Message from the Vice President
This was a remarkable year for Binghamton scholars, and I’d like to highlight just a few notable achievements from across our campus:
• Binghamton University is a key partner in a new institute focused on the use of digital twins to improve domestic semiconductor design and manufacturing.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Semiconductor Research Corporation Manufacturing Consortium Corp. (SRC) announced in November that they are negotiating for the department to provide SRC $285 million to establish and operate a Manufacturing USA Institute. With combined funding totaling $1 billion, the new SMART USA (Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA) aims to address challenges facing semiconductor manufacturing.
S3IP, A NEW YORK STATE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AT BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY
Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM)
Center for Autonomous Solar Power (CASP)
Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2)
Center for Heterogeneous Integration Research in Packaging (CHIRP)
Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC)
FEDERALLY DESIGNATED RESEARCH CENTERS AT BINGHAMTON
Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems
• Filmmaker Ariana Gerstein received a 2024 fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The 188 fellows were selected from among some 3,000 applicants. Of special note: Gerstein, who joined Binghamton’s faculty in 1999, is also a Binghamton alumna. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
• Biomedical engineer Siyuan Rao received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award in fall 2023. She aims to create a soft device technology to study the spinal cord system. Rao, a graduate of Beihang University in China, was a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining our faculty in 2023.
• Biologist Karin Sauer was among 65 scientists elected as Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2024. Sauer’s lab aims to find ways to control communities of bacteria called biofilms. A graduate of the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Germany, Sauer joined our faculty in 2003.
• Computer scientist Lijun Yin was recognized as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow. Yin, a trailblazer in the fields of 3D and 4D facial modeling known for his work on human-computer interaction and computer vision, joined Binghamton’s faculty in 2001 after receiving his doctorate at the University of Alberta, Canada.
Working alongside such innovative thinkers inspires me and my colleagues every day and contributes to our culture of discovery across campus.
A National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center
Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center
A National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Research Center (NIAAA)
New Energy New York Build Back Better Regional Challenge winner and Tech Hub designee
New York Node of the NextFlex Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Institute
A Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institute
NSF Engines: Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine
A U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine designee
Bahgat Sammakia
Rajan Kumar leads Ateios Systems, which participated in Binghamton University’s ChargeUp Accelerator and received funding from the Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine.
Battery initiatives aim to establish region as America’s battery capital
Upstate New York is solidifying its position as a national hub for battery innovation and manufacturing, thanks in part to three major initiatives led by Binghamton University with state and federal support.
The U.S. National Science Foundation established upstate New York as one of 10 inaugural Regional Innovation Engines in January 2024. The U.S. Economic Development Administration named the region a Build Back Better Regional Challenge awardee in fall 2022 and designated it as a national Battery Tech Hub in fall 2023.
“Built in America by Americans. That’s really our goal,” says M. Stanley Whittingham, a SUNY distinguished professor and Nobel laureate in chemistry, whose research is at the heart of these initiatives. “What we’re pushing is a sustainable ecosystem, one that can really strengthen this part of the economy.”
Binghamton is the only university in the country to receive all three designations. New Energy New York (NENY) is the umbrella organization for the EDA-sponsored awards, while the Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine is funded by the NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program.
Ecosystem news for 2024:
Research and development: The NSF Engine has begun to make grants in support of use-inspired R&D. RIT, in partnership with NY-BEST, is leading the Battery Development Center, a research and rapid prototyping and testing facility that offers an end-to-end set of services for the battery industry. And Battery-NY, a next-generation development and prototyping facility, will bridge the gap between R&D and large-scale production for emerging battery chemistries and technologies.
Talent pipeline: The NENY Battery Academy offers online programs that provide training for battery technicians and energy storage systems management. The NENY Student Startup Experience program has placed hundreds of students in paid internships with clean energy startups.
neny.org
UPSTATE NEW YORK
upstatenyengine.org
New Energy New York and the NSF Engine bring together more than 100 industry partners, dozens of governments, multiple nonprofits and four of the leading research institutions in the region — Binghamton, Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology and Syracuse University.
The projects aim to advance the United States as a global competitor in lithium-ion batteries, strengthen the battery supply chain and expand jobs across a wide swath of upstate New York.
Nurturing startups: The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator offers a Clean Energy Incubator and hosts NENY ChargeUp, the nation’s first battery startup accelerator program. The NENY Technical Assistance Program has made two rounds of awards, assisting startups with technology development efforts through testing and prototyping providers. The NSF Engine will support startups with training, mentoring and investments.
Community engagement: The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator’s NENY Equity in Innovation program fosters customer discovery as well as Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises certification. And with support from the NENY coalition, Broome Tioga Workforce secured funding to provide a training program for entry-level clean energy manufacturing jobs.
ORGANIZED RESEARCH CENTERS
Center for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Science (CAMRIS)
Binghamton Biofilm Research Center (BBRC)
Center of Biomanufacturing for Regenerative Medicine (CBRM)
Center for Cognitive Applications (CAPS)
Binghamton Center of Complex Systems (CoCo)
Center for Development and Behavioral Neuroscience (CDBN)
Center for Healthcare Systems Engineering (CHSE)
Center for Imaging, Acoustics and Perception Science (CIAPS)
Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity (CIAC)
Bernard M. & Ruth R. Bass Center for Leadership Studies (CLS)
Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CEMERS)
Natural Global Environmental Change Center (NAT-CHANGE)
Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences (DCNHS) Office of Research and Scholarship
Public Archaeology Facility (PAF)
Center for Research in Advanced Sensor Technologies and Environmental Sustainability (CREATES)
Center for Translational Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering (CTSCTE)
Tick-borne Diseases Center
Center for Writers (CW)
INSTITUTES FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
Center for Israel Studies (CIS)
Center for Korean Studies (CKS)
Binghamton University Center for Community Schools
Human Rights Institute (HRI)
Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities (IASH)
Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas (IAAD)
Institute for Evolutionary Studies (Evos)
Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE)
The Binghamton University/Harriet Tubman Center for the Study of Freedom and Equity
New research center will focus on impact of environmental change
Environmental change can take many forms, from shifting weather patterns to an influx of invasive species that threatens native ecosystems.
About three dozen scientists across Binghamton University already work on questions related to environmental change in disciplines that include Earth sciences, biological sciences, geography, anthropology, environmental studies and engineering.
The University’s new Natural Global Environmental Change Center, or NAT-CHANGE, gives natural scientists a space to share their work and collaborate on future research connected with anthropogenic change, how that change affects natural systems and how to develop solutions. Headed by Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Kirsten Prior and Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Molly Patterson, NAT-CHANGE takes a broad approach, focusing on four main themes: climate science, nutrients and pollutants, land use, and changes in biodiversity, including invasive species.
“Environmental change is a great challenge. Humans are impacting the environment in ways that have the potential to affect society,” Prior says. “To have a healthy society, we also need a healthy environment. Our goal is to figure out what those impacts are on natural systems and come up with solutions to mitigate those impacts.”
Kirsten Prior, left, associate professor of biological sciences, leads the Natural Global Environmental Change Center with Molly Patterson, associate professor of earth sciences.
SPONSOR
TRANSFER 2023-2024
TECHNOLOGY DISCLOSURES U.S. PATENT APPLICATIONS U.S. PATENTS ISSUED
2023-2024
250,196
Researchers behind promising new muscular dystrophy drug
A drug developed by researchers in Binghamton’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences received American and European regulatory approval in late 2023 for the treatment of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a common genetic disease that mostly affects boys.
Vamorolone is now the first DMD treatment approved by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency.
DMD, the world’s most common neuromuscular genetic disease, leads to the loss of the dystrophin protein in muscle tissues, causing progressive weakness and challenges with daily activities.
Kanneboyina Nagaraju, professor of pharmaceutical sciences and dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Eric Hoffman, professor of pharmaceutical sciences and associate dean of research and research development, spent 13 years developing vamorolone.
Corticosteroids are widely used in treating DMD. But long-term use comes with side effects such as easily broken bones and weight gain. Researchers aimed to develop an effective steroid drug without the accompanying downsides.
Nagaraju’s laboratory tested vamorolone in mouse models of DMD more than 10 years ago, providing the pre-clinical data to advance the drug to human trials.
Hoffman, who has been working on translational research on DMD since 1985, established the
Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group (CINRG) to enable robust clinical trials in DMD. In a trial in 121 boys with DMD, ages 4 to 7, vamorolone was found to increase strength and mobility relative to placebo. The clinical trial leading to regulatory approval was carried out at 32 academic hospitals in 11 countries.
Nagaraju and Hoffman, together with medicinal chemist John McCall, launched a company called ReveraGen BioPharma to take vamorolone through the drug development process. The team leveraged government and nonprofit foundation resources for scientific and research support, effectively “de-risking” vamorolone through extensive peer review at multiple steps.
“We are proud of the particularly robust preclinical and clinical research underlying the vamorolone drug approval,” says Hoffman, “only made possible through international collaborative academic clinical networks.”
Kanneboyina Nagaraju, left, and Eric Hoffman, collaborated on the development of vamorolone, which has received U.S. and European approval as a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Kanneboyina Nagaraju
Eric Hoffman
33 Binghamton researchers among world’s top 2%
A recent Stanford University study identified 33 Binghamton scholars among the top 2% of all researchers in the world in their fields in 2023.
To create the rankings, the authors of the Stanford study analyze the work of more than 6 million scientists worldwide and rank them based on their career-long or singleyear output (as of 2023). The data includes information on the number of publications and citation metrics that measure the impact of a researcher’s work.
Binghamton’s most influential scientist in 2023 was Nobel laureate M. Stanley Whittingham, distinguished professor of chemistry.
“Binghamton’s faculty have long impressed me with their talent and passion for their work as well as their ingenuity in finding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems,” President Harvey Stenger says. “This recognition comes as no surprise and is a terrific measure of the excellence of the University’s faculty.”
Binghamton’s list also includes:
• Harpur College of Arts and Sciences researchers Jiye Fang, Brandon E. Gibb, David G. Davies, Subal C. Kumbhakar, Alistair J. Lees, Tim K. Lowenstein, Jason W. Moore, Wei Qiang, Karin Sauer, Cyma Van Petten, Thomas Pingel, Eriks Rozners, Thomas Zaslavsky and Jia Zhao.
• Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science scholars Jeremy Blackburn, Yu Chen, Seokheun “Sean” Choi, Jessica Fridrich, Carlos GershensonGarcia, Fuda Ning, Hiroki Sayama, Lijun Yin, Mohammad Younis, Pu Zhang, Zhongfei “Mark” Zhang, Guangwen Zhou and Ning Zhou.
• School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty Yetrib Hathout, Eric P. Hoffman and Wesley Kufel.
• Laura Bronstein in the College of Community and Public Affairs and Yan Zhang in the School of Management.
Bahgat Sammakia, vice president for research, notes that projects related to healthcare now account for the largest share of external research funding at Binghamton, followed by electronics packaging and work related to energy and materials science.
“As our research portfolio continues to grow, it’s encouraging to see that our scholars are recognized as experts by others within their disciplines,” Sammakia says. “Binghamton faculty members have the passion and the ability to pursue use-inspired research at the highest level, and this list is proof that their work has a significant impact around the world.”
Engineer Seokheun “Sean” Choi has developed bacteria-fueled biobatteries.
Nobel laureate M. Stanley Whittingham, distinguished professor of chemistry and an inventor of the lithium-ion battery, led the list of Binghamton researchers who are ranked among the top 2% in their fields.
Jeremy Blackburn studies bullying, trolls and other “bad actors” online.
Biologist Karin Sauer’s research aims to understand bacterial biofilms.
Laura Bronstein is known for her research on school-community partnerships.
NY
Office of the Vice President for Research
Binghamton University
PO Box 6000
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
binghamton.edu/research
CONNECT WITH BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY’S DIVISION OF RESEARCH
Bahgat Sammakia
Vice President for Research bahgat@binghamton.edu
Lisa Gilroy
Associate Vice President for Research lgilroy@binghamton.edu
Don Miller
Assistant Vice President for Sponsored Programs demiller@binghamton.edu
Nancy Lewis
Assistant Vice President for Research Compliance nlewis@binghamton.edu
Bandhana Katoch
Interim Assistant Vice President, Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships bkatoch@binghamton.edu
Michael Jacobson
Director of Strategic Research Initiatives mjacobso@binghamton.edu
Rachel Coker
Director of Research Advancement rcoker@binghamton.edu
Darcy Fauci
Director of Government Relations dfauci@binghamton.edu
On the cover: What appears to be the subway map of a metropolis is actually a 3D image of circuitry inside the printed wiring board of a smartwatch. The multi-story network of circuit lines thinner than a human hair connects electronic components that make it work. The internal structure of the smartwatch was revealed through a CT scan using the Xradia X-ray Microscope. Anju Sharma, senior scientist in the Analytical and Diagnostics Laboratories, created the image, which she titled Micropolis.
GRANT SPOTLIGHT
A $1.2 million award from the National Science Foundation will bring new STEM teachers to the Southern Tier. The initiative aims to improve access to mathematics for high-needs schools. The project, led by Amber Simpson (above), associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership, and David Biddle, undergraduate advising liaison and lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will increase the number of qualified math teachers while creating stable, good-paying jobs. They plan to recruit 24 Binghamton University 4+1 mathematics majors into secondary STEM teaching positions at middle and high schools over five years.