Message from the Director – Lisa Chichura, PhD

In 1994, New York state founded the Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence program (SPIR) to help New York state companies solve engineering and technical problems using State University of New York (SUNY) resources which include access to SUNY undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, faculty, laboratories, and specialized facilities. SPIR programs are located at each of the four university centers in the SUNY system: University at Albany, Binghamton University, University at Buffalo, and Stony Brook University (SBU).

Stony Brook University SPIR: University-Industry Partnership!

The success of SBU’s SPIR program is a result of the dedication of the faculty and the caliber of students assigned to each project. SPIR sponsors industry projects through cost-sharing arrangements across a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines, providing services including R&D, prototype and new product development, testing and evaluation, manufacturing process improvement and quality assurance, and failure analysis. SPIR also collaborates on joint projects to seek federal and other external funding opportunities. To date SPIR has helped companies win more than $120M in federal funding from the Small Business Administration’s SBIR/STTR program.  

While the SPIR program supports projects with New York state companies SPIR is particularly focused on supporting startup companies in our incubator facilities, commercialization of Stony Brook technologies, experiential learning within the academic programs, and faculty and student entrepreneurial activities.

The high-tech marketplace is extremely competitive, with many companies developing cutting-edge technologies that require further development and refinement. Companies often seek to create partnerships with universities to access advanced research facilities and to recruit new employees. Through SPIR, students provide a cost-effective source of skilled engineers and scientists who can contribute valuable design and development work while benefiting from faculty mentorship.  The best students are often retained by the industry sponsors for full time employment after graduation. Companies that participate in the SPIR program receive engineering and technical assistance, but also reduce their recruitment costs by evaluating potential employees in real project settings. New York State greatly benefits from the retention of our graduates that have taken advantage of the cost-effective education that SUNY provides, and students benefit from the experiential learning supplied by SPIR supported projects.

SPIR contributes significantly to innovation and economic development in the state by funding projects that align with the mission of SUNY while assisting New York state companies.  SPIR welcomes inquiries from companies interested in exploring how we can assist them in their technology development goals.  If you are interested in learning more, please contact us.