SUNY Poly receives $568K in grants to spur offshore-wind training programs

MARCY, N.Y. — SUNY Polytechnic Institute received two grants totaling $568,000 to establish the SUNY Poly Offshore Wind Training Team (SPOWT²) and develop a micro-credential program focused on offshore-wind technology and training.

SUNY Poly will use nearly $400,000 to establish SPOWT² — which will prepare students for careers in the offshore-wind industry, enhance faculty expertise on the subject, and fund scholarships for underrepresented and non-traditional populations interested in the field. SUNY Poly Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Zhanjie Li leads the project.

The university will use $168,000 for the micro-credential program, which is a collaboration between Farmingdale State College and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering with Haralabos Efsthathiadis, nanoengineering professor, leading the program. Students will gain hands-on training to test materials used in wind-turbine blades and learn about materials development to prevent micro-cracks and protect from degradation and corrosion.

“Here at SUNY Poly, we pride ourselves on preparing students to enter the workforce and immediately make an impact,” SUNY Poly Officer-in-Charge Andrew Russell said in a news release. “We are excited to work and collaborate with Farmingdale State College on these two projects that are a prime example of how SUNY Poly is providing strategically targeted experiential learning opportunities as New York’s premier public polytechnic.”

SPOWT² will include civil and mechanical engineering and engineering technology program faculty who will work to enhance workforce training in the design, construction, and manufacture of offshore wind. It will include students from high school through graduate-level programs. Collaborating partners include GE Renewable Energy and Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

The micro-credential program will develop new courses focused on offshore-wind technology to foster curriculum expansion and build capacity to meet near-term industry needs. Virtual options for coursework and training are open to eligible SUNY Poly students.

SUNY awarded the grants on behalf of New York’s Offshore Wind Training Institute, launched in 2021 to advance training programs and educational infrastructure needed to establish a skilled workforce for the industry. New York currently has five offshore-wind projects in active development.