October NYS Innovation Summit has speakers from ESD, NYSERDA

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The leaders of Empire State Development (ESD), the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, and the New York State Energy and Research Authority (NYSERDA) will deliver keynote addresses at the upcoming 2023 New York State Innovation Summit. 

The two-day event is set for Oct. 16–17 at Saratoga City Center & Saratoga Hilton Hotel in Saratoga Springs, per its website. 

Those interested can register at the website: nysinnovationsummit.com

Albany–based 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,” the organization said in a news release. FuzeHub serves as the statewide New York MEP center for ESD’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR).

Supported by NYSTAR, the New York State Innovation Summit is described as a gathering of businesses, entrepreneurs, academic researchers and government officials who contribute to the state’s innovation ecosystem, FuzeHub said.

This year’s speakers represent the impact of global semiconductor manufacturing, university-led research and development, and state-driven economic-growth initiatives.

More than 500 people attended the 2022 Innovation Summit in Buffalo. FuzeHub is expecting a similar figure for this year’s edition. The summit will also include FuzeHub’s seventh annual Commercialization Competition, funded by ESD, 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.

Speakers

The event’s speakers will include Doreen Harris, president and CEO of NYSERDA. Harris has held public and private-sector leadership roles advancing clean-energy projects and engineering companies for more than 20 years. She now leads NYSERDA at a time when the state expands its renewable-energy development and transmission, per the event news release.

Those attending will also hear from Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of ESD. 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. It focuses on aligning skills training programs with the priorities of today’s employers.

The speaking lineup also includes Pravina Raghavan, director of the Hollings 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.

Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GlobalFoundries, is also scheduled to speak. He joined the firm in 2014 as senior vice president and general manager of the company’s advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Malta in Saratoga County. As CEO, he leads a semiconductor manufacturer with operations on three continents and 13,000 employees worldwide.

In addition, the speakers include Martin Schmidt, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Schmidt took the helm of the technological research university in July 2022 after serving eight years as the provost of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Schmidt holds more than 30 issued U.S. patents and has played a part in starting seven companies.

“This impressive lineup of speakers will deliver inspiration and motivation for New York State’s innovation ecosystem,” Elena Garuc, executive director of FuzeHub, said. “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.”