Universities, industry leaders, and government partners from across New York State gathered at the SUNY Global Center in New York City on November 12-13 for the annual State University of New York (SUNY) Research Council meeting. The event focused on how collaboration between academic institutions and industry can drive innovation and economic growth.
This year’s meeting centered on the theme “Strategic Partnerships for Innovation: Advancing Regional Impact through Academic-Industry Collaboration.” The discussions highlighted the importance of public universities in promoting research that leads to job creation, startup activity, and regional prosperity.
Stony Brook University had a prominent presence at the event. Lav Varshney, director of the Stony Brook AI Innovation Institute, delivered the keynote address. He spoke about artificial intelligence as both a scientific frontier and a factor in national competitiveness. “We need to pursue both innovation in AI and its diffusion across industries and society,” said Varshney, who is also the Della Pietra Infinity Professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “That combination of developing new algorithms and architectures while ensuring AI is safe, secure, and trustworthy is how we strengthen our state and national competitiveness.”
Varshney described Stony Brook’s AI Innovation Institute as a center for foundational research that brings together multiple disciplines including health sciences, arts, engineering, business, and entrepreneurship. He explained that their approach combines advances in AI technology with its application across different fields such as medicine, dentistry, anthropology, and the arts. He also stressed that trustworthiness should be central to AI development: “The foundation for ensuring that innovation truly benefits society.”
Eden Figueroa, director of the Center for Distributed Quantum Processing at Stony Brook University, participated as a panelist in a session titled “Quantum New York: Advancing Regional Impact through Academic–Industry Collaboration.” The session discussed efforts to unite universities, national laboratories, and industry partners within New York’s growing quantum science sector.
Figueroa leads several key initiatives at Stony Brook related to quantum communication networks and next-generation quantum repeater technologies—efforts closely tied to New York State’s $300 million investment in a new Quantum Research and Innovation Hub at Stony Brook. This facility will focus on quantum communication, computing technologies, and workforce development.
The participation by Stony Brook researchers reflected alignment with statewide priorities around cross-sector collaboration for scalable impact. The university recently launched its own AI Innovation Institute (AI3) aimed at coordinating artificial intelligence research across various disciplines.
Kevin Gardner, vice president for research at Stony Brook University, commented on these developments: “We are at a crossroads where continued investment in research is essential not just for innovation but for maintaining the technological leadership of the United States,” Gardner said. “Our collective efforts demonstrate how public universities can serve as engines of both discovery and economic vitality.”
The SUNY Research Council meeting emphasized SUNY’s role as an organizer bringing together stakeholders from academia, government policy circles, and industry to help shape future innovation strategies within New York State.
Looking ahead to 2026, Stony Brook University will host the SUNY AI Symposium from April 14-16; more information can be found at stonybrook.edu/ai_symposium.
