EDGE study examines Oneida County’s dairy industry

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Protecting and growing the Mohawk Valley’s dairy industry is the focus of a study, administered by Mohawk Valley EDGE, that will look at where the industry stands today and what it needs to flourish “This started last year,” Tim Fitzgerald, VP of economic development at EDGE, noted. The topic was first raised by Oneida County […]

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Protecting and growing the Mohawk Valley’s dairy industry is the focus of a study, administered by Mohawk Valley EDGE, that will look at where the industry stands today and what it needs to flourish

“This started last year,” Tim Fitzgerald, VP of economic development at EDGE, noted. The topic was first raised by Oneida County Administrator Anthony J. Picente, Jr. in his 2023 State of the County address.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Agriculture Census, the number of dairy farms in New York state fell by almost 1,900 from 2017. In that timeframe, Oneida County has gone from 159 farms to just 90.

“It’s important to ensure this valuable part of our economy is sustainable for the next generation and beyond,” Fitzgerald says. The study will help ensure it stays that way.

EDGE is administering the project, which was commissioned by the Oneida County Department of Planning. A request for proposals for a private consultant was issued in late 2023, and EDGE awarded the contract in July to New Venture Advisors, LLC, of Chicago.

Of the project’s three main goals, the first is to understand the current state of dairy farming in Oneida County including the number of farms, the number of cows, and even how much milk is produced.

The second goal is an in-depth evaluation of dairy processing in the county. “Right within Oneida County, you have processors like H.P. Hood,” Fitzgerald says.

Some farms, like Collins Farm and Creamery in Sauquoit, do their own on-site processing. EDGE was able to help Collins obtain processing equipment with a microenterprise grant.

“Some of those products could be made through value-added investments right on the farm,” Fitzgerald says.

There are also large-scale processors outside the county including Chobani to the south, Kraft to the north, Byrne Dairy to the west, and Fage to the east. The study will examine the role those large processors play now — and could play in the future — for the county’s dairy industry.

The third goal of the study is to identify sites that could be utilized for dairy processing including identifying infrastructure needs and proximity to dairy farms, Fitzgerald notes.

Through the study, EDGE expects to connect with an array of producers and processors to gather robust data.

“Obviously, we’re going to let the data drive where this goes,” he says of the study and what happens next.

However, with anticipated increased demand from those big processors, it just makes sense for Oneida County to get all its cows in a row, so to speak, so it’s prepared, especially as processed dairy products continue to grow in popularity.

“We want to be aware of what that plan is so we can position Central New York for some investment,” Fitzgerald says. “We want to position our community to experience growth.”

The entire study is expected to take between 12 and 15 months to complete, and EDGE is working on firming up the timeline and the deliverables expected.

“This is something that will be able to deliver some results to the community next year,” he says.

According to the Agriculture Census, 98 percent of farms in New York remain family owned. The total number of farms of all types fell from 33,438 to 30,650. The average net farm income is $76,281. The average producer age is 56.7 years old, and the number of farmers under the age of 35 declined from 6,718 to 6,335.

Reuse planning forges ahead for former St. Elizabeth and Faxton St. Luke’s hospitals

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

UTICA — Projects to repurpose Mohawk Valley Health System’s (MVHS) two former hospitals — St. Elizabeth Medical Center and Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare — are moving forward as the communities surrounding both facilities provide input on what should happen to them. Both facilities were active hospitals until October 2023 when they closed as MHVS transitioned

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Both facilities were active hospitals until October 2023 when they closed as MHVS transitioned to its new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica. Since then, MVHS has partnered with several municipalities to navigate the reuse possibilities for each campus.

For Faxton St. Luke’s, that group includes Oneida County, Mohawk Valley EDGE, and the Town of New Hartford partnering with MVHS to undertake a master-planning effort for the 53-acre property.

The partners hired Fu Wilmers Design to lead the team of consultants developing a reuse plan with a timeline running from January through September.

“I think they’re going along well,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. says of the planning efforts. The project held its third community meeting on June 26, and public input has been a key part of the plan, he says. Each meeting has averaged between 70 and 80 attendees. An advisory group of community members and other stakeholders also contribute to the project.

In its initial phase, the project is looking at a variety of factors from environmental concerns to the condition of the existing buildings as it factors in community input to develop conceptual reuse plans including market analysis, potential budget, and environmental and community concerns.

The property is a unique one, Picente notes, which spans four municipalities — the city of Utica, the villages of New York Mills and Yorkville, and the town of New Hartford.

“It presents a lot more opportunity than the naked eye would see,” he says. “It presents a lot of opportunity for a lot of different things.”

The former Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare campus in New Hartford. Projects to determine potential reuses for this site and the former St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus in Utica are moving forward as project leaders continue to solicit public input. Both hospitals closed when Mohawk Valley Health System, which owns both campuses, consolidated its services at the new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica.
PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

One thing it wasn’t attractive for was serving as the site for the new hospital, he points out. While large, there was no way to build a facility as large as Wynn Hospital on the site without impacting the existing hospital operations.

The same was true for the St. Elizabeth campus, located in Utica, where the campus is mostly surrounded by residential neighborhoods except where it fronts Genessee Street.

The City of Utica is working with MVHS on the reuse planning and has held several community meetings. With a new mayor in office, the process has changed slightly with the focus moving from developing a concrete reuse plan to curating a list of possible reuses designed with community input.

“We restructured the process,” Utica Mayor Michael Galime says. He wanted to get away from the notion that the city was going to decide what happened with the property and encourage the community to truly get involved in the process.

The most-recent meeting, held in May, went over the ins and outs of four possible reuses from demolishing it all to build new single-family homes to housing plans that included adaptive reuse of the hospital building.

“The vast majority of all of the input has been a request for residential use,” Galime says.

A development group led by Buffalo-based law firm Rupp Pfalzgraf is leading the reuse-planning project. While Galime didn’t share a timeline, some of the next steps include more public meetings and conducting a general environmental impact study (EIS) and a general State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) they can present to potential developers.

“Once that is done, all that public input can be used to guide a developer,” he says.

More information about both reuse projects is available online at www.reimaginestlukes.com and at www.cityofutica.com/departments/urban-and-economic-development/planning/St-Elizabeths-Re-Use-Master-Plan.

ICAN grows with unique mix of services and offerings

Health Care, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

UTICA — From the Utica Children’s Museum to expanding its geographic footprint, ICAN — short for Integrated Community Alternatives Network — has been busy bringing its brand of resources to the Mohawk Valley and beyond. “It’s exciting stuff,” ICAN CEO and Executive Director Steven Bulger says of the growth at his organization. ICAN is a

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“It’s exciting stuff,” ICAN CEO and Executive Director Steven Bulger says of the growth at his organization. ICAN is a home and community-based network that offers services to individuals and families facing social, emotional, mental health, and behavioral challenges through its staff of 310 and a network of nearly 300 providers. The organization serves more than 2,100 individuals and families daily.

“Family is the fabric of the community,” Bulger says, and ICAN focuses on keeping that family strong and together.

In recent years, the ways ICAN approaches that goal have expanded beyond the more traditional counseling and support services.

The Utica Children’s Museum is one example of that. ICAN began offering managed services to the museum in 2017 before eventually becoming the only member of the museum’s 501(3)(c) nonprofit and bringing the museum into the ICAN family.

After a hard look at the museum’s operations and several years of planning and construction, ICAN is set to reopen the Utica Children’s Museum, which closed at its former downtown location at the start of the pandemic.

The new museum will open this coming December inside the new ICAN Family Resource Center on the Memorial Parkway in Utica. Features include a 4,000-square-foot rotunda and 10,000 square feet on the second floor, showcasing six galleries and 60 custom-fabricated exhibits.

While visitors — and ICAN is hoping for up to 40,000 annually — are enjoying the various exhibits and displays, they will also be surrounded by all the resources ICAN has to offer, and that’s important, Bulger says.

“It’s all about reducing barriers to help and reducing the stigma of asking for help,” he says. ICAN’s Family Resource Center houses the organization’s family-based programs, making it easy for museum visitors to access those programs.

It’s like the approach ICAN takes at its Elevate CNY Sports Complex in Whitesboro. ICAN purchased the former Rising Stars Sports Complex, a 60,000-square-foot facility, and began operating it in November 2022.

“What does a sports complex have to do with keeping families together?” Bulger asks. It turns out that it’s a lot when they infuse the “ICAN way” into it. That can include offerings beyond sports such as leadership academies and training programs, non-traditional programming for youth, creating opportunities for underserved groups to have access, and simply acting as an ICAN outreach center making people aware of services and how to get them.

Of course, sports remain a vital activity, and business is booming there, Bulger says. “Kids are using it more than ever before.” The complex hosts a variety of sports teams, is available for party rentals, and also services as a field-trip destination for area schools.

Speaking of area schools, ICAN has been busy there as well, Bulger says.

“One of our biggest areas of expansion is with schools and pushing into schools,” he says. In a school, ICAN serves as a safety net and helps take some of the pressure off school staff and teachers.

For this past school year, ICAN had staff in every school in the Utica City School District — and had to hire 40 new employees to achieve that goal, Bulger says. ICAN is starting to work with more area school districts.

The organization is also pushing east and west. In April, it opened a new office in Amsterdam. In the Syracuse area, ICAN is forging a new partnership with the Jon Diaz Community Center to operate a new center in Nedrow.

“We have a vision to continue to grow, to continue to expand,” Bulger says.

Founded in 1997, ICAN is headquartered at 310 Main St. in Utica and operates 20 programs in six counties.

FAA extends designation of Oneida County’s UAS test site

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only, Technology

ROME — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the designation for the New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome until 2028. The extension was part of the FAA reauthorization bill that the U.S. Senate approved, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced on May 16. The New York UAS

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ROME — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the designation for the New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome until 2028.

The extension was part of the FAA reauthorization bill that the U.S. Senate approved, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced on May 16.

The New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport is operated by AX Enterprize and owned by Oneida County.

A UAS includes a drone and equipment used to control its flight. A drone is also referred to in the industry as an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV.

The Griffiss test site is one of only seven UAS test sites nationwide, and the extension is vital for UAS research and development so the Mohawk Valley and Central New York can continue to advance UAS research, “pioneer safe UAS operations in our national airspace, and accelerate UAS industry economic development across the region,” per Schumer’s office.

The FAA designation extension wasn’t the only headline generated at the test site in May.

Upstate Medical University says it completed a key test flight for its drone program that advances the university’s goal of transporting time-sensitive materials, drugs and lab samples by drone throughout the region, per its June 26 announcement.

Air Upstate, the university’s drone program, flew its first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight from the pilot at the UAS test site in Rome to New York’s Homeland Security Training Center in Oriskany on May 22. The 18.6-mile round-trip flight took 18 minutes and 20 seconds.

Air Upstate Eiger drone — Air Upstate’s Eiger drone sits on its landing pad at the New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome. The drone was used in Upstate’s first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight from Rome to Oriskany on May 22.
PHOTO CREDIT: UPSTATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY WEBSITE

“We think that’s a big piece of the future,” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr. says, referring to the Air Upstate BVLOS flight and its potential impact on the region’s health-care system. Picente spoke to CNYBJ in a July 10 phone interview.

“There’s going to be some great achievements in terms of delivery of meds, of blood, of other critical pieces that could help save lives,” he adds.

In speaking about the test flight, Picente went on to say, “It centers around what we envisioned when entered into the competition 11 years ago to become one of the seven federally accepted test sites and the [FAA designation] renewal is big news.”

With the passage of the FAA bill, Oneida County and Griffiss will be able to carry out and update a program for the use of UAS test ranges to enable development, testing, and evaluation activities related to UAS or their associated technologies and to support the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace system, per Schumer’s office.

“This extension of Oneida County’s prestigious UAS test site designation at Griffiss Airport will ensure the Mohawk Valley and Central New York can soar to new heights on cutting-edge UAS technology. I fought to include this vital provision in the FAA bill I led to passage to ensure we continue to position the region to build on its global airspace leadership and to pioneer the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace,” Schumer said in the May 16 announcement. “As one of only seven test sites in the country, the innovation and research being done at Griffiss in Oneida County is transporting the Mohawk Valley and Central NY to the next frontier of scientific innovation and was exactly what I had in mind when I secured it back in 2014 and extended it in 2018. The sky is the limit for the Mohawk Valley.”

The bill includes $30 million over five years for the seven UAS test sites around the nation and provides the FAA ability to stand up two additional UAS test ranges in addition to the existing ones.

“I’m extremely appreciative of Senator Schumer’s support for the FAA Authorization of the UAS Test Sites that was codified in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Bill,” MC Chruscicki, co-founder of AX Enterprize, said in the Schumer announcement. “Oneida County’s NY UAS Test Site will continue to lead cutting edge collaborative research efforts with our military, homeland security and commercial partners. This is a key step in supporting Oneida County New York, our tribal nations, and the United States to secure our country while integrating drones safely into our society.”

Economic-development growth continues in Herkimer County

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

HERKIMER — Being nestled along the state’s Chip Corridor is proving beneficial for Herkimer County, which has a flurry of economic-development activity underway. “We’re already seeing people talking to us from other countries because of Micron,” Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency (HCIDA) CEO John Piseck says. The news that Micron will open a semiconductor facility

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HERKIMER — Being nestled along the state’s Chip Corridor is proving beneficial for Herkimer County, which has a flurry of economic-development activity underway.

“We’re already seeing people talking to us from other countries because of Micron,” Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency (HCIDA) CEO John Piseck says.

The news that Micron will open a semiconductor facility in the town of Clay in Onondaga County has had ripple effects along and beyond the corridor — formally known as the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub — that stretches from Buffalo to Syracuse.

With close proximity to the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90), as well as other major east-west routes, Herkimer County is well-situated and ready to benefit from the flurry of activity and interest surrounding Micron, Piseck says. “We feel as though we can truly benefit from where we’re located.”

Herkimer County already has and will continue to attract businesses on its own, he adds.

“We’re getting a ton of look-sees,” Piseck says, noting that one of the county’s newest business parks is nearing capacity.

The Schuyler Business Park began on about 99 acres with two tenants — Wilcor International and Schuyler Wood Pellet — but the HCIDA purchased an additional 188 acres in 2020. Of that, about 165 acres are developable and the HCIDA has been busy filling that park since.

“We have about 3.4 acres left there,” Piseck says. Tenants include Pepsi, The Fountainhead Group, and a Home Depot distribution center, with work moving forward on a convenience store and gas station.

The agency recently purchased 76 acres just down the road in Schuyler. Dubbing it the Four Corners, the HCIDA is already actively marketing the parcels located at 2323 State Route 5 and 2336 State Route 5.

“It’s exciting to see opportunities,” Piseck says.

Herkimer NY — PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

In another project, the HCIDA acquired the building at 415 N. Main St. in Herkimer and will renovate the space including the installation of a state-certified kitchen with on-site parking for food trucks.

That will open more opportunity for people interested in starting a food-truck business, which requires access to a state-certified kitchen and a place to park the truck during off hours, Piseck notes.

“Then on the first floor, we’ll have co-working space,” he adds. The HCIDA plans to relocate its offices to the second floor, which also features a large 70-foot by 30-foot great room. The building once served as a Masonic Temple. Piseck says the IDA also hopes to create some type of rooftop venue as well.

Also in Herkimer, the HCIDA is actively involved with the village’s Brownfield Opportunity Area Plan and its Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) project. As a round seven awardee of the state program, the Village of Herkimer received $10 million in funding for projects that will help it reimagine its downtown area.

According to Piseck, projects have been submitted to the local committee for review. Once they are evaluated, the committee will forward its picks to the state for final review and funding.

In 2022, Little Falls was a round 5 recipient of $10 million through the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative for a slate of projects around the city as well as the establishment of a $600,000 fund for products to upgrade buildings, renovate vacant spaces, and more in the city’s downtown region. In conjunction with its urban renewal agency, the city is currently accepting applications for this funding from projects.

Over in Ilion, the HCIDA is very involved in developing a reuse plan for the former 1-million-square-foot Remington Arms factory. Owner Rem Arms closed the plant in March, shuttering the village’s largest employer for more than two centuries.

The HCIDA received a technical assistance grant to bring in Environmental Protection Agency consultants to help produce a plan to repurpose the facility, which sits on about 34 acres.

“We went through the whole facility,” Piseck says, adding that it has been well maintained and has good bones.

A second EPA grant is helping with environmental assessments, which are coming back clean so far, he adds.

“We’re hoping to see some great things come out of there,” says Piseck.

The IDA has also been busy near one of its older business parks, the Frankfort 5S South Business Park, located just off Route 5. The agency purchased the Russell Farm property, located just across Higby Road from the business park, several years ago and has been busy installing infrastructure including water, sewer, and electric, to provide space for additional development.

All the development, Piseck notes, is made possible by the cooperation of the municipalities in the county, as well as its residents.

“It really takes the 60,000 people in our county to make those projects happen,” he says.

Growth on the agenda for Kris-Tech Wire

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — The dust will have barely settled from one expansion project before Kris-Tech Wire breaks ground this coming spring on another expansion to give the fast-growing company the space it needs. The wire manufacturer just finished an 80,000-square-foot expansion at its 80 Otis St. facility, Wendy Calabrese, director of employee engagement, says. But it

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ROME — The dust will have barely settled from one expansion project before Kris-Tech Wire breaks ground this coming spring on another expansion to give the fast-growing company the space it needs.

The wire manufacturer just finished an 80,000-square-foot expansion at its 80 Otis St. facility, Wendy Calabrese, director of employee engagement, says. But it wasn’t long into that project that Kris-Tech realized it wasn’t going to be enough.

That’s why the firm will break ground in the spring of 2024 on a 90,000-square-foot addition entirely devoted to production space, she says.

In the meantime, Kris-Tech is settling into its most recent addition, which includes new production and manufacturing space as well as conference rooms, a second break room, and a new training facility.

The addition also allowed the company to close a leased production location in the former Harden Furniture factory in Blossvale.

“We’ve since closed that, and we’re all under one roof now,” Calabrese says. The move has boosted morale and camaraderie at the plant. “There’s people that haven’t seen each other in over a year that are rekindling friendships.”

Fresh off a retreat to set 2025 sales goals, Kris-Tech isn’t slowing down any time soon. The company invested in its sales force in recent years, which is driving much of the company’s growth.

“Our sales team is stronger than ever,” Calabrese says.

The growing solar industry is also giving the business a sales boost. Kris-Tech Wire is used in an array of applications from buildings to solar arrays.

The company’s employee count is growing as well, adding 23 employees in recent months to bring its current total to just over 180 employees. Kris-Tech Wire will still add about another dozen employees this year, Calabrese adds, with positions ranging from engineering to production.

“The following year, we’re going to need at least 30,” she says. “We’re very excited. It’s great for the community, too.” Many of the company’s employees come from the surrounding communities including Rome, Camden, Lee Center, Utica, and Holland Patent.

Along with its currently 200,000 square feet of space in Rome, Kris-Tech also operates a 40,000-square-foot facility in Houston, Texas to meet growing demand in that part of the country, Calabrese says.

Brothers Gerry and Glenn Brodock founded the company in 1984. Graham Brodock, the third generation, leads the company today.

Quantum for International workshop held at Skydome in Rome

Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — It’s an event developed to serve as an “unprecedented” gathering of expertise around quantum computing and science. The 6th annual Quantum for International Workshop (Q4I) is described as a “global connectivity initiative” that “aims to build an open ecosystem of government, academic, and industry collaborators shaping the future of quantum innovation.” The Air

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ROME — It’s an event developed to serve as an “unprecedented” gathering of expertise around quantum computing and science.

The 6th annual Quantum for International Workshop (Q4I) is described as a “global connectivity initiative” that “aims to build an open ecosystem of government, academic, and industry collaborators shaping the future of quantum innovation.”

The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI) held Q41 from June 25-27. The Griffiss Institute hosted the workshop inside Skydome at the Innovare Advancement Center in Rome.

Participants at Q4I heard from sector experts, top-tier researchers, industry executives, higher-education leaders, and students as they showcased different pathways to engage in quantum-information science.

“We were thrilled to welcome pioneers in the quantum community to this year’s Q4I workshop. This event was a prime opportunity for experts to learn, collaborate, and network, fostering innovation in the field,” Michael Hayduk, deputy director of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, said in the event recap. “The Air Force is committed to supporting this workshop as it serves as an effective platform to strengthen our nation’s quantum capabilities. Creating an open ecosystem that bridges government, academia, and industry is also a vital part of the global effort.”

Centered around technology transfer, potential partners had the chance to understand when and how to work together and enter into contracts with the AFRL/RI. Participants discovered how to navigate processes, procedures, and productive paths toward bringing their concepts to life for both military and commercial uses. By leveraging military advancements from the lab bench to the community, the Griffiss Institute works to grow the pool of talented STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students and professionals who will discover “the next big idea,” per the July 1 summary from the Innovare Advancement Center.

“The Griffiss Institute was excited to host the sixth annual Q4I workshop at the Innovare Advancement Center,” Heather Hage, president and CEO of the Griffiss Institute, said in the announcement. “This event is pivotal to advancing our mission to bridge talent and technology for our partners. The energy was palpable as the brightest minds came together to showcase their achievements and look ahead to keep America at the forefront of innovation.”

This year’s program featured keynote presentations from Kevin Geiss, director of Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) in Arlington, Virginia, on the topic of working with AFOSR; and Maria Galli, quantum optics researcher, Quantum Interfaces Group on the topic of “Entanglement of Trapped-Ion Qubits Separated by 230m.”.

SUNY Poly shifts mission to build workforce of tomorrow

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Education & Training, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only, Technology

MARCY — Take one look at the bustling SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Marcy today, and you’d be hard pressed to figure out why so many in the Mohawk Valley were worried just a few years ago. It was late 2022 when news broke that the College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), which had

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MARCY — Take one look at the bustling SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Marcy today, and you’d be hard pressed to figure out why so many in the Mohawk Valley were worried just a few years ago.

It was late 2022 when news broke that the College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), which had been housed at both SUNY Poly and the University at Albany for years, was being consolidated solely on the Albany campus. At the time, local leaders were fearful of what it meant for the Mohawk Valley region and for SUNY Poly at a time when its leadership was in flux.

By late summer 2023, SUNY completed the CNSE move to Albany, and Winston Soboyejo took the helm as SUNY Poly’s next president on Oct. 2.

He’s been busy since then.

Just nine months into his term, Soboyejo spoke to The Central New York Business Journal about how SUNY Poly has repositioned itself to better serve the community by training the workforce of tomorrow.

“It’s a good time for us,” he says. Since last fall, SUNY Poly has been awarded millions in funding from the state for an array of projects on campus including $44 million to expand its health-science wing, update nursing labs, and create the Semiconductor Processing to Packaging Research, Education, and Training Center.

The goal, Soboyejo says, is not only to train tomorrow’s workforce in the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industry, but also for SUNY Poly to become a catalyst for the Mohawk Valley.

“We’re in the era of resurgence of manufacturing in New York state and America,” he says. SUNY Poly wants to be part of that.

Look at companies like Danfoss or Indium or nearby Wolfspeed. “They want people who are ready to work on day one,” Soboyejo says. SUNY Poly can train them.

The new framing of SUNY Poly’s mission wasn’t that difficult, he says. The key parts? Align and anticipate. It’s all about finding real-world problems and figuring out how SUNY Poly can solve them. Shifting to a demand-driven focus will allow the college to remain responsive to what employers need.

“We’re trying to provide the education, the workforce development that’s supporting the needs of industry that’s rising in the Mohawk Valley,” he says.

SUNY Poly isn’t just focusing on advanced manufacturing, but also has its sights on the health arena.

“We have this capacity to produce nurses in a world where there’s a growing need for health-care workers,” Soboyejo says. The new nursing labs will help the university train them well.

The university is already anticipating the future needs of health care, with an amped up focus on microbiology and robotics in health care.

To make all of this happen, it takes more than just one university. It takes a community, and SUNY Poly is working closely with businesses, K-12 schools, and other colleges to make sure the Mohawk Valley, and the entire region, has the workforce it needs.

“We’re doing things like reaching out to schools and bringing girls interested in manufacturing to our campus,” Soboyejo says.

SUNY Poly also recently joined the Innovare Alliance, signing a memorandum of understanding with Griffis Institute with the goal of leveraging collaborations among the academic, industrial, and defense sectors in upstate New York to advance technical and professional development disciplines. The hope is that nurturing a skilled workforce will maintain the region’s competitiveness and position it at the forefront of technological advancements and careers.

“What’s exciting for me is that we can be part of this emerging renaissance,” Soboyejo says.

The university isn’t neglecting its own either. With about $3 million in funding aimed at expanding research activity, it opened a space to bring faculty together in its new Hilltop building.

SUNY Poly has between 30 and 40 professors across all fields actively working with artificial intelligence. Now they have a place to gather and trade notes, Soboyejo says.

“It’s just been wonderful to see how people from all these multiple fields are coming together,” he says. “It’s exciting to see this approach to education and research.”

Munson projects seek to welcome community to the arts complex

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

UTICA — With an estimated economic impact north of $20 million, Munson is more than just a museum or an arts school. It’s an important part of the city of Utica’s economy and helps serve as a welcome to visitors from outside the area. “We do over 600 events a year,” President/CEO Anna D’Ambrosio says

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“We do over 600 events a year,” President/CEO Anna D’Ambrosio says in an interview. Those events range from art classes, to concerts, exhibitions, and more. And the events are just as much for out-of-town visitors as they are for area residents.

In fact, an average of 50 percent to 55 percent of attendees for a major summer exhibition at Munson will come from outside of Oneida County, D’Ambrosio says. For some exhibition events, attendees came from 47 states and several countries.

It’s rare for a community the size of Utica to have a facility like Munson, she notes. “There are very few organizations that compare.”

Many people recognize Munson for its Museum of Art, but there are two other divisions. Pratt Munson is its school of art, in partnership with the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Munson also operates a performing-arts program. Through all three divisions, Munson offers opportunities to experience and learn a variety of art forms.

However, Munson has also recognized that in the past, it was perceived as a little distant from the community, D’Ambrosio says. Its new strategic plan tackles that issue head on with multiple prongs of community interaction to remind Utica and beyond that Munson is for everyone to experience and enjoy.

Now, Munson is hard at work sprucing up its “welcome mat” with a project that is transforming its “front yard” along Genesee Street into a 49,000-square-foot park and community space.

Armed with $800,000 in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding, Munson hired Sue Steel Landscape Architecture, LLC of Rochester to design the project with the goal of creating a neighborhood feel along Genesee Street.

“We want that space to be an active community space,” D’Ambrosio says. The project will restore the museum building to its original intended look as designed by architect Philip Johnson by removing the visual barrier created by a chain-link fence and hedge and replacing it with a clear railing that provides security while also offering views of the building.

The front steps are being redone, and landscaping work will include adding benches along with plants and trees. “We’re using native species,” D’Ambrosio says and that includes Oneida County’s newly named official tree — the red maple.

Restoration work is also underway at Munson’s Fountain Elms building, which was once home to Munson’s founding family. Munson was originally known as Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, named for three generations of one Utica family. Today, Fountain Elms is home to a collection that includes objects collected by the Williams’ and Proctors.

The work looks like one big project, but really encompasses three separate projects. The third project involves the installation of an accessible entrance to the museum from Genesee Street.

Munson Museum — Construction workers at work on Munson’s Fountain Elms building. PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

“We have been busy and enjoying every minute of it,” D’Ambrosio says of the bustling projects. She expects work will wrap up in November.

Munson will remain busy with several other projects, ranging from community outreach — Munson has nearly 50 community partnerships — to events including First Fridays, Munson After Dark, and its annual sidewalk art show.

“We’re also renovating a building,” D’Ambrosio says. Located at 500 Henry St., the structure is one of the 26 buildings Munson owns in the surrounding neighborhood.

Munson is still working to raise the funding but would like to renovate the vacant building into a live-work space for its artist-in-residence program along with a community gallery. This summer, Munson is replacing the building’s foundation.

“We’re working on some plans for some potential renovations in the Museum of Art,” D’Ambrosio adds. “It’s an exciting time.”

Founded in 1919, Munson employs about 170 full-time and part-time employees and has an annual budget of
$15 million.

ANDRO’s Drozd named to FCC council, providing advice on the nation’s communications systems

Technology, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently reappointed ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC President and CEO Andrew L. Drozd to serve a two-year term on the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council IX (CSRIC IX). The council provides recommendations to the FCC to promote the security, reliability, and interoperability of the nation’s communications systems. Drozd

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The council provides recommendations to the FCC to promote the security, reliability, and interoperability of the nation’s communications systems. Drozd was selected for reappointment from a list of candidates from across public and private sectors nationally, ANDRO announced.

Under its current charter, CSRIC IX will address issues including best practices for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to enhance the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of nationwide communications networks; ensuring consumer access to 911 on all available networks as technology evolves; and the security and reliability risks unique to emerging sixth generation (6G) networks and services.

Under CSRIC IX, Drozd will focus on the policies and methods for the use of AI/ML to enhance 6G communications and wireless network cybersecurity, reliability, and interoperability. This includes agile spectrum regulatory modernization, dynamic spectrum-management governance, leveraging Beyond 5G and Terahertz technology best practices, decentralized and fault-tolerant network architectures, and multiaccess edge computing.

Drozd previously served on the CSRIC VIII Council that dealt with the security of 5G Open RAN (radio access networks), where he focused on the coexistence of heterogeneous radio-access technologies and applying AI to detect and mitigate security risks, according to ANDRO.

Drozd leads scientific research and development teams at ANDRO toward advancing the general field of AI for secure wireless communication and demonstrating radio-frequency, machine-learning solutions. He also leads STEM workforce preparedness initiatives through the Project Fibonacci Foundation aimed at enhancing global competitiveness emphasizing technological innovation, the company said.

An Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers fellow, he continues to extend his AI research and ANDRO’s software-based waveform-development research into the field of quantum computing. He holds advanced degrees from Syracuse University and St. John Fisher University and was inducted into the Rome Academy of Science Hall of Fame in 2019.

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