SyracuseCoE is now accepting proposals from current and new industry partners for its second round of Innovation Fund grants for 2022.
Grant applications from companies who are new or existing members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program are being accepted through 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 20. Awards of up to $10,000 each for up to five projects may be presented.
M3 Innovations’ Chris Nolan, left, and Joe Casper with their Mako Solution System. The company received Innovation Fund grants in 2020 and 2022. (Photo by Kerrie Marshall)
Companies at all SyracuseCoE partner levels—industry, affiliate and start-up—are invited to apply for the grants. Project proposals must address a challenge in the SyracuseCoE’s core focus areas of indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy and water resources.
Led by Syracuse University, SyracuseCoE is one of 13 NYSTAR-funded Centers of Excellence designed to foster collaboration between the academic research community and the business sector to develop and commercialize new products and technologies and promote private sector investment in emerging high-technology fields in New York state.
SyracuseCoE Executive Director Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, who is also a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, notes that many SyracuseCoE partners have leveraged their Innovation Fund awards to commercialize their technologies and strengthen their companies.
Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, executive director, SyracuseCoE.
“These awards accelerate research and development and help transform innovative discoveries into commercially viable products and services, making the companies more competitive. The entrepreneurial culture that is inherent in university-industry collaboration contributes to a strong economy for New York state, while addressing important, multifaceted societal challenges,” Zhang says.
Zhang cites the success of three prior grantees as a measure of the potential the awards can mean. Standard Hydrogen Corp. used its 2016 grant to build financial and physical models of their system to advance critical conversations with utilities. The company is now working with National Grid to build New York state’s first hydrogen energy station. Ephesus Lighting Corp.’s 2014 award allowed it to test new, innovative LED sports lighting technology that they used the following year to light the Super Bowl. SparkCharge’s 2016 grant helped it test the heat management system for its portable electric vehicle chargers. The startup built its first prototype at SyracuseCoE headquarters and has won millions in other grants. Founder Josh Aviv ’15 G’17 has received multiple “best entrepreneur” honors. Recently, he introduced President Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68 at the White House signing of the CHIPS and Science Act.
Those who are interested in joining the partner program now to be eligible for grant consideration for this October’s awards can contact Tamara Rosanio at tlrosani@syr.edu. More details about the program and application process can be found on the SyracuseCoE website.
