University Technology Showcase 2023
Thank you for joining us at our annual University Technology Showcase 2023! We are truly inspired and excited about the connections made and colloborations to come! Congratulations to our poster prize winners Tre DiPassio, Dan Steiner, and Haolin Liao!
Click here to watch the recording of all the Industry/University Networking Pitches
Click here to watch the recording of the Keynote Panel Discussion
Western NY AR/VR Mini-Conference Confirmed Speakers:
Erin S. Baylor
Specialty Director, Pediatric NP Program Director, Simulation
Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing,
University of Rochester
Susan Lakin
Professor, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences
College of Art and Design
Director of Frameless Labs
Rochester Institute of Technology
Anton Jeran Ratnarajah
Ph.D. Candidate
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Maryland – College Park
Robert Schultz
Vice President of Advanced Optics at the Vuzix Corporation
Keynote Speakers and Panelists:
Assemblymember Harry Bronson, Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry
Harry Bronson was first elected to the New York State Assembly in November 2010. The 138th District includes parts of the City of Rochester and the suburban and rural towns of Henrietta and Chili. Harry’s passion for social justice, equality and fairness has defined his public service, legal and business careers. Before being elected to the state Assembly, he served in the Monroe County Legislature and held leadership positions during his entire tenure, including Minority Leader.
As the Chair of the Assembly Standing Committee on Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry, Harry oversees economic development and business regulation throughout New York State. Harry is committed to ensuring our investments in economic development are complemented by investments in workforce development, so our emerging and expanding industries have access to skilled workers and our families have more opportunities to succeed.
Additionally, as the Assembly’s Legislative Liaison to the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council (FLREDC), Harry is directly helping our region’s families obtain good-paying jobs by growing our local economy.
Laura Fox O’Sullivan
Finger Lakes Regional Director, Empire State Development
Laura Fox O’Sullivan is the Director of Empire State Development’s Finger Lakes Regional Office and the Executive Director of The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. Prior to joining Empire State Development, Laura served as the President of the region's first food business incubator, The Commissary, and as Vice President of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation. She holds a Bachelor’s in History of Art and Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Urban & Environmental Planning & Policy from Tufts University. As an urban planner and native Rochestarian, Laura has keen interest in working to facilitate this region’s economic development. She lives in the Highland Park neighborhood with her husband, two daughters, and many pets.
Chris Zeltmann
Regional Director of U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer’s Rochester Finger Lakes Office
Chris directs and manages the Senator’s office activity within the nine-county Rochester Finger Lakes region and provides federal support and attention to constituents, municipalities, community and economic organizations in the region. Acting as an essential link between the region and Senator Schumer’s New York City and Washington DC offices, the Rochester office performs constituent services, organizes official events, maintains relationships with local officials, and addresses vital regional issues.
Eric Bohannon
Analog Engineer at AMD
Eric Bohannon joined AMD in February of 2022 as a PMTS Silicon Design Engineer. As a member of the Circuit Technologies team, he works on Integrated Voltage Regulator (IVR) technology. Prior to joining AMD, Eric worked at Sony Corporation where he focused on pixel design for quantum film image sensors and high dynamic range (HDR) analog front ends for machine vision applications. From 2010 to 2018, he worked at Synoptics Incorporated where he focused on architecting high dynamic range analog front ends to sense capacitive touch, capacitive fingerprint, and optical fingerprint. Eric played a key role in pioneering the integration of touch and display technology at Synaptics. He holds over 25 U.S. patents and received his B.S./M.S. and PhD degrees from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2007 and 2011, respectively.
Dr. Karl D. Hirschman
Micron Professor of Microelectronic Engineering in the Electrical & Microelectronic Engineering Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology
Dr. Karl D. Hirschman is the Micron Professor of Microelectronic Engineering in the Electrical & Microelectronic Engineering Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering in 2000 from the University of Rochester, and has published over 80 technical papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings. He has been teaching courses in semiconductor devices and processes at RIT for over 25 years, and is now serving as the director of microelectronic engineering programs.
Matt Hurlbutt
President and Chief Executive Officer at Greater Rochester Enterprise
Matt Hurlbutt serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE) with responsibility for supporting business attraction and expansion in the Greater Rochester, New York region. Matt guides business development strategies, organizational resources and outreach efforts to position Rochester as a destination of choice for business investment. Matt works directly with corporate executives and national site selectors as they consider locations for investment and job creation. Before assuming this leadership role Matt served as GRE’s executive vice president and chief operating officer for nine years.
Matt was directly involved in bringing Alpina Foods, Catalant Technologies, FedEx Freight, Foundation Financial Group, Intrinsiq Materials, LiveTiles, Love Beets USA, Muller Quaker Dairy, NEST iON, OFD Foods, Omni-ID, and Quintel Solutions to the region. He also worked with American Packaging Corporation, Brand Networks, Concentrix, IEC Electronics, Intergrow, LiDestri Food & Drink, Maximus, Optimax, and Rochester Precision Optics as the companies expanded in the region.
In addition, Matt directs GRE’s Economic Gardening effort and collaborates with state and local partners to leverage the region’s assets in order to support innovation and economic growth of second-stage companies.