You're invited to the Week of Research and Innovation—a celebration of curiosity, creativity, and collaboration across our campus and beyond!
Open to students, faculty/staff, alumni, and community partners, this week showcases the incredible research and innovation work being done at SUNY Poly while offering hands-on opportunities to learn, connect, and grow.
Events for the week relate to the following four themes:
- Student Research & Internships – Learn how to get started in research and land meaningful internships through interactive sessions designed to guide and inspire.
- Communicating Science & Research – Discover how to effectively share your work with any audience through practical workshops on clear, compelling communication.
- Research – Hear external partners speak on novel research developments and faculty share their white papers developed as part of the SPARK summer workshops.
- Entrepreneurship – Explore how bold ideas can impact the real-world through innovation, startups, and entrepreneurial thinking.
We especially look forward to the end-of-week Elevator Pitch Competition, which will put the spotlight on SUNY Poly students, as well as faculty and staff, who will "pitch" their best business or research ideas and compete for Wildcat dollars.
Whether you're just beginning your scholarly journey or are deep into your work, please join us Oct. 20-24 to engage, share, and celebrate research and innovation!
General notes:
- All events are FREE
- All events will take place on campus at SUNY Poly
- Refreshments will be served
Autonomous Laboratories for Advancing Energy Materials
Presenter: Dr. Yan Zeng
Affiliation/Organization: Florida State University
Date: Monday, October 20, 2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Location: Kunsela Auditorium (A112)
Technology and Analytics in Sports and for the Modern Athlete 
Presenter: Patrick-Henry Hanlon
Affiliation/Organization: SUNY Poly
Date: Monday, October 20, 2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Location: Kunsela Hall A131
How to Start a Business that Solves a Personal Problem 
Presenter: Aneela Idnani, Co-Founder & President of HabitAware.com and Founder & Director of BFRBChangemakers.org
Affiliation/Organization: HabitAware & BFRBChangemakers.org
Date: Monday, October 20, 2025
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 PM
Location: Kunsela Auditorium (A112)
Career Fair Preparation
Presenter: Mike Badolato, Director of Career Services and Experiential Learning
Affiliation/Organization: SUNY Poly, Career Center
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Time: 12:30 -1:30 pm
Location: Student Center Theater (second floor)
Bioinspired Nanopore Sensors Using Antibody Mimetic Technologies 
Presenter: Dr. Liviu Movileanu, Professor of Physics
Affiliation/Organization: Syracuse University
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Time: 12:30 - 1:30pm
Location: Donovan Hall G152
Establishing a Federated Beyond 5G Test Environment (B5GTE)
Data Center for Accelerating NextG Development
Presenter: Dr. Andrew Drozd
Affiliation/Organization: ANDRO Computational Solutions
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 PM
Location: Kunsela Hall 133
Faculty Share White Papers for Innovative Research at SUNY Poly
Presenter: Faculty Researchers
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Time: 4:00 - 5:30 PM
Location: Student Center Theater (second floor)
From Classroom to Career: Interns & Industry in Conversation
Moderator: Mike Badolato, Director of Career Services and Experiential Learning
Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Time: 4:00 - 5:30 PM
Location: Student Center – Multi Purpose Room
Fall 2025 Career Fair
Affiliation/Organization: SUNY Poly
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 PM
Location: Wildcat Field House
Description: The Career Fair is for students and alumni seeking a full-time job, internship, co-op or part-time experience. A job fair is an opportunity for you to present yourself professionally in person to a potential employer, while showcasing your communication skills. The keys to a successful job fair experience are preparation and follow-up. See additional details in Handshake.
Faculty Share White Papers for Innovative Research at SUNY Poly
Presenter: Faculty Researchers
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 PM
Location: Student Center Theater (second floor)
Leadership Academy Insights 
Presenter: Dr. Sarah Niu and Dr. Jasim Uddin
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 PM
Location: Student Center Theater (second floor)
Elevator Pitch Competition
Date: Friday, Oct. 24, 2025
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Location: Kunsela Auditorium
In this LIVE competition, students and staff/faculty members will deliver 90-second elevator pitches to capture their audience’s attention and prizes! There will be WildCat dollars for first ($100), second ($60), and third place ($40) for each category: 1) students and 2) staff/faculty.
The panel of judges will include: Seth Mulligan, Chief Operating Officer at Griffiss Institute; Dawn Roller, Associate VP Human Resources, of Indium Corporation; Kelly Colantuoni, PTECH Math Instructor (Former VP Goldman Sachs); and Kristy Mandour, Public Speaking and Communications Coach and Entrepreneur, at Sow to Speak.
Join us to cheer on the competitors, who were selected from Round 1 (video submissions of pitches) earlier this month. Light refreshments and networking opportunities will follow.
