The Oakdale Commons in Johnson City will come alive Oct. 13 with sleek new electric vehicles and a lab-on-a-trailer, equipped with a 3D printer, electrical training panels and a miniature robot awaiting commands from a handheld device.
Meanwhile, the Center Court inside will be bustling with hands-on science experiments and demonstrations. Complementing that will be what looks like a Formula One race car right off the track - except every component of this vehicle has been built by Binghamton University students. Here, kids of all ages will have the chance to meet the future innovators of their communities, and perhaps find inspiration to become one themselves.
"When you're in kindergarten, I remember everyone asks, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' You hear firefighter, or princess, etc.," said Binghamton graduate student Emily Schrier, who is operations manager for the exhibiting Binghamton Motorsports club. "We want to show that you can build a car, or you can even drive it. There's so many different options in the automotive industry."
This is just the beginning anticipated for this year's Battery Week, being held from Oct. 13-17 throughout Greater Binghamton. From the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator to the Oakdale Commons, each day of Battery Week touches upon a different community and location in the Southern Tier.
"We are trying to showcase different spaces in building bridges between community and university," said Bandhana Katoch, assistant vice president of in the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships at Binghamton University. "At the same time, we're strategically locating the places which seem to be good spaces for dialogue and an open conversation."
This is the second Battery Week to be held in Binghamton. The aim, Katoch added, is to keep getting bigger and better with the coming years. It's hosted by the Binghamton University-led initiative New Energy New York (NENY), which has been developing its cross-sector coalition since first receiving the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge award in 2022.
"I believe there are many opportunities to engage more deeply with the community on a ground level, so people can see why [NENY] is beneficial to them - what we are doing and how it contributes to the community and the region's economic development," said Emily Marino, deputy director of NENY. "That is why we are working to expand beyond our coalition meetings and show that we are actively creating value in the community. We want to share what that looks like and invite people's input."
Celebrating innovation and progress
With five days of free events, Battery Week aims to reach out to the many different and equally important facets that make up the Binghamton community - whether they're this generation's up-and-coming innovators and manufacturers, or children wondering if STEM is the right pursuit for them.
BATTERY WEEK EVENTS
Monday, Oct. 13: Future Innovators Day at the Oakdale Commons, noon-3 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 14: Community Innovation Night at Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, 4-6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 15: Manufacturing Solutions Forum at SUNY Broome Culinary and Events Center, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 16: Battery Safety and Research Symposium at the Center of Excellence in Binghamton University's Innovation Technologies Complex, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 17: ChargeUp Accelerator Pitch Event at SUNY Broome Culinary and Events Center, 2-3:30 p.m.
Events are free with registration required for some programs.
"I genuinely believe the future of any country lies in the hands of its youth," Katoch said. "So I feel that any opportunity we can engage with the youth of the nation, beyond the student population we engage with as a university, is always exciting."
Future Innovators Day on Monday will feature three hours of hands-on STEM experiments inside the Oakdale Commons, including physics tricks, 3D printing and the ability to build your own electric racing critters.
People will also have the opportunity to learn about and pose with Binghamton Motorsports' student-built electric race car. For those with their own licenses, however, they will also have the unique opportunity to test drive two electric vehicles, brought from New York City by LUCID Motors, which manufactures luxury EVs.
Finally, the SUNY Schenectady Mobile Learning Lab will also be parked at the mall. One of two labs on-the-go by the college, this trailer is packed with next-generation manufacturing equipment, including a scaled-down version of the much more massive collaborative robots typically used in the industry.
"There's a big initiative for batteries, and we thought that these trailers, with all this advanced equipment, would be a good fit with advanced battery manufacturing and give students the best options to pick from," said Matthew Maloy, director of workforce development at SUNY Schenectady County Community College.
Manufacturing, once thought of as a dirty or dingy practice, is now cleaner than ever, Maloy said. At a time when roles are needed to boost the growing industry, he hopes to guide interested students toward the best possible pathways they can pursue.
"It's not just walking in and making a part. There's everything from electricians to mechanics that keep things running. There's people that supply parts. There's accounts that have to account for the money in and money out and the parts and raw materials that come in and out the door. There's managerial people that are involved," he said. "There's so many different types of work that go into manufacturing."
One of the biggest hopes this Battery Week is to ultimately engage this very youth, whether they're still in elementary school or beginning their undergraduate careers.
"I have two kids, so when they were growing up, they saw me doing a lot of stuff and they got into it. I ended up with two more engineers in the family," said Benson Chan, director of the S3IP Center of Excellence. "The reason why they did it is because they had interest. If you expose younger students to technology, we'll show it's fun. I'm not just showing you the principles of 3D printing. I'm just showing you this is a tool that can make whatever you think in your head."
The S3IP, which will present peeks inside of smartphones and 3D printers at the Oakdale Commons on Monday, will also host a battery safety workshop on Thursday at the Binghamton University Innovative Technologies Complex.
The Battery Safety Symposium is a joint effort between Binghamton University's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, NENY, the IEEE Binghamton section and S3IP.
"Understanding how batteries behave, how battery faults start - those are things that are part of the research that S3IP does," Chan said. "Part of the thing that we do is really looking at how we can interface industry needs with faculty and students."
In light of questions arising around battery safety, as well as the increasing electrification of homes and businesses, workshops like this are key in raising awareness on the latest, safest practices, said Binghamton associate professor Ziang "John" Zhang.
"We will see more batteries running on the street in electric vehicles. We will see more batteries in our home storage systems and in the power system. The safety of this equipment and how to handle them properly is very important," said Zhang, who also helped organize the workshop. "It is our role as a public university to share this information with the public."
Attendees interested in learning more about battery safety - whether they're engineers, researchers or neither - will have the chance to learn about the latest advancements in safe practices, with input from the Fire Department of New York City. Additionally, they'll be able to tour Binghamton University labs, network with peers, experience demonstrations on NENY coalition partner Viridi's mobile energy storage systems and the SUNY Schenectady Mobile Learning Lab, and learn about Binghamton Motorsports' EV.
"Not only myself, but also my colleagues, want to create a platform to exchange information so that we are working on a problem that is relevant to the public," Zhang said. "We are not working on some dreamed-up problem."
Opportunities, not challenges
Local innovators and manufacturers will also find opportunities to engage with communities and relevant opportunities on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
NENY runs multiple community-focused programs out of the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, which is the main focus of Tuesday's community innovation and exploration night. NENY's Battery Academy, Broome-Tioga Workforce, Incubator Works and the SUNY Reconnect Program are among several partners exhibiting that evening. Attendees will also be able to tour the Koffman and meet with advisors from the Small Business Development Center to learn about resources available to them, according to Marino.
"Tuesday is focused on community engagement beyond K-12, but it is also open to the broader public," she said. "We'll provide opportunities for people to learn about the programs New Energy New York offers for the community, and that will take place at the Koffman."
Meanwhile, Wednesday's Manufacturing Solutions Forum will take place at the SUNY Broome Culinary and Events Center. This is a day to bring manufacturers, big or small, from all over Binghamton into the same room, according to Stacey Duncan, president of Broome County's Industrial Development Agency, The Agency.
During the forum, local manufacturers and participants can mingle among larger companies, such as the Raymond Corporation and BAE Systems, to learn about the battery initiatives in the area as well as opportunities in the manufacturing sector.
"It's a great opportunity to meet the team at Binghamton University that's really driving the NENY programs, whether they're supply chain, workforce development or innovation," Duncan said. "It's a great opportunity to meet those team members one-on-one and hopefully develop some relationships there. Importantly, too, it's an opportunity to hear from other manufacturers who've had success in becoming part of this overall community, focused on implementing battery technology into their manufacturing processes."
In a region like Binghamton, which once was a manufacturing powerhouse, it's exciting to see a resurgence of activity, Duncan added. Developing a coalition, such as the partnership between The Agency and NENY, has played an important role in boosting local growth.
"It's important that we support and grow our manufacturers here in the region and make sure we're addressing their needs. Manufacturing is an exciting industry. The move toward electrification, and how Binghamton University has played such a large role in driving this, is really exciting," Duncan said. "Being a lifelong resident here and seeing the ebbs and flows of the manufacturing industry throughout my lifetime, I'm just really excited that we're talking from the standpoint of opportunity, rather than challenge."
Finally, wrapping up the week with a look into the opportunities of the future, at the hands of today's most visionary battery startups, will be a public product and pitch showcase at the SUNY Broome Culinary and Events Center. The startups in question were selected out of more than 100 to participate in the nation's inaugural ChargeUp Accelerator, the only accelerator program in the U.S. to specifically focus on nurturing battery entrepreneurship.
These startups each take unique approaches to achieving the common goal of improving the world through cleaner energy and technology.
"It isn't just investors who are invited to listen in on their pitches, but also the general public," said Emma Smith, operations manager for the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships: "Ideas don't just need money backing them, but also belief and excitement."
"People will have an opportunity to not just look at their products, but also interact with the entrepreneurs who are bringing cutting-edge technologies and innovations for the betterment of the community and society in general," Katoch said.
Attending Battery Week
Every year, Battery Week is a learning experience for all - not just its attendees, but also fellow coalition members. It is also a crucial meeting point for many different stakeholders to form connections that can become beneficial in the future as technology moves down the pipeline.
"Just seeing the community come together, be excited about the initiatives that we've been working so hard on for the past few years, and see the progress that we're making right here in their backyard, is the most rewarding part," Smith said.
