UTICA, NY – SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is pleased to announce the creation of 10 new research centers that will serve as hubs of innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. The centers were made possible by funding secured through the 2023-24 New York State budget’s historic $163 million increase in direct operating aid to the State University of New York (SUNY) campuses, of which SUNY Poly received $2.7 million to support the expansion of its research and scholarly activities. 

“SUNY Poly is grateful for the continued investments that enhance research efforts and offer additional opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration, paving the way for pioneering solutions that will shape the future,” said Provost Andy Russell. “Our Strategic Plan established ambitious goals to elevate the impact of research at SUNY Poly, and the dedicated faculty in all four of our colleges are rising to the challenge.”

“These new research centers mark a transformative leap in our commitment to innovation and societal impact,” said Vice President for Research Dr. Michael Carpenter. “These centers, spanning groundbreaking fields like artificial intelligence and robotics to THz communications, diversity and inclusion, humanitarian engineering, and semiconductors, are a testament to our faculty's unwavering dedication to advancing knowledge and addressing global challenges.” 

In the past three years, SUNY Poly’s sponsored programs have grown 119%, and the Centers will only feed that growth. The new centers do not include the Semiconductor Processing to Packaging Research, Education, and Training Center, which will be housed in the Quad C building where Semikron Danfoss currently operates, and is on track to open in Fall 2026 —further solidifying SUNY Poly’s position as a leader in research and innovation.

Overview of the Centers

• Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIX) Center: Led by Co-Directors Dr. Steven Schneider and Dr. William Thistleton, this center supports three primary programs -- a laboratory for the study of foundation models, an accelerator for applications development, and a studio for research in the user experience. AIX generates innovation through academic publication, as a vehicle for external funding, by developing new AI applications, and by providing training and resources to local businesses and international partners.
• Center for Advanced Semiconductor Materials and Devices (CASMAD): This center's mission is to coordinate and facilitate SUNY Poly’s efforts to advance research, education, innovative technologies and collaborations enabling the semiconductor science to provide solutions to complex societal problems. Led by Director Dr. Iulian Gherasoiu, its activity focuses on areas of expertise that include material science and new device architectures with applications for Power Electronics, Renewable Energy, Sensors and Optoelectronics, Energy Storage and Conversion, and Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS).
• Center for Business and Applied Ethics: Led by Director Dr. Jim Staihar, this center will promote research, teaching, and outreach in all areas of business and applied ethics at SUNY Poly. Within SUNY Poly’s AACSB-accredited College of Business, the Center will serve as an initiative that will have a positive societal impact on the Mohawk Valley and beyond.
• Center for Design, Interdisciplinary Research, Electronic Technology, Art and Media (DREAM): This center, led by Principal Investigator Dr. Ana Jofre, creates a campus hub for the arts that attracts off-campus visitors, hosts high-profile guests, showcases faculty work, and raises SUNY Poly’s public profile. The center also supports curriculum development in the arts, as well as the integration of the arts into STEM education.  Finally, the center fosters extramurally funded interdisciplinary research-creation collaborations in a wide range of areas including creative computation, universal accessible design, creative entrepreneurship, and game design, among others.
• Center for Health Innovations and Humanitarian Engineering: Dr. Joanne Joseph is director of this center that will advance knowledge and practice in mental, physical, community, and environmental health, while also advancing technological innovations and applications for the health fields.
•  Center for Safe and Secure AI Robotics (CESSAIR): Robots endowed with enough intelligence to operate without human supervision (AI robots) are formidable tools of change in fields as diverse as medicine and space exploration. Led by Director Dr. Emilio Cobanera, CESSAIR's mission is to advance research and development in AI robotics with safety and security as the leading priority to ensure that AI robots are beneficial to people at every step of the way.
•  Center for Smart Infrastructure and Sustainability (CSIS): Elevating SUNY Poly as a national leader in advancing innovative solutions for resilient, intelligent, and sustainable infrastructure systems, CSIS, led by Director Dr. Zhanjie Li, will synthesize efforts across the university to advance research, education, and innovation in the development and management of infrastructure systems that are intelligent, resilient, and sustainable, and that contribute to the well-being of society and the planet.
•  Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Research Center: Dr. Byeongdon (Don) Oh (he/his/him) serves as the director of this center, which leads SUNY Poly’s research, teaching, and outreach efforts toward DEIB excellence alongside its dedicated founding faculty members. The DEIB Research Center aims to cultivate and integrate SUNY Poly’s DEIB resources by networking with academic, civic, and industrial partners to empower STEAM students, faculty, and staff in achieving DEIB excellence both on campus and in the surrounding communities.
•  Global Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (GCAMM): Led by President Wole Soboyejo, this center will engage an interdisciplinary team in cutting-edge research and education in advanced functional materials and manufacturing. The team includes researchers with backgrounds in materials science and engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, information/computer science, artificial intelligence, computational modeling, cybersecurity, and interactive media/game design, who are collaborating with industry to develop solutions to global challenges/opportunities in advanced materials and manufacturing.
• Wireless and Intelligent Next Generation Systems (WINGS): This center aims to promote a sustainable and growing sphere of influence in wireless advancements that will be required for next-generation systems. It will spearhead the advent of terahertz and sub-terahertz communications, by leveraging tools from artificial intelligence and automation, in addition to developing cutting-edge work in THz-band communications, sensing, and electronics. Dr. Arjun Singh serves as the Director for WINGS.