Education gives innovation a lift

Thomas Gais is director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the University at Albany. Kathryn A. Foster is director of the University at Buffalo Regional Institute.

The next great thing can rarely be foreseen. When the first general-purpose digital computer came on the scene in 1945, for instance, experts predicted that there might be a market for four or five such devices every year, worldwide.

But the fact that we can't predict the future perfectly doesn't mean that we can't prepare for the brilliant discovery it may bring, nurture its creation and even invest in it. Because while we might not know what the next great thing will be, we do know what will spawn it: innovation.

At a time when the country sorely needs some great economic game-changers -- the inventions that will create a suddenly indispensable product, a medical breakthrough, or a novel way of conducting our business or social lives -- policy-makers must remember that innovation will be the key to creating them. How to foster innovation? You need to support new ideas, technologies, processes and skills. Traditional economic-development incentives like tax breaks and real estate deals don't do the trick in an innovation economy.

The key is higher education.

Last year, the Rockefeller Institute published an in-depth look at how universities and higher education systems around the country are taking the lead in their states' economic development efforts. This year, the Rockefeller Institute and the University at Buffalo Regional Institute collaborated on a study of the impact of the 64-campus State University of New York.

The report we published last month, "How SUNY Matters," captures a promising picture.

SUNY's current economic impact in New York State is large. It returns at least $5 in economic impact for every $1 of state support -- a total of at least $19.8 billion as of 2008-09. On Long Island -- the region with the largest SUNY presence -- our calculations show the five SUNY institutions produce an economic impact of $5.20 for every public dollar invested, slightly higher than average. SUNY alumni living on the Island -- and working and spending there, too -- total 325,000, many more than in any other region of the state.

But what matters more is the difference SUNY makes in building and preparing for New York's future economy. And there's abundant evidence on Long Island of the economic development muscle that higher education can flex.

As is true statewide, SUNY's contribution to the Island's economy begins with its capacity to develop new knowledge and to transfer innovative ideas to the private sector through various public-private partnerships. SUNY's history in this region is unlike anywhere else, however.

While the three other major research centers emerged from smaller public or private institutions, Stony Brook University exists as an educational and economic force because state leaders decided to create a new institution back in the late 1950s. Its original mission centered on training science and math teachers -- a strong foundation for its emergence as a national player in technology and innovation.

Stony Brook University has long served as a science and research powerhouse on the Island, well-known as co-manager with the U.S. Department of Energy of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Among its crown jewels today is its 6-year-old Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology, which seeks to become a world leader in this still-emerging field.

The center has developed partnerships with IBM, Motorola and CA Technologies, among others.

The research university's activities, in taking what it calls a "cradle to Fortune 500" approach with private industry, are far-reaching and numerous; they include fast turnaround technology, incubation, enterprise development assistance, management and workforce development assistance. Businesses can partner with faculty and researchers, who collectively can boast of more than 1,200 patents and 480 executed licenses derived from more than 1,600 invention disclosures.

Among the most recent success stories are patented diagnostic 3-D imaging software, techniques and a computer system developed by a Stony Brook University research team. Siemens Healthcare Sector of Germany has signed a license agreement with the university for the innovations, the most common use for which is "virtual colonoscopy."

Long Island's SUNY institutions also support the regional economy with the sharing of state-of-the-art equipment and techniques. Stony Brook hosts the Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence program, a SUNY initiative that links university engineers with high-tech employers to help firms remain competitive and expand their markets. And the Institute for Research and Technology Transfer at Farmingdale State College offers private businesses access to specialized equipment and faculty, to conduct applied research and improve productivity in fields ranging from rapid prototyping to automated cellular manufacturing systems to mass production techniques for the manufacture of fuel cells.

Other SUNY efforts on Long Island address specific industry and economic needs. Suffolk Community College, for instance, expanded its culinary and nursing programs to meet the region's workforce shortages. Nassau Community College provides a range of flexible, targeted training programs for employers, including Geico insurance, featuring on-site and online courses.

Businesses can get expert advice on how to expand their export trade through Export University, a joint effort between the Old Westbury School of Business and the U.S. Long Island Export Assistance Center. Also at Old Westbury College, students are encouraged to contribute to the community's vitality through service projects with area nonprofits.

And Long Island's SUNY schools are already positioning themselves for the future. Stony Brook has proposed a sprawling new cancer research facility that would employ more than 600 faculty and staff. Researchers at Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology are working on a wide range of efforts potentially worthy of commercialization -- in such areas as distributed robotics, mobile computing, cybersecurity and computational genetics -- and targeting industries like health care, national security, transportation and e-commerce.

Lots of ideas, all with the potential to change the way we live and work. Who knows? One of them -- or a dozen or 200 -- just might be the next great thing.