The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) has announced the recipients of its Innovation Fund awards for 2024. The fund, aimed at helping companies overcome research and development challenges to commercialize innovative solutions, is supported by members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.
This year's awardees include Hydronic Shell Technologies, M3 Innovation, ThermoVerse, and tomPhyzx. Each company will receive $10,000 to aid in product development and technological advancement. The winners were chosen from a competitive group of applicants who presented their projects to a panel of external reviewers. Proposals had to align with SyracuseCoE's focus areas: indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy, and water resources.
Hydronic Shell Technologies will use its funding for the "Optimization of Hydrobox Terminal Units" project. This initiative involves collaboration with fabrication partners to enhance the design of the HydroBox terminal unit within their hydronic shell system.
M3 Innovation's project titled "Autonomous Optimization of Energy Usage through IoT Wireless Control System" focuses on developing an IoT platform that autonomously manages energy consumption through long-range communication with remote sensor nodes.
ThermoVerse is working on a "Smart Insulation Material System (SIMs)" project that tests smart insulation panels designed to significantly reduce HVAC energy usage without affecting thermal comfort.
TomPhyzx plans to further Computational Fluid Dynamics studies with their project "Validation, Visualization and Optimization of Air Flow Analysis in Digital Twins." This work aims to improve air flow models in medical settings to reduce hospital-acquired infections while minimizing energy use.
External reviewers included Marco Adolph from TROX; Scott MacBain from Carrier Corp.; Cindy Oehmigen from the Manufacturers Association of Central New York; Kate Oja from the Workforce Development Institute; and Dan Rickman from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
"The quality and creativity of these project proposals speaks to the strength of the innovation ecosystem that SyracuseCoE fosters," said Scott MacBain, chair of SyracuseCoE’s Industry Partners Council.
"SyracuseCoE is uniquely positioned to connect startups with academic experts," added Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, Executive Director at SyracuseCoE. He emphasized that these projects will advance technologies promoting human health and sustainability.
Since its inception in 2014, the Innovation Fund has invested over $640,000 in more than 60 projects primarily based in New York State. Participating companies have reported creating over 264 jobs and securing more than $49 million in additional funding as a result.
Members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program are eligible for application to this fund. For further information or partnership inquiries, interested parties can contact Tammy Rosanio at tlrosani@syr.edu.
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