That’s because New York’s Innovation Ecosystem is like a galaxy. Each asset shines brightly, lighting the way to new opportunities for growth. At FuzeHub, we’ll remember 2023 as the year we set records for participation in our programs and hosted more attendees than ever at the Summit. Our journey continues, but we invite you to take a moment and celebrate with us.

Find out how our programs propelled innovation. Download the 2023 FuzeHub Annual Report.

Listen to the podcast here.

What does it take to put on the NYS Innovation Summit every year?

It takes speakers: the experience, the thought leadership, the brainpower and wisdom gained from working on furthering causes, businesses, and industry in our great state and beyond, coming together to share insight and inspire the current entrepreneurial class to reach great heights and break more boundaries.

It takes exhibitors: the ideas, the creativity, the ingenuity, the minds that don’t just see a problem but a solution that needs to be shared with the world.

It takes sponsors: businesses and organizations that support manufacturing and technology not only provide financial support but offer solutions for the many challenges upstart and established businesses incur – many being services that dig into precious development time.

It takes creativity: this includes dancers, singers, and drummers for that jolt of energy and inspiration we all need to help reset and refocus while allowing ourselves to be entertained.

It takes a team: the FuzeHub team is experienced and well-versed with the Summit, even as it grows in prominence every year. With the support of the host community, our small but tight team is energized by the introductions we make, the businesses we help fund, and the impacts we help create.

It takes leadership: from FuzeHub to NYSTAR to Empire State Development to even the top official from our great state, it takes leadership with vision, purpose, and a forward-thinking agenda to support this initiative year-after-year.

And, most importantly, it takes YOU – the participants we just described as well as everyone who attended, shared our story, invited guests, plugged us on social media, and recommended this event to a colleague or manager. All in all, it takes everyone – the entire collection of forward-thinkers, creators, dreamers, and performers to make for a successful Summit. We have the formula, but it’s not successful without all of us.

It doesn’t just take a village, it takes a state. An Empire State, to be exact. And we’re in the perfect place for it all to happen.

Patty Rechberger/FuzeHub

Empire State Development (ESD) supported program will award $450,000 to startups to bring their technologies closer to market

Watch the announcement here.

(Albany, NY – September 28, 2023) — FuzeHub, a not-for-profit organization that supports small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York State, has selected the finalists for its 2023 Commercialization Competition, to be held October 16-17 at the Saratoga Springs City Center. This is the seventh installment of the competition, which takes place yearly as part of the ESD-supported FuzeHub Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund. Twelve entrepreneurs from across New York State will pitch before a panel of judges and a live audience for the chance to win $50,000, and one company will receive the $150,000 grand award.

The New York State Innovation Summit will showcase companies and researchers at the forefront of emerging technologies and new advancements in production capabilities.  This event celebrates New York State leadership in technology-led economic growth and will explore current technology convergence opportunities, ways to accelerate commercialization, and issues of manufacturing sustainability.

During the Summit, finalists will demonstrate the commercialization potential of their product or technology and compete against each other for one out of seven awards. Award funds must be used to improve an existing prototype, enabling the company to pursue additional investments and customers, and leading to the commercialization of their product.

“Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, Empire State Development supports a series of business competitions aimed at advancing innovation and creating a supportive environment for entrepreneurial ideas to thrive. The FuzeHub Commercialization Competition has consistently delivered new products and successfully launched startups, and we are proud to support this year’s finalists and look forward to seeing them in Saratoga Springs.”

– Hope Knight, Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner

“The Commercialization Competition speaks to the core mission of FuzeHub. We love to work with startups, and the Competition brings a lot of enthusiasm to the Summit. These companies have worked hard to get here, so I would also like to acknowledge their path thus far and wish them all good luck during their pitches.”

– Elena Garuc, Executive Director at FuzeHub

This event creates numerous opportunities to learn, connect with entrepreneurs, potential customers, investors, and support service professionals, and see how FuzeHub continues to spur technology development and commercialization across New York State. Registration is still open, and full agenda details are available at https://nysinnovationsummit.com/.

FuzeHub is pleased to announce the finalists:

Epic Airway Systems, Inc. (Schenectady)

Epic Airway

Health care professionals provide airway treatments to 50+ million patients annually, maintaining breathing during emergencies or sedation during surgery. Patient complications may include cardiac events, dental injury, and death, resulting in billions of dollars of losses, while placing providers at risk of infectious disease exposure.

The EPIC Airway combines two existing technologies (endotracheal tube and laryngeal mask) into a single solution; making it easier to use than traditional devices, increasing patient/provider safety, reducing drug dependent outcomes, and delivering more cost-effective procedures.

RHM Innovations Inc. (Rochester)

Aide-ing Arm Assistive Shower System

RHM Innovations Inc. will be designing their commercialization competition project to build the manufacturing infrastructure for their assistive shower system. They will fund tooling and build a supply of parts, fund assembly of devices, and evaluate the quality control to ensure their products meet industry-leading Durable Medical Equipment standards.

Soulo (Brooklyn)

Soulo Nail Trimmer       

Soulo’s long handled electric toenail trimmer is designed for aging & disabled adults. It allows users to trim their toenails independently and in an upright seated position. Their project has two major goals: 1) to validate the anticipated go-to-market design with buyers by using SLA (3D) printed units, before 2) scaling production of the Soulo Nail Trimmer to expand manufacturing capabilities, save time and cost in production, and secure strategic business partnerships and investment.

ReVert Technologies, Inc (New York)

Plug Load Management

ReVert Technologies’ product is a smart surge protector that automatically turns appliances off and on. It deploys AI-powered surge protectors to stop unused or underutilized appliances like vending machines, treadmills, fridges, and conference hubs from leeching power in universities, hotels, gyms, and offices.

Copprium (Amherst)

Copprium – Conductive Copper Inks       

The $3.5 billion-dollar conductive ink market is dominated by silver based inks. Silver is not solderable, expensive, and price volatile. Copprium created flexible conductive copper-based inks that can be printed on anything using any 3D print technology. Users prefer a cost-effective copper-based ink, but there are not any great options on the market. Copprium produces a plug and play copper solution to compete with silver-based inks.

Opal Wearables, Inc. (Brooklyn)

Opal – Personal Safety Smart Ring         

Opal Wearables developed a smart ring that can silently request help from 911 or emergency contacts. This project includes the manufacturing, certification, and delivery of 1,000 units of Opal’s personal safety smart rings to early adopters.

Ashlawn Energy (Binghamton)

VanCharg™ Vanadium Flow Battery Energy Storage System       

VanCharg is an unique rechargeable battery system that stores power off-peak and uses power at peak times, reducing energy consumption during peak periods. This system is safer, has a longer life, and a lower cost of ownership than current alternatives. This project will implement Ashlawn Energy‘s in-house battery stack assembly in Binghamton, NY, to profoundly benefit Ashlawn Energy’s economics, profitability, create a key competitive price advantage over other battery technologies, reduce assembly cycle time from one week to one day, and create manufacturing jobs.

Stilbene Inc. (Geneva)

GR8PE by Stilbene        

GR8PE is a dietary supplement for gut health using upcycled food ingredients from grape juicing waste. It works by repairing damaged gut lining in an all-natural way, leading to better nutrient absorption and better overall health. This project will address the commercialization of grape pomace (the pulp, seeds, and skin remaining after juicing) as a new food ingredient. Traditionally, the grape pomace is discarded as waste. This will result in greater profits for the grape industry, and reduced greenhouse gases in NY State.

EXOPOWER INC. (Ithaca)

In-Motion Wireless Charging System     

ExoPower solves the pain of battery charging mobile robots and autonomous equipment with in-motion wireless charging. ExoPower’s technology allows mobile robots to continuously charge as they move and work, eliminating downtime for battery charging. Power is transmitted through the air from metal plates on the floor and under the robots and equipment.

Castor Energy (Albany)

Air to Electricity and Water Microgrid Using High Power Electromagnets (HPEM)

Castor Energy developed a standardized mobile microgrid that generates power and water 24/7 utilizing air as power source. Their microgrid works at freezing temperatures, any time of day and night, is mobile and hurricane-proof, making it ideal for various applications.

DUB Biologics INC (East Syracuse)

Anti-Fibrotic Self-Delivering siRNAS       

The fundamental underpinning to 1 in 3 fatalities in the world is fibrosis. Dub Biologics is developing a therapeutic that helps reduce fibrosis – also known as scarring. Tissue function is impaired by scarring. For example, scars in the eye contribute to vision loss. Their therapeutic aims to return function to functional tissues.

Zbeats (Stony Brook)

AI-driven medical-grade cardiac monitoring solution

ZBeats is using proprietary AI/ML technologies to resolve low patient compliance and inefficiency issues in ambulatory continuous cardiac monitoring. Our solution will reduce the unit cost and make the services accessible to a larger patient population globally.

The Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, consisting of over $1 million annually, supports a set of activities designed to spur technology development and commercialization across New York State. FuzeHub is administering this fund as part of its role as the Empire State Development designated statewide MEP center. For more information about the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, contact Patty Rechberger, Innovation Fund Manager, at patty@fuzehub.com or visit Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund.

About Jeff Lawrence

During his more than 20 years at the Center for Economic Growth, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) affiliate in the Capital Region where he served as executive vice-president and MEP center director, Jeff Lawrence directed programs of direct assistance to manufacturers and technology companies to increase their competitiveness. He is remembered for being an invaluable and generous mentor to many in the area’s business community and a tireless advocate for manufacturing innovation throughout New York.

About FuzeHub

FuzeHub is a not-for-profit organization that connects New York’s small and mid-sized manufacturing companies to the resources, programs, and expertise they need for technology commercialization, innovation, and business growth. Through our custom assessment, matching, and referral platform, we help companies navigate New York’s robust network of industry experts at Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, universities, economic development organizations, and other providers. FuzeHub is the statewide New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP) center, supported by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology & Innovation (NYSTAR).

For more information on FuzeHub, visit FuzeHub.

About Empire State Development

Empire State Development (ESD) is New York’s chief economic development agency (www.esd.ny.gov). The mission of ESD is to promote a vigorous and growing economy, encourage the creation of new job and economic opportunities, increase revenues to the State and its municipalities, and achieve stable and diversified local economies. Through the use of loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of financial assistance, ESD strives to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation and support prosperous communities across New York State. ESD is also the primary administrative agency overseeing the Regional Economic Development Councils and the marketing of “I LOVE NY”, the State’s iconic tourism brand. For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov and www.esd.ny.gov.

Get ready to be enlightened by Al Evans from the Rewire Group, who takes us on an engaging journey through the world of energy and technology. Listen in as Al unveils the ins and outs of ReWire Group, a dual-division company that helps customers make optimal energy decisions and digital technology applications. Al reveals how Rewire Group assists property owners, developers, large companies, and others with significant energy footprints. He further elaborates on the company’s commitment to workforce development, economic development, and training the energy workforce of tomorrow.

In the second half of our episode, we pivot to the creation of the Advanced Manufacturing Performance Center and the role of ReWire Group in this venture. We discuss the CAP, the Career Alignment Platform and technology alignment platform as well as an exploration of the unique design of the ZEN building, a sprawling 356,000 square foot building with a four megawatt data center, that incorporates state-of-the-art energy-efficient technologies. With over 8,000 data tags, the data from the building is used for continuous commissioning and the development of a digital twin. Listen in as we discuss these captivating advancements with Michael Fancher, the director of the University of Albany’s Center for Advanced Technology in Nanoelectronics and Nanomaterials.

Listen to the podcast here.

Registration Now Open at nysinnovationsummit.com

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The leaders of GlobalFoundries, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Empire State Development, the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership program and the New York State Energy and Research Authority (NYSERDA) will deliver keynote addresses at the 2023 New York State Innovation Summit, Oct. 16–17 at Saratoga City Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

As the statewide New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center for Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), FuzeHub organizes and leads this annual event to convene New York’s innovation ecosystem, sparking new connections and collaborations that foster technology-led economic growth.

Supported by NYSTAR, the New York State Innovation Summit is the premier gathering of companies, entrepreneurs, academic researchers and government officials who contribute to the state’s innovation ecosystem.

This year’s top-billed speakers — all newsmakers and key drivers of innovation — represent the game-changing impact of global semiconductor manufacturing, university-led research and development, and state-driven economic growth initiatives:

• Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GlobalFoundries. Caulfield joined GlobalFoundries in 2014 as senior vice president and general manager of the company’s advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Malta, N.Y. As CEO, he leads one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers with operations on three continents and 13,000 employees worldwide.
• Doreen M. Harris, president and CEO of the New York State Energy and Research Authority (NYSERDA). Harris has held public and private sector leadership roles advancing clean energy projects and engineering companies for more than 20 years, and she now leads NYSERDA at a pivotal moment as the state expands its renewable energy development and transmission.
• Hope Knight, president, CEO and commissioner of Empire State Development. As head of the state’s chief economic development agency, Knight leads initiatives that spur innovation and economic growth, including the newly created Office of Strategic Workforce Development, which focuses on aligning skills training programs with the priorities of today’s employers.
• Pravina Raghavan, director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. Raghavan has more than 20 years of experience supporting businesses through the startup, growth, expansion and maturity phases of development.
• Martin Schmidt, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Schmidt took the helm of the nation’s oldest — and one of the world’s most renowned — technological research universities in July 2022 after serving eight years as the provost of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A seasoned inventor and entrepreneur, Schmidt holds more than 30 issued U.S. patents, and has played a part in starting seven companies.

Empire State Development President CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “We are pleased to once again to support the New York State Innovation Summit, where the best and brightest who are driving progress in New York gather from across our state. I’m looking forward to once again speaking at this year’s event and meeting the innovators who contribute to New York’s leadership in the global innovation economy.”

“This impressive lineup of speakers will deliver inspiration and motivation for New York State’s innovation ecosystem,” said FuzeHub Executive Director Elena Garuc. “We’re excited for the valued expertise they’ll share and conversations they’ll spark at the 2023 New York State Innovation Summit in the Capital Region. Each year, this event generates opportunities for collaboration, bringing innovative thinkers and doers together around new ideas and emerging technologies with the potential to drive economic growth.”

“The New York State Innovation Summit is a unique opportunity for thought leaders across wide-ranging industries to share their expertise and build strategic partnerships that will strengthen the state’s innovation ecosystem,” NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said. “NYSERDA is excited to be a part of this year’s summit and looks forward to the creative solutions that will be brought forward as we work together to bring new, clean technologies to market for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”

“At GlobalFoundries, we are constantly seeking new opportunities to collaborate regionally and globally to address the growing demand for technology innovation for the betterment of humanity,” Caulfield said. “The New York State Innovation Summit is a remarkable event that showcases the state’s commitment to fostering innovation and technological advancement and I am honored to join this distinguished group of leaders to share insights that can shape the future of our industry and build economic opportunity in our state.”

“As an institution dedicated to cultivating innovation and entrepreneurship, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is excited to take on an even bigger role at the New York State Innovation Summit,” RPI President Martin Schmidt said. “This event serves as a catalyst for collaboration, driving the state’s innovation ecosystem forward. It’s a moment for us to explore how together we can change the world — starting right here in New York State.”

“As a member of the MEP National Network, FuzeHub bolsters the New York State’s important manufacturing industry – with services resulting in nearly $2.7 billion in sales and over 22,000 jobs statewide,” said NIST MEP Director Pravina Raghavan. “I am pleased to be part of this year’s New York State Innovation Summit to connect and build partnerships that will help manufacturers in the Empire state and nationwide.”

The multi-day event provides a platform for connection, collaboration and exploration of new and emerging technologies. Attendees engage with influential leaders, participate in breakout sessions and networking opportunities and gain valuable insights into New York’s innovation economy.

The Capital Region — home to GlobalFoundries, RPI and state government — was selected to host this year’s Summit, showcasing an area that serves as a hot spot of activity in semiconductors, advanced materials and other tech-driven sectors. The region is expecting to welcome several hundred participants and exhibitors. More than 500 people attended the 2022 Innovation Summit in Buffalo.

“Decades of investment and hard work have put the Capital Region at the forefront of American innovation, especially in the semiconductor industry. We’re excited to bring the New York State Innovation Summit to a region that has emerged as national hub for semiconductors, clean energy, video game development and so much more,” said Elizabeth Lusskin, executive vice president, small business and technology development, at Empire State Development. “This is an opportunity to display the Capital Region and all of New York State as world-class destinations for research, technology and commercialization.”

The summit will also include FuzeHub’s seventh annual Commercialization Competition, funded by Empire State Development, which is open to startups across New York State. Entrepreneurs will pitch in person for up to $150,000 in grant awards from the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund to accelerate the commercialization of their technology or product.

Attendees and exhibitors can register now for the 2023 New York State Innovation Summit. Various sponsorship opportunities are also available. To register, or for more information, visit nysinnovationsummit.com.

Listen to the podcast here.

What is your mission at ESD?

I have a portfolio with five main areas:

• Innovation and Technology (NYSTAR)
• The Life Science Initiative
• The New York Ventures Portfolio
• The Capital Access Portfolio
• The Entrepreneur Development Team

These are five different areas but there are ways in which they overlap. Part of what I’m doing is working to take advantage of those synergies. Then when we interact with a business through any one of these divisions, we’ll understand where we might be able to help them through other divisions and programs.

Tell us about your background and expertise.

When I got here back on June 1, 2022, someone joked that “It’s like we grew you in a lab!”

I had worked in and around neighborhood economic development and small business wearing a variety of different hats—in the nonprofit sector, city government, state government, etc. I also did a stint at NYU Poly, an engineering university, where my portfolio included all the entrepreneurship resources.

For about 8 ½ years before joining ESD, I was running two organizations in Long Island City: The Business Improvement District and the Long Island City Partnership, a Local Development Corporation (LDC) for the westernmost part of Queens. Through the LDC, we were doing direct assistance to small businesses in one of the most productive advanced manufacturing centers in the state. But Long Island City is also home to a number of big businesses, so I was really working across a variety of businesses with their own needs and challenges.

Based on your experience, what are two pieces of advice for businesses?

I’ve noticed that, particularly with manufacturers, even when they are at 100 people and millions in revenue, they often don’t have the administration and finance side of their business staffed as a function. The head of the organization is also the CFO. The problem is that when there are opportunities for funding or other programs no one is there to do the application, to get engaged, to prepare the financials. So, I would say creating infrastructure around the finance and admin side of the business will pay off in the ability to participate in a number of helpful opportunities as well as making you more resilient when challenges come along.

The other thing I would advise manufacturers is to think about adopting technology, robotics, etc., not just as a way to automate your existing processes but to make you flexible for new opportunities and new industries that are emerging.

What should we know about the New York State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)?

We received an allocation of over $500 million under the federal American Rescue Plan. About three-fifths of that is for credit programs and the rest is for equity programs. The target of this funding is individual-owned businesses and very small businesses, but all small businesses are eligible. So, especially as credit is tightening in the private markets, it may be that now is the time to consider some of these resources. There is a widget on the SSBCI website to help you find what is right for you.

Any final words?

The state has a lot to offer. While some challenges facing businesses are due to changing market forces and broader macroeconomic issues, the public sector has resources and we do want to help. It can be confusing. There are a variety of opportunities, tax credits, grants, technical assistance, venture capital, financing access and so on. I would talk to your local New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center first, but also NYSTAR has added “navigators” to work with companies and help direct them to the right resources. We have been doing cross-training to make sure that people in one area of ESD know what the other opportunities within the agency are.

So it is a great time to reach out! Bring us your challenge, and we will hopefully either be able to directly help you or connect you with partners who can.

Pick a meteorological phenomenon to study and chances are New York will give you ample opportunity for field research.

“I firmly believe that New York is the most weather-diverse state in the country,” said Nick Bassill, director of research and development at the University of Albany’s Center of Excellence in Weather and Climate Analytics. “We have these massive lake effect snowstorms and we have hurricanes. In no other state could that even be possible. We also get everything in between. We’re not in the Central Plains. We don’t get massive tornadoes like they do. But we still do get tornadoes; we still do get strong winds and hail. We get heat and cold weather and freezing rain and sleet and everything in between”

And for a researcher like Bassill, it’s also the perfect place to unlock the potential of weather data. It’s a crucial area of study, because better data can inform decisions of government agencies and utility companies that potentially have lifesaving consequences.

That’s exactly what he’s doing at UAlbany’s CoE.

Bassill’s story — and his impact on New York State’s ability to respond to extreme weather events — has its roots in a good old-fashioned Midwestern winter.

From snowstorms to hurricanes

Growing up in Wisconsin, Bassill was a typical child of the region, enjoying winter and building snow forts. Eagerly wanting to know when the next snowfall would occur, he began watching The Weather Channel and became captivated by meteorological patterns that affected his backyard, as well as the ones that made headlines across the country.

In particular, the weather events he’d never experienced caught his attention, specifically in 1992, when Hurricane Andrew made landfall twice in the U.S. – first in Florida, then Louisiana. That impression, coupled with his love of data and maps, led him to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his early research projects focused on hurricanes en route to earning a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

And in a roundabout way, it was the aftermath of two hurricanes that brought Bassill and his expertise to New York State.

He arrived in Albany in 2014 to help design, install and operate Mesonet – the centerpiece of the New York State Early Warning Weather Detection System – then moved into the role of senior scientist at the Center of Excellence at the University at Albany, funded by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, also known as NYSTAR.

The creation of Mesonet was the result of two major storms that devastated New York. In 2011, Hurricane Irene caused nine fatalities and more than $1 billion in flooding damage across the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains. One year later, Superstorm Sandy caused more than $5 billion in damage from storm surge flooding downstate.

Figuring out exactly what happened – how much rain fell and how high the wind gusts peaked in specific locations — was important to public officials in the wake of these severe events. But New York State didn’t have enough weather stations to provide those details.

With funding from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, also known as the Sandy Supplemental Relief Bill, New York was able to deploy a high-quality weather network across the state. Bassill was charged with helping to implement the system and find practical ways to utilize the information it provided.

“I came here about a year before the first site was installed,” Bassill said. “Then, as they were being installed, I would start making weather products with the data that was coming in, whether it was maps or line graphs of temperature, whatever you can think of really. I just started to figure out what can we do with that data. Now, I’m more in a role of trying to translate that data to products for groups that can use it directly.”

Collecting, interpreting and applying the data

Here’s the thing: New York State now produces an incredible amount of real-time weather data, updated every five minutes from each of its 126 stations across the state. There is at least one station in every county and borough with an average of 17 miles between sites.

But unless you are a meteorologist, all this information can be difficult to interpret.

And many government agencies don’t have a full-time meteorologist on staff to provide that interpretation.

How can that play out?

Bassill offered two examples.

First, let’s say you knew a winter storm was coming. Standard procedure would be to put salt down on the roadways. But if it’s going to rain before it snows, you wouldn’t want to put salt out, because the rain will wash it away. Drivers won’t get any benefit, and the municipality has now wasted time, money and salt. With the right tools and data, that basic question – is it going to rain before it snows or is it going to snow before it rains? – is easy to interpret from a meteorologist’s perspective, but not necessarily obvious to an amateur weather forecaster.

Now, let’s say you work for a utility company and see there’s going to be snow and strong winds. But is the snow going to be wet and therefore heavy? That matters because a wet snow is going to stick to the power lines and trees. In those conditions, when the wind comes, power outages will be more than likely. But if it’s a dry, powdery snow, there’s less reason to worry about the winds, lowering the likelihood of downed lines.

“These kinds of questions and situations spring up a lot,” Bassill said. “They are the things which are mostly knowable, but hard to look up if you don’t have that expertise.”

Interpretation is where science and entrepreneurial opportunities come together. Bassill and his colleagues could spend their entire workdays on the phone, talking through the data with government and utility representatives. Instead, they’re looking for ways to develop products and tools that can translate the high level of meteorological data into easily digestible — and actionable — information about the weather.

His current projects include working with utility companies to better predict restoration times, providing situational awareness for New York’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and studying urban heat in New York City – a trending topic as climate change and urbanization are changing millions of people’s living environments.

“Heat is the No. 1 or No. 2 weather-related cause of death in virtually all years, with flooding being the other one,” Bassill said. “The great thing is that heat is among the most predicable things. It’s less about predicting heat than how we respond to it.”

Bassill continues to find inspiration in helping agencies, organizations and companies use data to better respond to weather emergencies.

“The type of project that I’m really interested in is one that is somewhat more universal,” Bassill said.

He envisions an initiative that delivers New York’s Mesonet data in a more cohesive comprehensive way to a wide group of agencies and utility companies. An ability to share information that is broadly relevant to all their organizations creates more opportunities for innovative and effective solutions.

“I’m interested in finding a way to bring everyone to work collaboratively to think a little bit bigger, to not necessarily do things one at a time but tackle slightly bigger problems in a more comprehensive way that would benefit everyone for less money,” Bassill said. “That’s my dream.”

Tell us about Workforce Development Institute.

WDI was born out of the labor movement about 20 years ago. In 2003, WDI became a 501c3. We have 10 regional offices with central offices in Albany. Our focus is on the worker and what we can contribute to the business from the worker’s perspective. We are collaborative by design, working in partnership with labor, employers, educational institutions and community-based organizations (CBOs) who believe that family-sustaining jobs with good pay and benefits are critical to bringing people out of poverty and back into the workforce. Our goal is to set a path for workers to attain and adapt the skills necessary to compete and advance in the future of work.

Do needs and issues vary by region?

I do think there are unique challenges in each region. You can’t just paint the state with one brush. In New York City, certainly, it is the high cost of real estate. In the rural areas, there are industries that are supporting whole communities and we need to keep them alive and well. We want people to come back to New York and our upstate communities because that is where the jobs are. We need people to fill an enormous amount of jobs that are coming in construction, manufacturing, and all the supply chain ripple effects. WDI’s value is our depth of expertise and our statewide presence that empowers us to identify successful programs and pursue opportunities to scale them to other industries or regions of the state.

How are you addressing the worker shortage?

A lot of it is career awareness and exploration, the schools play a large part in that, letting kids know there is a path to these good jobs, building road and energy infrastructure and manufacturing plants for semiconductors and clean energy components or working in those facilities. We also work with employers directly to help improve job quality so that workers and applicants are motivated to apply, accept work offers, and grow their careers with them.

We work very closely with the building trades. They have on-the-job apprenticeship programs. We partnered with the New York State Building & Construction Trade Council on a statewide pre-apprenticeship program. The program focuses on traditionally enabling career exploration and providing foundational skills, including communication and problem solving.

It is also important to make sure those who may be struggling with transportation to work, or maybe childcare, receive the wraparound support they need to succeed. It takes a village. There is a tremendous amount of great work being done by CBOs all across the state and WDI has relationships with those CBOs.

Can you share some best practices for attracting and retaining workers?

First and foremost is inclusion and having an accessible workforce for people of all backgrounds. It is also important to make sure workers have a sense of advancement and aren’t just a cog on an assembly line. You want them to feel valued and that they are not just stuck in a dead-end job.

The other piece is job quality. There are so many openings; people can be a little picky. This starts with wages and compensation, but extends to benefits, workplace culture, scheduling, and being flexible in helping out with things like childcare. Addressing some of those concerns can go a long way. Take a wholistic approach because if you invest in the worker, they are more likely to stay with you.

How do you work with FuzeHub?

Most of our regional directors work closely with their local MEP centers and with FuzeHub, the statewide NY MEP center. If there are partner forums where they bring in manufacturers, WDI is often there networking to provide opportunities to collaborate on a skills gap that a manufacturer might be having, or an upgrade in technology they may need. So, it really is a collaboration we have built with FuzeHub over the years, building on the MEP network and opening doors to manufacturers across the state.