The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
FEDERAL FUNDING
Gillibrand visits Innovare Advancement Center with $3M
ROME, N.Y. >> U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, recently visited the Innovare Advancement Center in Rome to announce $3 million in funding she had helped secure in the 2023 federal spending package.
The money raised is part of ongoing efforts by Gillibrand and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, to keep the center current with technological trends and provide job opportunities in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“For years I have fought for this community and industry as part of my steadfast commitment to making New York a worldwide leader in technological innovation, and I am thrilled to bring three million dollars home to Rome,” Gillibrand said.
This federal funding was awarded to the Griffiss Institute, in collaboration with the Central New York Defense Alliance to build an “Internet of Things” collaborative lab. The “Smartx IOT” Living Lab will be an open and collaborative environment where vendors and developers can test, experiment and demonstrate their smart technology capabilities.
The defense Alliance are comprised of non-profit partners of the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, or Rome Lab.
“The projects will help develop pacemakers and insulin, among others,” Gillibrand said.
In 2021, Gillibrand and Schumer played a leading
“For years I have fought for this community and industry as part of my steadfast commitment to making New York a worldwide leader in technological innovation, and I am thrilled to bring three million dollars home to Rome.” — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY
role in having Rome Lab designated as the Quantum Information Science Research Center for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.
“I was here in 2021 and I am amazed at how much growth we’ve seen in sixteen months,” Gillibrand said.
In the federal year 2023 spending package, Gillibrand also secured $4.2 million to upgrade communications infrastructure at Rome Lab. Gillibrand and Schumer had also brought home $293,248,000 in federal funding for Rome Lab in the federal year 2022 spending package.
“I am thrilled to be standing here in Rome to deliver this funding — it’s been a long road, but I will always work to make sure the innovators at the Griffiss Institute and CNY Defense Alliance have the federal dollars needed to keep New York at the forefront of cutting-edge technology,” Gillibrand said.
Hawa Peters, the founder and director of Utica Royalties, visited the event with her son, Robinson Jeanpierre. She said she is excited for the educational opportunities available for future students-including her son.
“I’m thankful for the investment Senator Gillibrand and others are making in STEM education,” Peters said. “It’s hard to keep up with the way technology is advancing. We will have twenty-nine billion personal devices in use world wide by 2030. Wow!”
Jean-pierre is one of many Mohawk Valley students who will benefit from opportunities offered through the expanded Rome Lab. Jean-pierre, 13, is an eighth grade student at the Science Academy in Frankfort.
“It’s good what they’re doing here,” he said. “I’m not sure what I want to study after high school but this will be a good opportunity for students.”
Utica Royalties is a free program to children of all ages that offers programs including dance, drumming, art, and hygiene classes every Friday and Saturday at the Utica Center for Development, 726 Washington St, Utica. Contact Peters at uticaroyalties@gmail.com for more information.