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CASE In the News |
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CASE Center to Host June 21 Syracuse Technology Roundtable on What Small Technology Companies Should Know About Working with Larger Enterprises
6/13/2005 The CASE Center at Syracuse University will host the next Syracuse Technology Roundtable, June 21, at 5:30 p.m. in Room 1-218 of SU’s Center for Science and Technology.
Stephen G. Wylong, director of sourcing and subcontracts for the Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors division in Syracuse, will speak on “Supply Chain Strategy—What Small Technology Companies Need to Know to Work with Larger Enterprises.” The cost of the seminar is $10 per person; call JoAnn Fredericks at (315) 443-1060 or e-mail jmfreder@syr.edu to register. Parking arrangements will be made at the time of registration.
One of the consistent themes voiced by the many small and mid-sized technology companies in the Central New York region is the need for more information on how to initiate business with larger, established firms. In many cases, opening the door to working as a vendor, subcontractor or partner with a larger enterprise can be a key catalyst in promoting strategic growth for smaller, less-established firms.
Wylong’s presentation will focus on areas that small technology businesses need to consider in pursuing opportunities and gaining consideration from large enterprises as they fulfill their supply chain needs. As a systems integrator, Lockheed Martin has established and partnered with numerous suppliers and subcontractors to achieve mission success. This discussion will also provide the Lockheed Martin perspective on the importance of selecting the right suppliers and the value the supply base can offer. While Lockheed’s policies and perspectives will serve to illustrate some key principles, the presentation will provide a broad-based primer on working with many larger enterprises.
Wylong is responsible for all supply chain activity for the Radar and Ocean Systems lines of business, with annual sales in excess of $700 million and material expenditures exceeding $225 million annually. He has been with Lockheed Martin for 19 years and has held a variety of leadership position across a number of business management functions. Wylong received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Pace University and an M.B.A. in international business from the University of New Haven, and he is a certified professional contracts manager. He is a member of the National Contract Management Association.
 Professor Maps Toyota's Success
Syracuse Post Standard
5/6/2005A man who studied Toyota Motor Sales for years and wrote a book about its streamlined manufacturing style told an audience in Liverpool one of the reasons for the company's success is the holistic management system and culture it developed.
Jeff Liker, professor of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan and author of "The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer," said the Toyota style is worthy of emulation.
The problem is, he said, Toyota developed its system over many years so many that if another company wanted to do the same thing, it would take at least 10 years to achieve Toyota's levels of success.
He cited General Motors as an example.
"General Motors has been trying for the last 10 years to remake itself in the image of Toyota, and it has achieved the first step, which is quality. That's greatly improved," he said.
The remainder of what Toyota does so well might take GM many more years to achieve, he said.
Liker spoke Wednesday at TECH 2005, the 12th annual manufacturing and technology conference, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, in Liverpool. The conference was sponsored by the CASE Center at Syracuse University and the Central New York Technology Development Organization.
Decades ago when Toyota knew it had to compete against the world's largest auto manufacturers, such as GM and the Ford Motor Co. Toyota realized it had to "remake the rules of the game."
"It did that successfully. It's long-term philosophy grew stronger, and it adapted to the environment," he said.
The goals Toyota achieved, he said included the best quality, low cost, a shorter lead time for development, a better safety standard and high morale among employees.
Asked why he chose Toyota to study and write about as opposed to any other Japanese manufacturer, such as Honda Liker said Toyota is recognized as the best manufacturing company in Japan and is the model other companies aspire to be like.
NYSTAR Executive Director Recognizes Syracuse University’s Re-designation as a Center for Advanced Technology
5/4/2005Dr. Russell W. Bessette, executive director of the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), visited the Tech 2005 conference at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool today to recognize Syracuse University’s re-designation as a New York State Center for Advanced Technology (CAT). The NYSTAR-supported Central New York Technology Development Organization (TDO) and SU’s CASE Center are sponsoring today’s conference.
Gov. George E. Pataki announced SU’s redesignation as a CAT in July 2004. The CAT initiative is designed to encourage greater technological collaboration between New York State’s industries and research universities. Based upon historical appropriations and subject to the availability of state funds, it is expected that each CAT will receive up to $1 million annually. Each CAT is designated for up to 10 years to serve as a vehicle for transferring applied research in its technological focus from the university setting to industry.
“Under Gov. Pataki’s leadership, the CAT program has become an extremely important component of the state’s high technology economic development efforts,” says Bessette. “The universities that have been awarded a highly coveted CAT designation will be key partners in helping to create a vibrant technology-based economy well into the foreseeable future.”
It is the third such designation for the CASE Center (http://www.case.syr.edu), which supports research with a broad information technology focus. Over the past five years, the CASE Center’s applied IT research collaborations with local companies have resulted in an average $28 million dollar impact, as measured by jobs created and retained, company revenue and cost savings, financing acquired and capital investment.
“The CASE Center and SU are very pleased to be re-designated as a New York Center for Advanced Technology (CAT),” says Shiu-Kai Chin, director of the CASE Center. “This designation is continued recognition by the state of our expertise in systems and information technology.”
“The CASE Center will continue to work with New York’s high-tech businesses to deliver substantive and documented economic benefits to the state in terms of jobs, product development, sales and workforce development,” says Chin. “Everyone at CASE looks forward to adding another 10 years of productive applied research and economic development to our 20-year history of success.”
Successful Pursuit of Military Contracts Lifts AMCon
Syracuse Post Standard
4/4/2005Jack Davies was all set to move his document conversion company out of Syracuse University's CASE Center incubator in 2001 when the unexpected happened.
The economy started to slide, speeding the demise of many technology companies that were potential customers of his business, AMCon LLC. Then came the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which threw another potential big customer - the airline industry - into disarray.
Revenues at AMCon plunged from $680,000 in 2001 to $180,000 in 2002. Davies slashed his work force from 50 people to six. And he delayed his "graduation" from SU's business incubator.
"Sept. 11 hurt, but the economic downturn didn't help us either," he said. "I'm not sure which was the bigger blow."
But four years later, Davies has his company - now renamed AMCon Systems Corp. - back on track and breaking out on its own.
Revenues were $577,000 in 2003 and $1.2 million in 2004. The privately held company does not release profit figures, but Davies said AMCon broke even in 2003 and made money in 2004.
In February, he moved the company to the Mill Pond Landing building in Armory Square, where he employs 20 people. All are full time. Four years ago, most were part-timers.
AMCon has survived by shifting its marketing focus from commercial customers to the U.S. military and defense contractors.
Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Davies saw airlines as big potential customers because they have many technical manuals that need to be converted to more useful, updateable electronic formats. After Sept. 11, that business dried up.
But Davies found an even bigger owner of technical manuals that need to be converted into more modern formats - the military. And that's where he re-focused his attention.
An electrical engineer from Ottawa, Canada, Davies established AMCon - short for American Conversion Co. - in Syracuse in 1998 to be close to his first customer, Lockheed Martin Corp. After AMCon's failed attempt to branch into commercial markets, Davies brought it back to its roots.
"We focused on the Department of Defense and defense contractors," he said. "That's a long sales cycle, but after some perseverance, it started to produce some dividends."
Through defense contractors, AMCon has done work for the Army, the Marines and the Navy. One of its biggest clients remains Lockheed Martin, a big Navy contractor.
"We do high-quality work, so we've established some important relationships," said Davies.
He creditsthe CASE Center with helping his company survive by allowing it to stay four extra years.
"They were terrific," he said. "If they hadn't been cooperative, I'm not sure what we would have done."
The CASE Center is a state Center for Advanced Technology. It performs state-subsidized research in information technology, with a focus on areas of high-assurance software and systems, including cyber-security, distributed networks and wireless telecommunications.
It also provides office space for start-up companies that focus on information technology and would benefit from a close association with the university. AMCon paid market rates for rent - about $12 a square foot. But Davies estimates his young company saved $50,000 a year there because the center provided furniture, high-speed Internet access, telephone service and access to a cheap labor pool - students.
The center has no set limits on how long companies can stay. But Associate Director Roger Trabucco said they generally are expected to find their own office space after one to three years.
"They were here for six years, and I would not normally do that," he said. "But I really believed in the guy. They had a good technology, but they also had a good man."
After AMCon started doing really well about 10 months ago, Trabucco said he talked to Davies about the company moving out of the incubator.
"I gave them plenty of warning, and they had been thinking along those lines anyway," he said.
One of the reasons AMCon has been successful going after military contracts is that many of the world's document conversion companies are located in India and China, where they can pay very low wages. But Congress has barred the U.S. military from shipping its technical manuals out of the country to be converted. So while competitors in low-wage countries have an edge in getting commercial contracts, AMCon has an advantage when it comes to military contracts, Davies said.
His companyspecializes in taking printed and electronic manuals that typically are organized by volumes, chapters and sections and converting them into a computerized format known as XML, or Extensible Markup Language. Documents in the format can be viewed using any standard Web browser and quickly searched for relevant information.
"We try to make the documents more interactive," said Mark Gustavson, vice president of sales and marketing. "It's organizing the technical content so you can get just what you need, just in time."
An Army mechanic equipped with a laptop computer, for example, can instantly find a diagram showing every part in an electrical generator he's trying to fix in the field. And with just a few clicks, the mechanic can order the parts he needs.
"We add functionality that wasn't in the original document," said Gustavson.
AMCon maintains a software research office in Ottawa that employs five people. Davies said he expects to hire about 15 more people in Syracuse over the next 12 months.
"Our intent is to do our production in Syracuse and have our sales and marketing leadership there, and we'll be adding administrative jobs as well," he said.
CASE Center concludes seminar series on the newest trends in information technology with session on Voice-over IP
3/28/2005The CASE Center at Syracuse University will conclude its Next-Generation Information Technology Seminar Series for industry professionals on April 22 from 9 a.m. to noon in the CASE Center, located in SU’s Center for Science and Technology building.
Peter Morrissey, technology editor with Network Computing magazine and a faculty member in SU’s School of Information Studies, will speak on “Voice-over IP: Revolutionary Technology or Overpriced Hype?” He will discuss what makes VoIP different from legacy telephony, what types of organizations are most likely to benefit from VoIP, the key players and the products and services that are available today.
The session is $89, and space is limited. To register, contact Tami Pease at (315) 443-1060 or tlpease@syr.edu
Co-sponsors for the series include the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR); SU’s Center for Business Information Technologies; SU’s School of Information Studies; Network Computing magazine; and Secure Enterprise magazine.
ICS growth fueled by sports Web sites
Central New York Business Journal
2/15/2005• Major players: Jeffrey Rubin, president; Mark Frantz, vice president of technology
• What does your company do? “We provide customized e-business solutions,” Rubin says. His company designs Web sites for its clients and helps launch them, but Rubin, the company’s sole owner, believes an effective site goes beyond just design and the technology used to bring it to consumers. Businesses must focus on the content and management of their sites to maximize the full potential the Internet holds, Rubin says. “A lot of people do Web design,” he says. “Not a lot of people understand the philosophy of building a dynamic, successful Web site.”
• How does your company do that? ICS treats each client as a custom job, Rubin says. There is no one-size-fits-all package when it comes to Web sites, he explains. Often, the company’s employees write software applications specifically for a given client. That application is sometimes used only on the customer’s Web site. ICS software allows clients to manage and develop their own content without having to know any complex programming language. “They just decide they want to put a new news story or feature up on the Web site and they do it,” he says. “They don’t have to know any HTML language with our software.”
• What’s your background? Rubin began doing Web design professionally while he was a graduate student at Syracuse University in the early 1990s. At that time, companies were just starting to tap the business potential of the Web. “It was still something that was so new,” he says. “And at the time, it was relatively easy to do on the technology end.” At first, Rubin completed a few projects on the side as a way to make some extra cash. In 1996, he founded ICS to give his work a more professional face. He slowly started hiring a few friends to help him until the company grew to include the eight employees it has today. In addition to running ICS, Rubin is a professor in SU’s School of Information Studies.
• Who are your clients? ICS currently serves more than 45 customers. Most are based in Central New York and include government groups, non-profit organizations, and distribution companies. National clients include Lucent Technologies, the National Geographic Society, and the Discovery Channel. But the biggest single chunk of the company’s business comes from clients involved in collegiate athletics. ICS serves about 20 colleges, universities, and sports associations from all over the country. One of the company’s early projects was developing the Syracuse University sports Web site (www.suathletics.com). It has since developed software for online ticket sales at the Carrier Dome. ICS also handled all the live online game updates for the 2004 Big East basketball tournament. Rubin says the number of athletic clients could double within the next 18 months.
• If the sports side of your business continues to grow, will you be adding staff? Rubin says ICS will “definitely” be adding more staff. He’s not sure exactly how many, but says the most likely scenario will include hiring three to four people to service the company’s collegiate-athletics clients full time.
• What kind of revenue growth are you projecting? Rubin is projecting revenues to increase from more than $300,000 in 2004 to about $500,000 this year. The company generated revenues of about $150,000 in 2003, he says.
• Any plans to add more office space? At the end of February, ICS will move from the technology incubator at the CASE Center at SU’s Center for Science and Technology. It will move across campus to offices at Hinds Hall. ICS currently has about 1,500 square feet at the CASE Center. The new space will be about 2,000 square feet.
• What’s generating the growth your company is experiencing now? Rubin says companies are now not only beginning to realize the full potential of Web sites, but also the kind of content-management applications that ICS offers. “If we get a chance to demo our software, we usually get the contract,” he says. Still, Rubin says attracting new clients consumes much of the company’s time. “We just try to get our name out there as much as possible,” he says. To do that, ICS attends trade shows and exhibitions, especially in the college-sports sector. Much of the company’s recent growth, however, has been fueled by the reputation it has gained from working with clients on a national level. High-profile events like the Big East Tournament obviously help as well, Rubin adds.
AMCon Research moving downtown
Central New York Business Journal
12/15/2004AMCon Research, Inc. is leaving the Syracuse University’s CASE Center business incubator for a 4,000-square-foot space at 327 W. Fayette St. The 15-employee, document-converting company plans to move during the month of December in order to minimize disruption to its work. J.F. Real Estate served as broker for the lease deal. S&R Associates, LLC owns the Mill Pond Landing Building which is located near the east bank of Onondaga Creek.
Founded in 1998 by entrepreneur Jack Davies, AMCon converts documents and manuals into computer formats for use in electronic media. Canadian–born Davies started his computing career with IBM in the 1960s. He later founded Systemhouse Ltd. in the 1970s and ActiveSystems, Inc. in the 1980s. Davies came to Syracuse from Toronto in 1998 to help Lockheed Martin with its document-conversion project.
The company uses an open format that can be used on any computer without the need for special viewing software, says Mark Gustavson, vice president of sales and marketing for AMCon. Greenbriar Holdings, an Ontario–based investment company, provided startup funding and kept the company going through difficult times after Sept. 11, 2001, disrupted its private-sector business. The company was scheduled to sign a major contract to convert airline manuals just after Sept. 11. The economic effects of the terror attacks sent many air carriers into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Army is one of AMCon’s largest customers. Companies such as Boeing have turned to AMCon to convert voluminous technical manuals into dynamic documents that work like Web pages. AMCon created the 62-page specifications that the U.S. Army uses for its document-conversion contracts.
Other members of the AMCon staff include Dale Lancaster, chief technology officer, and Sara Davies, production manager. His company also has operations in Canada.
AMCon can convert documents from paper or scanned images. Computer tools that can “read” text make the documents searchable. AMCon’s staff takes each source document and creates a “map” that shows each section of the document. The map file allows technicians to create Web-like “links” to the information. The final product gives users the ability to jump through the document much like surfing the Internet rather than flipping pages.
“A repair manual can walk the user through each step, “ Gustavson explains. “They can choose the symptom from a list, click on the problem, and go directly to the section they need.”
The reading process can be tracked on the computer, he adds, the same way as Web-page use is tracked, allowing technicians to see exactly how users employed the electronic manual.
Computer tools check the accuracy of the conversion, ensuring that the words remain the same. Since lives depend on voluminous technical manuals, ensuring the accuracy of the conversion is the paramount concern.
“They give us documents,” explains Gustavson, “and we give them the exact same thing right back.”
Many of the materials AMCon converts are classified by the government into categories of secrecy, Gustavson explains. The Department of Defense requires workers to undergo security checks before they can handle military materials. AMCon maintains a government-approved secure area to store its sensitive materials, he adds.
If new document standards come about in the future, says Gustavson, AMCon’s process makes it simple to convert documents to the new standard.
“We just follow the map we’ve created,” he adds.
Some of the early electronic-document formats created by other companies require proprietary-viewing software instead of standard document-viewing tools such as Web browsers.
AMCon decided to locate at Syracuse University’s CASE Center in order to take advantage of the University’s supply of computing expertise and a skilled work force, says Gustavson.
With the government and industry’s growing acceptance of electronic documents, AMCon plans to double its work force to 30 in the next year, says Gustavson. The U.S. Army alone has billions of document pages that need converting. AMCon is also licensing its document–conversion methods to other businesses across the country. AMCon generates annual revenues of approximately $1.2 million and produces a 20-percent profit.
CASE Center, Syracuse Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Garden announce partnership
9/27/2004The CASE Center of Syracuse University and the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce have announced that they intend to work jointly to assist the growth of the entrepreneurial community in Central New York.
“With the pending opening of the Chamber’s Syracuse Technology Garden this fall and the recent 10-year renewal of the CASE Center’s designation as a Center for Advanced Technology, the two organizations see this as an excellent opportunity to structure a winning partnership that will help to boost the high technology economy of the region,” says CASE Center Director Shiu-Kai Chin.
The partnership stems from strong ties between the two organizations—Chamber President David Cordeau is a member of CASE’s newly structured Advisory Board; CASE Associate Director Roger Trabucco will serve on the Admissions Committee for the Chamber’s Syracuse Technology Garden. The Chamber and the CASE Center have also agreed to merge two groups that share common objectives: The CASE Center’s Information Technology Roundtable and the Chamber’s X-Tech/Technology Council.
“The intention is to bring together elements of the University community and the regional business community to focus on technology innovations and business applications,” says CASE Associate Director Roger Trabucco. Meetings will be held alternatively at the CASE Center and the Technology Garden and meeting topics will be jointly developed. According to the Nasir Ali, Chamber VP for New Venture Development, “combining the two technology groups will allow us to leverage resources, eliminate duplication of presentation topics and attract experts from around the country to inform local audiences about interesting
areas of technology innovation.”
As part of the Chamber-CASE joint efforts, it is envisioned that each incubator’s tenants will be able to benefit from services offered by both organizations. Among the benefits of CASE membership are access to faculty, students, equipment, libraries and University Centers. The Syracuse Technology Garden will be providing mentors, networking opportunities and access to a broad business network covering areas such as legal, financial, human resources, and marketing. Both organizations have strong access to capital sources. Additional details of the incubation affiliation process will be announced as planning proceeds.
The Syracuse Technology Garden is a project of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneurial Council. Syracuse Technology Garden clients will typically be interested in developing a new technology or implementing a unique application of known or emerging technologies. Most of the incubator’s clients are likely to be in the early stages of venture formation and product development. Other Chamber entrepreneurial support initiatives include www.SyracuseEntrepreneur.com, the CNY Angel investor group, and a mentor network of active and retired executives and technology experts.
The CASE Center functions as a full-service New York State Center for Advanced Technology, partially funded by the New York State Office of Science, Technology & Academic Research (NYSTAR). CASE’s mission is to contribute to the high technology economy of New York State through applied research efforts within its extensive Information Technology focus areas of high-assurance software and systems (including cyber-security and verification), distributed networks and data mining (including sensor networks and information fusion), and wireless telecommunications (including electromagnetics and microwave technologies). CASE’s activities include a broad array of research projects with companies throughout New York State and workforce development programs. CASE’s incubator focuses on faculty start-ups and companies within its technology focus areas that would significantly benefit from a location on a University campus. Over the past five years, CASE has documented more than $141 million in economic impact for companies doing business in New York State.
For more information on the Syracuse Technology Garden, contact Nasir Ali, vice president for new venture development, at (315) 470-1800 or nali@SyracuseChamber.com. For more information on the CASE Center, contact Roger Trabucco, associate director, at (315) 443-1064 or trabucco@syr.edu.
Governor Announces Designation of New High Tech Centers
7/5/2004Centers for Advanced Technology Key to Developing NY's High Tech Economy
Governor George E. Pataki today announced that ten universities in New York have been awarded newly designated Centers for Advanced Technology (CAT), part of an overall initiative to encourage greater technological and economic collaboration between New York State's industries and New York's research universities.
Included in the designations is a new Center for Advanced Technology in energy systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. This new Center will focus on energy conservation, smart lighting, fuel cells, and renewable energy sources.
"The announcement being made today reflects our comprehensive efforts to build a stronger and brighter economic future for New York State," said Governor Pataki. "By challenging our research centers to focus their intellectual talents on the technological needs of the 21st century, we are further securing New York's role as an international leader in high-tech and biotechnology research and economic development. These grants will support the world-class research being performed at New York's colleges and universities and will complement our other high-tech economic development initiatives, such as our Centers of Excellence program."
"As we move forward with Phase II of our high-technology and biotechnology job creation efforts, we are ensuring every opportunity for our young people to secure a good paying, high-tech job so they can build their future right here in New York State," Governor Pataki said. "With every new high-tech job we create, we can realize our goal of creating one million new jobs by the end of the decade."
Building upon the State's efforts to promote a thriving high-tech economy in New York, the Governor's proposed Budget provides strong support for Phase II of New York's High-Tech/Biotech Efforts to encourage new investment and job creation in emerging high-tech and biotechnology industry in New York.
Phase II of the Governor's plan includes: $350 million for a Higher Education Capital Matching Grants Program; a new Biotech Capital Access Program; additional support for the Centers of Excellence Program; and the establishment of a new High-Tech Council.
Russell W. Bessette, M.D., Executive Director of the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), said, "Under Governor Pataki's leadership, the CAT program has become an extremely important component of the State's high technology economic development efforts. The universities that have been awarded a highly coveted CAT designation will be key partners in helping to create a vibrant technology-based economy well into the foreseeable future."
The CAT program, which consists of 15 research centers, has been successful to date. In a five-year period, New York's CATs have helped create or retain more than 5,300 jobs and generated more than $1.7 billion in private sector
revenues, cost-savings and capital expenditures.
As detailed in a request for proposals (RFP) issued early this year, New York is awarding 10 CAT designations to enhance universities' ability to increase New York companies' competitiveness by commercializing promising new technologies and create significant economic impact in New York State. The RFP was issued because 10 CATs required re-designation. The other CATs are not required to be re-designated at this time.
Based upon historical appropriations and subject to the availability of State funds, it is expected that each CAT will receive up to $1 million annually. Each CAT will be designated for up to 10 years to serve as a vehicle for transferring applied research in its technological focus from the university to industry.
As part of the rigorous selection process for this initiative, applications were judged on the basis of the center management team's experience, the applicant's track record in assisting industry with applied research and commercialization, the institution's breadth of research resources, and the degree to which New York's investment will enable the applicant's ability to create economic impact in New York State.
The RFP sought proposals in six specific areas of technology that represent significant economic opportunity for New York State: information technology and telecommunications; life sciences, enabling sciences, and agricultural sciences; nanotechnology; semiconductors and microelectronics; photonics and imaging science systems; and energy systems.
Institutions that were eligible to apply for designation as a Center for Advanced Technology included any New York State university, university-affiliated research institute, or consortia, that met specific eligibility criteria identified in the RFP.
The following academic institutions have been awarded newly designated CATs:
Institution: Binghamton University
Center Name: Integrated Electronics Engineering Center
Technology Focus: Semiconductors and microelectronics
Institution: City University of New York-City College
Center Name: CAT in Photonics Applications
Technology Focus: Photonics and imaging science systems
Institution: Columbia University
Center Name: Center for Advanced Information Management
Technology Focus: Information technology and telecommunications
Institution: Cornell University
Center Name: Center for Life Science Enterprise
Technology Focus: Life sciences, enabling sciences and agricultural sciences
Institution: Polytechnic University
Center Name: CAT in Telecommunications
Technology Focus: Information technology and telecommunications
Consortium Member(s): Columbia University
Institution: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Center Name: Future Energy Systems
Technology Focus: Energy systems
Consortium Member(s): Cornell University
Institution: Stony Brook University
Center Name: CAT in Medical Biotechnology
Technology Focus: Life sciences, enabling sciences and agricultural sciences
Institution: Syracuse University
Center Name: CASE Center
Technology Focus: Information technology and telecommunications
Institution: University at Albany
Center Name: CAT in Nanomaterials and Nanoelectronics
Technology Focus: Semiconductors and microelectronics
Consortium Member(s): Einstein College of Medicine, Binghamton University, Alfred University, Stony Brook University
Institution: University of Rochester
Center Name: CAT for Electronic Imaging Systems
Technology Focus: Photonics and imaging science systems
The CAT program complements NYSTAR's other programs to spur technology-based research and economic development in New York State; promote national and international research collaboration and innovation; better leverage the State's research expertise and funding with investments from the federal government, foundations, businesses, venture capitalists, and others.
Governor Pataki and the Legislature have advanced several major initiatives to expand high technology and biotechnology business and job-creation opportunities in New York. The Governor's Centers of Excellence initiative, along with Strategically Targeted Academic Research (STAR) Centers and Advanced Research Centers (ARCs), focus on critical emerging technologies that are expected to become major high-tech growth areas. Each Center is designed to complement other specialized academic centers in a seamless network of high-tech research and economic development.
O'Keefe Seeks Many Visions
Syracuse Post Standard
5/17/2004The Hubble space telescope needs a tune-up to continue operating, but it's too dangerous for humans to do the work.
How to repair the aging telescope?
Why not use robots, came the answer.
"The suggestion of using robotics on the Hubble servicing mission came from just issuing a broad area request for information from people," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.
Rather than limit its solutions to its own engineers and scientists, NASA opened up the problem to suggestions from anyone. The agency got lots of ideas. Some were good, and some were not as good, O'Keefe said.
"As a consequence it really sparked some creative juice we've really got to do a lot more of that," he said.
It's that kind of technology transfer- from agency to industry and back- that O'Keefe said he wants to promote.
O'Keefe spoke Tuesday to the breakfast crowd at Tech2004, the Central New York Technology Development Organization's annual manufacturing and technology conference. The conference was held at the Holiday Inn in Salina.
O'Keefe had served as the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. In 2001 President George W. Bush asked him become the deputy director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Several months later he became NASA's administrator.
Technology development is at NASA's core, O'Keefe said as he laid out the nation's vision for space exploration.
The presentation included a five-minute video on Bush's plan to ignite the country's fervor for space exploration.
The first goal is to complete the international space station, using it to research the long-term effect of space on the human body. The agency will need to return the space shuttle to flight to complete that mission, O'Keefe said.
The next goal is to develop new exploration vehicles. The agency also plans to return to the moon by 2020 and use it as the jumping-off point for exploring other areas of space.
The decline in the number of students pursuing engineering, math, science and technology degrees in American colleges will hamper those goals, O'Keefe said. He urged the audience to encourage students to pursue degrees in those fields.
CASE Center: Force for New York State Economic Development
Central New York Business Journal
10/10/2003With the bursting of the high-tech market bubble squeezing startup financing, the Computer Applications and Software Engineering (CASE) Center at Syracuse University has boosted the amount of applied IT research it does with established area companies.
The CASE Center, known for its information-technology business incubator, now has just five companies leasing space and using the technology infrastructure and faculty expertise at its offices in the Center for Science & Technology at Syracuse University. That's down from 12 firms two years ago. Less than half of the 12,000 square feet of available space is occupied, says Roger Trabucco, associate director of the CASE Center, which is funded by the New York State Office of Science, Technology & Academic Research (NYSTAR) and is one of the 15 centers for advanced technology across the state.
Despite that and a slow overall economy, the CASE Center reported that it had a $30 million impact on the Central New York economy in its latest fiscal year ended July 30 - as measured by jobs created and retained, company revenue and cost savings, financing acquired and capital investments made. That figure is down slightly from the $32 million impact the previous year.
About 85 percent of the economic impact was from CASE's work with existing area companies, such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Welch Allyn, Inc., and Sensis Corp., vs. 15 percent from incubator companies. That's a big turnaround from a 50-50 split just three years ago.
"We saw where things were going a couple years ago and shifted to outside projects," says Trabucco. "The collapse of the dot-coms and the lack of seed capital in this area has been a huge factor in making it difficult for incubator companies to raise money."
Project List Grows:
Two months into its new fiscal year, the CASE Center has 25 applied-research projects under way in information technology. Twenty of those are with companies outside the incubator. Trabucco expects the center to surpass last year's 30 projects, as he is currently in negotiations with several firms.
"We are actively seeking new projects all the time," he says.
One key research-and-development area in which the CASE Center specializes is systems assurance, which includes ensuing the security and reliability of computer networks and complex information systems such as those used in the military or aviation.
"That is an extremely relevant area now," says Trabucco, referring to recent, high-profile, global computer attacks and the U.S. homeland-security efforts.
The CASE Center also has expertise in sensor technologies and systems, which have applications for medical instruments, radars, telecommunications, e-commerce, and information management.
The CASE Center receives $1.3 million in funding annually from NYSTAR, provided that the center raises $1.3 million from the private sector. If it doesn't raise the $1.3 million, the CASE Center's funding from NYSTAR is cut back the next year, by an amount proportional to its private-funding shortfall. But the center has raised the necessary funding each of the last five years, says Trabucco.
In all, the CASE Center says it has helped to create almost 600 jobs and retain 300 more in Central New York in the last six years. The center also claims that more than $50 million in new business revenue and $12 million in cost savings have been generated from its projects.
Incubation Doors Open:
Despite the shift in research projects toward established companies, the CASE Center is still actively seeking to re-stock its tech incubator with new start-up companies.
"The message on incubation is 'our doors are open,'" Trabucco says. "But we haven't lowered the standards."
He says the center looks for IT companies that have sound business plans, strong management, and technology that could potentially be patented and could benefit from working with SU faculty, staff and students.
The incubator firms are required to do business in New York State beyond just having a sales office.
The center provides them with furnished office space, high speed Internet access, network infrastructure, networked conference space, flexible leases, and access to SU technology experts and those at local IT companies.
Current tenants of the CASE Center's incubator include AMCon, LLC, which makes document-conversion software, and CollabWorx, Inc., which develops collaboration software and services.
One recent "graduate" of the CASE Center's incubator is ASAP Computer Systems, Inc, which sells computer systems, parts and networking components. ASAP moved into a new office at 1001 E. Water St. in Syracuse at the start of this year.
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Central New York Business Journal 
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