Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Winners Selected for the New York Tri-State Region EnergyTech University Prize Competition

Tuesday, February 22, 2022, By Kerrie Marshall
Share
StudentsSyracuse Center of Excellence

Fifteen university-based student teams from throughout the New York/tri-state region competed in the Regional EnergyTech University Prize (UP) business plan competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions. The competition was hosted by SyracuseCoE, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and CenterState CEO’s CleanTech Center on Feb. 18. The inaugural competition was designed to challenge postsecondary students to develop and present a business plan leveraging lab-developed and other high-potential energy technologies. Teams that successfully identify an energy technology, assess its market potential and propose a strategy are eligible to win a share of $250,000 in cash prizes. There are three phases to the event, the Explore Phase, Refine Phase and Pitch Phase.

The “Smart i-Floor” proposal, submitted by a student team from University of Connecticut, was selected as the EnergyTech UP Regional Winner for the New York/tri-state area. The team was awarded $2,500 for their plan for durable integrated tiles that sense information and harvest energy from each footstep. The winning team will move on to compete in the next phase of the competition, the Refine Phase, held as part of Carnegie Mellon University’s Energy Week in mid-March, where they’ll refine their market analysis and business opportunity.

Additionally, two student teams were selected as Technology Bonus Prize semi-finalists:

  • Fossil Energy and Carbon Management: Pantheon, A Carbon-Negative Cement Replacement, Binghamton University State University of New York
  • Solar: Tri-Sol: A 3-in-1 Solar Skylight System, University of New Haven

Technology Bonus Prize semi-finalists from all 11 regional Explore events will compete for $2,000 prizes in each of the six categories; winners will be invited to compete in the Refine and Pitch Phases alongside the regional winners.

“Competitions like DOE’s EnergyTech UP give students a valuable opportunity to envision and communicate the transformation of a technical energy innovation into a successful business,” says SyracuseCoE Executive Director Eric A. Schiff. “SyracuseCoE was pleased to host the event.”

Judges for the New York/tri-state regional competition included Jackie Amable, managing director of Nextcorps’ Venture for ClimateTech; Andrew Graceffa, principal of the Energy and Sustainability division of SOCOTEC USA; and Jamie Newtown, head of digitalization and innovation at Ramboll Americas. Two teams from Syracuse University competed in the competition against teams from Columbia, University of Connecticut, Cornell, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers, SUNY Binghamton and SUNY Buffalo. Over 80 people attended the virtual event. For more information about the competition, including other regional events, visit the EnergyTech University Prize webpage.

  • Author

Kerrie Marshall

  • Recent
  • First-Year Law Student to First-Year Dean: Lau Combines Law and Business to Continue College of Law’s Upward Trajectory
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Robert Conrad
  • Student Innovations Shine at 2025 Invent@SU Presentations
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Alex Dunbar
  • Iran Escalation: Experts Available This Week
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • SCOTUS Win for Combat Veterans Backed by Syracuse Law Clinic
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By News Staff

More In STEM

Student Innovations Shine at 2025 Invent@SU Presentations

Eight teams of engineering students presented designs for original devices to industry experts and investors at Invent@SU Final Presentations. This six-week summer program allows students to design, prototype and pitch their inventions to judges. During the program, students learn about…

WiSE Hosts the 2025 Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Undergraduate Research Prize Award Ceremony

This spring, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) held its annual Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Award Ceremony. WiSE was honored to host distinguished guest speaker Joan-Emma Shea, who presented “Self-Assembly of the Tau Protein: Computational Insights Into Neurodegeneration.” Shea…

Endowed Professorship Recognizes Impact of a Professor, Mentor and Advisor

Bao-Ding “Bob” Cheng’s journey to Syracuse University in pursuit of graduate education in the 1960s was long and arduous. He didn’t have the means for air travel, so he voyaged more than 5,000 nautical miles by boat from his home…

Forecasting the Future With Fossils

One of the most critical issues facing the scientific world, no less the future of humanity, is climate change. Unlocking information to help understand and mitigate the impact of a warming planet is a complex puzzle that requires interdisciplinary input…

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Detecting single photons—the smallest unit of light—is crucial for advanced quantum technologies such as optical quantum computing, communication and ultra-sensitive imaging. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the most efficient means of detecting single photons and these detectors can count…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.