.

SUNY Poly’s Center for Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology (CENN)

CENN and CATN2 have developed a longstanding relationship with Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) – which recently awarded $2.3 million to the SUNY Poly centers as part of a joint investment that will keep New York on the cutting edge of semiconductor technology and attract some of the world’s top talent.

The TEL effort is expanding CATN2 and CENN’s research in plasma science, sub-10nm transistor production, and atomic-layer etch technology, which is of vital interest to the semiconductor industry. The program is also creating a pipeline of at least five Ph.D. Candidates in this emerging technology area. This influx of specialized semiconductor talent can be game-changing for the region and the state.

FlexMed at Binghamton University

FlexMed is working with the military and GE Research to develop a “smart patch” that could revolutionize emergency critical care. Imagine a wearable patch, like a bandage, that has tiny sensors, wirelessly transmitting vital signs to nurses or doctors in real-time. This is the future of critical care — and it’s currently in clinical trials.

Its most immediate application will be for military use — for example, the patch will tell medics who need the most immediate medical attention during transport.

But the technology also has huge potential in hospitals and homes. In a future pandemic or natural disaster scenario, when ICU beds are in short supply, or even past capacity, a wearable patch that monitors vitals would be a powerful tool for triaging.

Clarkson’s Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP)

Phoebus Optoelectronics, a North Country-based company that is closely connected to NYSTAR-supported CAMP, is working with NASA on new technology that could have huge impacts on the study of greenhouse gasses.

NASA currently measures gasses with equipment that is bulky, heavy, and expensive. Phoebus has developed a spectrometer that’s the size of a chip — meaning it’s small and light — and cheaper to manufacture.

The uses go beyond studying greenhouse gasses on earth and in space. For example, this equipment could help monitor oil fields, or pinpoint the chemical composition of gas-based terror attacks. Because of its size, Phoebus’ tech has the potential to be used not only in orbit but also on the ground, in handheld units such as cameras.

Their NASA project is now wrapping up its first phase. Within the next few months, it will enter the instrument incubation program — which means it’s one step closer to being used in NASA missions.

In addition to CAMP, the Phoebus team includes Ball Aerospace and AER Corp.

Superconductivity research at the University of Rochester

The challenge with superconductivity has been the necessity of extremely cold temperatures which makes the technology expensive and impractical for wider use. Ranga Dias, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, has found a way to use extremely high pressures at room temperature, opening new possibilities in the application of superconductors.

Dias and his research team used a diamond anvil cell, which acted as a material search engine, to test materials at different pressures until they found the ideal conditions to achieve superconductivity for each material.

They were able to create material that showed superconductivity at about 58 degrees Fahrenheit and a pressure of about 39 million pounds per square inch (psi).

Applications for this include reducing resistance in power grid transmissions to increase production, capacity, and efficiency, along with uses in medical imaging and consumer electronics.

For his work, Dias was part of the 2021 TIME 100 Next list highlighting emerging leaders who are shaping the future.

• Director, ASRC Sensor CAT
• Director, Nanoscience Initiative of the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), CUNY
• Einstein Professor of Chemistry, Hunter College

For this edition of Ask an Expert, we spoke with Rein Ulijn, Director of the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) Sensor CAT, a NYSTAR-funded Center of Advanced Technology (CAT) at the City University of New York (CUNY). In this role—one of three he holds at CUNY—Ulijn leads an effort to increase academic-industry collaboration to develop sensor-based technology. The CAT opened in early 2020 with promised NYSTAR support of $8.8 million over 10 years.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to New York

I am from the Netherlands, but I did most of my academic career in the UK. My background is fairly cross-disciplinary. My first degree was in biotechnology. Then I moved into chemistry and that was followed by materials science and eventually, I combined my interests to research bioinspired nanotechnology. About seven years ago, I was asked to come and discuss plans for the ASRC, a new research facility in New York City. While I had no plans to move, curiosity won me over, so I traveled to NYC to discuss the opportunity. I was completely blown away by the building, which was still under construction, and the vision of creating a world-class research hub in the heart of NYC, and strongly connected to the mission of CUNY as the largest urban public university system in the country.

I felt this was going to be a place where I could help shape an environment where other researchers and I could do groundbreaking basic science but also take advantage of the co-location of neuroscientists and environmental scientists to succeed in developing useful applications relevant to human and planetary health. That connection between basic science and developing new technology to solve societal problems is something that I have always been very excited about and is why this role was right for me.

The ASRC at CUNY houses 18 academic labs and 15 core facilities specializing in the imaging of nanostructures and biological samples, chemical analysis, nanoscale fabrication, technologies, and more. These are very high-end facilities that people from all over the area can come use to help solve their technical problems. We now have well over 1,000 users from academia and industry.

The ASRC Sensor CAT is a relatively new addition to the research center. Tell us about its mission.

We see a huge opportunity to use engineering and physical sciences to help solve problems in life sciences. Biosensors, or sensors in general, fit very well in that area, with physics and engineering coming together with materials to measure events of relevance to biology or biomedicine or the environment. It seemed a very natural fit to fill a space that wasn’t yet occupied in New York.

Sensors are expected to be a very big market (estimated at $228 billion globally by 2026). If you think about it, everybody now wears a bunch of sensors. Your phone is full of sensors. There are sensors in your smartwatch that measure your location, your movement, and vital signs. If you have a medical issue like diabetes, you may wear a continuous glucose monitor that uses artificial intelligence to determine and autonomously dose the right amounts of insulin to be delivered.

Beyond wearable devices, a big growth area is smart cities, when city councils want to understand things like air and water quality or monitor traffic flow to help it move better. The next years will see developments in autonomous vehicles. All of these areas rely on sensors and the connectivity of these sensors. These are amazing developments and areas of growth that are taking place right here in NYC.

So, what the Sensor CAT does is provide connections between academia and industry. If a company comes along and they want to solve a problem but may not have the equipment or expert knowledge to do so, they can come to the ASRC Sensor CAT. Small companies and big companies look to us to help solve problems but also to jointly develop new technologies.

One thing we hope to see as a result of the CAT is more company formation by students and faculty at CUNY and our neighboring institutions. New York City is a great place to start a company and we want to support these efforts. It is part of what will hopefully be a boom in biotechnology and nanotechnology and the city becoming more of a hub for innovation. There is good alignment between city and state; New York State supports the CAT programs, and Mayor De Blasio made a $1 billion investment in life sciences and biotech development in the city, so these things all go hand-in-hand and the time seems right to really give that whole area a boost. We believe this is exactly the right time to develop the ASRC Sensor CAT.

Part of your goal is to improve workforce development in the STEM fields. Tell us about that.

With New York coming back from the pandemic and in part reinventing itself, many expect it to become more of a technology hub, and that this tech will expand the current strengths in ICT and App development, especially toward biotechnology, and green, sustainable nanotechnology. If this takes off, jobs will be created, and there is clearly a need for highly skilled people to join that workforce.

I think CUNY has a unique opportunity there. We are a very large educational system with 250,000 full-time students and another 250,000 part-time. The vast majority of them end up working in the local area, so they are the workforce. CUNY is by far number one in the country in terms of propelling students from lower-class backgrounds into the middle class and we want to develop those opportunities more in the STEM fields. There is a huge opportunity there, and also a very big need.

If you talk to local large companies, they like to recruit CUNY students, especially because they want their workforce to look like New York City, to be as diverse as New York City, and the CUNY student population is exactly that. So, there is a need to get students interested in STEM and to get these students to be problem solvers and innovators.

What the CAT does is provide these students with the knowledge of how to transfer from academia into industry. We try to make that much more seamless. I think those paths are not always well recognized, especially in the CUNY community where some students are the first in their family to go to college, or they are kids of immigrants who may have cultural backgrounds where being a scientist is something that is viewed as uniquely a university job with a focus on teaching, rather than a route to help develop the next big thing. That is what we are really trying to get out there, the understanding that there are many exciting and important careers for talented young people who are interested in science and engineering.

Does this include lessons in entrepreneurship?

Indeed. It’s great to see that students are becoming more interested in entrepreneurship. Of the Ph.D. students who come through STEM programs, typically only about one in 10 ends up in academia. The other nine end up in small or large companies, and we try to help them prepare better for those roles and consider protecting their inventions, as well as publishing them in research papers and their thesis.

This year we piloted a new course for graduate students that we have co-developed with the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at CUNY’s Baruch College. It is an entrepreneurship STEM course where students learn about how to protect intellectual property, the apparent conflict between patenting vs. publishing, how to raise capital, how to tell if your idea is viable, and so on. We really try to make the Ph.D. more connected to entrepreneurship and open the eyes of these students to new opportunities.

That is why we started the class, to help students become aware of opportunities so if they invent something in the lab the first thing they think is “Can I publish it?” but also “Can I patent it?” and “Is it a good company idea?”. The class has been a lot of fun so far, we are about halfway through the first pilot and are already talking about expanding the class to work with a larger student cohort next academic year.

I know Sensor CAT is supporting a number of young companies. Tell us about a few of them.

We started the CAT in January 2020, so we decided what we should do first was see how we could make, in our own small way, some kind of contribution to the fight against COVID. We decided to identify companies that could pivot and potentially develop technology that was relevant to the pandemic. We focused on “what does the city need once things are opening up again?” So, we funded a company that was focused on decontaminating surfaces that could potentially be used on high-touch surfaces in the subway, such as handrails, and a couple of companies focused on developing new sensor technologies for detecting the SARS-CoV2 virus. Those were the first three.

We now have 10 companies that we support. We invest money strategically with a strong focus on cases where we could help companies get things off the ground.

One of them, Atolla Tech, is working on a sensor system to detect and identify small flying objects such as insects. This is a very big deal in agriculture, to prevent crop losses. We provided them with a grant to develop a working prototype and some help with testing this in a wind tunnel-type environment. Another is Vader Nanotechnology, which researches new bacterial strains that are able to break down toxic so-called forever plastics that are currently a huge long-term environmental health issue because they do not degrade naturally. We have worked with them in our imaging facilities to provide important proof-of-concept data that helps this company to illustrate their technology and gain interest from investors.

Another company we have been able to support is Next Generation Quantum Corp, a startup from City Tech focused on quantum technologies, another rapid-growth area. They are interested in developing new technologies for quantum sensors and quantum computing. They have been using the highly specialized equipment that we have available in our nanofabrication facility to produce prototype devices.

We spend a lot of time scouting for new companies and technologies and try to be there really early on to provide support when these companies need the help the most.

Over the past 38 years, CATT and its affiliates have been at the forefront of some key advances in wireless networks, cybersecurity, media/network applications and other areas of information technology and electronics.  This has included working with household names such as AT&T and Verizon to map out the future of communications, helping small-to-midsized companies with specific technological challenges and providing the type of environment in which entrepreneurial professors and their students can create businesses like BotFactory Inc., a Long Island City-based company that adapted 3D printing technology to the rapid fabrication of printed circuit boards.

Through its research, consulting, education, and technology transfer efforts, CATT helped create 222 new jobs in New York State between 2016 and 2019 and had a non-job economic impact to the state of over $219 million.

Shivendra Panwar, Director of CATT and a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, said the best way to understand CATT’s role is to imagine a pyramid.  At the bottom is the vast infrastructure provided by NYU.  Above that is basic research, typically funded by federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation or the Department of Defense.

“As you get closer to the top is where CATT operates,” he said.  “We translate some of this basic research from our professors and other sources and start applying it to the needs of individual companies, making that bridge.  So, there is a continuum of work that we do from the classroom to basic research to more applied research and, finally, individual projects for companies.”

Panwar said CATT typically works with 20 to 30 companies, most based in New York State, at any given time.  Most often the company approaches the Center, but in some cases, CATT is proactive in approaching the company.  CATT then plays matchmaker, connecting the company with faculty and graduate students at NYU, with partner Columbia University, or even with another school in the state that can take on the company’s project.
“The project itself could be a consulting agreement, the development of software, or a study,” he offered as examples.

CATT also provides companies with NYSTAR-supported matching grants to help offset the cost of a project, which can range from tens of thousands of dollars to over $100,000. Client companies can be of any size, from small to mid-sized businesses “right up to the AT&Ts and Verizons,” Panwar said.

He said the smaller companies typically require help with a particular technology or capability.  He gave the example of an upstate company that made cameras used in dental imaging and needed help making the transition from chemical to digital processing. An NYU professor stepped in, and while it was a relatively small project for CATT, it was huge for the company, increasing its revenue by millions of dollars.

The larger companies are more likely to take advantage of basic research, “because they are interested in what is going to happen five years from now, 10 years from now and they are already investing in that,” Panwar said. “They have very large labs of their own, but sometimes they are missing something or looking for fresh ideas, so they come to us.  They are also interested in hiring our students.”

Examples of breakthroughs tied to CATT include advances in 5G—such as Massive MIMO and millimeter wave—digital image forensic technologies and network “infection detection” systems.
And then there are the startups.

It is the entrepreneurial spirit of CATT that drew Michael Knox into its fold.  Knox, a graduate of NYU, worked in private industry for 30 years before returning to NYU to teach classes and work with students.
“Before I came full time to NYU, I was doing startups, so I already had the bug and knew I wanted to continue doing that,” he said. “In an environment like CATT offers, students and faculty come up with great ideas, start companies and then spin them out. Just working in that environment, you are always thinking of creative things and trying to find the right team of students to do things.”

One of the first group of students with which he worked, about eight years ago, was the team behind BotFactory.  The question the team set out to answer was whether 3D printing, which at the time was centered on plastic, could be used in building electronics.  The answer was yes.

George Kyriakou, Chief Operating Officer of BotFactory, explained that the traditional process of creating electronic circuit boards can be long and expensive.  An electrical engineer designs a prototype, which is sent out for manufacturing, typically to China.  This can take weeks, as most manufacturing facilities are geared to high volume and prototyping is a small part of their business. Once the bare boards arrive, they must be assembled.  If the designer does not have a specialized technician in-house, it must outsource the work, which can be rather costly.  The completed board is then tested, and most of the time there are bugs.  The engineer starts again. This process may be repeated several times before a final, bugless circuit board is produced.

“The machines BotFactory creates allow the electrical engineers to create their circuit boards from design to actual working board in two-to-three hours,” Kyriakou said. “The idea is that they can design the board, test it, see their mistakes, correct them, assemble again, test again and so on.  They can reach the final product much faster.  And of course, they do that in-house and it is a lot less expensive.”

The company, which employs 12 people, now is on the third iteration of its product, which is called Squink.  The company’s goal is to eventually make Squink available to businesses of all sizes and “make hardware as accessible as software,” but at the moment its clients are mostly big names, including Amazon, Apple, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nike.  The U.S. Air Force is interested in the possibilities the technology presents, including 3D printing from materials never thought possible, and recently awarded BotFactory a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR grant).

Knox was both an advisor to, and a co-founder of, BotFactory.

“It was mostly because of my experience in the electronics business and printed circuit boards that I was able to add a lot of value giving them advice early on,” he said. “I’ve also done a lot of patents and there was a lot of patent work that had to be done early.”

Kyriakou agreed that what is special about CATT “is the environment you are in—an environment where entrepreneurship is not a strange word; where you have people who have been there, done that.  They embrace this kind of thinking and to be able to bounce some ideas around, to get some advice—having people to tell you what you need to do from a legal, strategic, structural, technical or team building perspective—is very helpful. For example, how do you divide the responsibilities?  It sounds simple and you may think this information is widely available but having a person that you feel close to, and you are in the same space at the same time, to be able to discuss those things, is extremely important.  It is what pushes you forward.  It is motivating, if nothing else.”

Panwar said that the value of having faculty perform research and work with student entrepreneurs goes beyond the benefits to the individual businesses.

“The lessons [a professor] learns from working with companies, doing research, all of that flows into the classroom,” he said.  “You can’t replicate the experience the professor has working with real life issues and companies, pursuing research, knowing what is going to happen next and bringing that to the classroom.  So, the students are much better prepared.  They are taught what they need to know to work in companies.  They are taught what might happen in five years.”