SUNY Faculty Updates Board of Trustees on Nearly $50 million in National Research Awards

September 9, 2014

Grants to Support Faculty Research in Energy, Healthcare, and the Humanities

Albany – SUNY faculty from Binghamton University, SUNY Buffalo State College, the University at Buffalo, and Stony Brook University today provided the SUNY Board of Trustees with an overview of four recent grant awards totaling nearly $50 million that will support research in the areas of energy, healthcare, and the humanities.

“Research faculty across the SUNY system compete alongside the country’s largest private universities for federal and private funding, and they do so with great success,” said SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman H. Carl McCall. “The projects we heard about today are truly groundbreaking, and they serve as an excellent sampling of SUNY’s substantial research portfolio. Congratulations to each of the faculty who recently received these awards.”

“Today’s presentations show, once again, that SUNY can and will stay at the forefront of research and discovery,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “All across SUNY and New York State, our faculty and students are conducting research that often leads to major breakthroughs that serve a critical need in our nation’s economy and support a higher quality of life for all citizens. Thank you to each of the researchers who presented their work today, and congratulations on these much-deserved awards.”

There is approximately $1 billion of research activity ongoing across the SUNY system annually, with faculty and students collaborating regularly with national experts and labs in every discipline to move their ideas and innovations to market. In Fiscal Year 2012-13, the most recent data available, 254 inventions were disclosed and 246 patent applications were filed across SUNY, resulting in 65 patents issued and 59 license agreements executed.

“The research being conducted at these four interdisciplinary national centers attests to the quality of SUNY faculty and programs, and the system’s capacity to compete for and win large, prestigious grants,” said SUNY Vice Chancellor for Research and Research Foundation President Tim Killeen. “We are collaborating with top teams of world class researchers and partners within and beyond SUNY to advance vital research, benefit society, and create opportunity.”

The Board was updated on the following grants:

University at Buffalo; $25 million

The University at Buffalo, representing a national consortium of eight research universities and institutes, was awarded a highly-competitive and prestigious $25 million Science and Technology Center grant from the National Science Foundation. With the funding, UB established the BioXFEL Research Center, where researchers are developing new X-ray bioimaging techniques. This research, which has the potential to spur innovation in the pharmaceutical field, builds on Western New York’s rich legacy of expertise in X-ray crystallography. Kenneth Tramposch, associate professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, reported that the Center hosted its first site visit with the National Science Foundation (NSF) in June.

Binghamton University; $12.8 million

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $12.8 million to the NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage at Binghamton University to develop new materials that are cheaper, environmentally friendly, and able to store more energy than can current materials. M. Stanley Whittingham, distinguished professor of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering, reported that space is being prepared for the center, which will also house Start-Up NY businesses and interact with the SUNY Networks of Excellence.

Stony Brook University; $10 million

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded a second $10 million to the Center for Mesoscale Transport Properties (m2m) at Stony Brook University to advance the deliberate design of materials and components to achieve higher performing, longer life, and safer energy storage systems, including batteries. Amy Marschilok, research associate professor and chief operating officer of the center, attributed the funding success to the fact that the proposal brought together an outstanding research team and distinct facilities – including two NYS Centers of Excellence at Stony Brook University – and was supported with a 10 percent match from New York State.

SUNY Buffalo State College; $1.25 million

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded $1.25 million to SUNY Buffalo State College’s Art Conservation Department to bolster graduate student fellowships in the flagship program. Patrick Ravines, director of renowned department, described the college’s outstanding facilities and noted that their arts programs offer a unique blend of science and technology with fine art and cultural history.

About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.