Crews begin work on $30M project to renovate SUNY Cortland dorms

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CORTLAND — The Smith and Casey Tower complex at SUNY Cortland is undergoing a $30 million renovation project. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) is managing the construction effort. DASNY-issued low-cost, tax-exempt bonds are financing the renovation project as part of its SUNY Dormitory Facilities program. The Dormitory Authority said it […]

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CORTLAND — The Smith and Casey Tower complex at SUNY Cortland is undergoing a $30 million renovation project.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) is managing the construction effort. DASNY-issued low-cost, tax-exempt bonds are financing the renovation project as part of its SUNY Dormitory Facilities program. The Dormitory Authority said it expects construction will finish in August 2021.

DASNY issued low-cost, tax-exempt bonds to finance the renovation project. The bonds are part of the SUNY dormitory facilities program.

About the project

The Smith and Casey Towers will undergo renovations to modernize the 147,000-square-foot complex, DASNY said in a news release.

Crews will remodel the first-floor entry and lobby to include moveable walls, allowing for functions of various sizes. In addition, they’ll add another small lounge with a kitchenette to that floor.

Bedrooms and corridors in the two towers, which house about 560 students, will receive fresh paint and finishes as well as new lighting. The work will also target bathrooms, which will get new showers, sinks, plumbing fixtures, exhaust fans, paint, and tile.

Crews will also install low-flow faucets and toilets to conserve water. The lounges on the upper floors of both towers will also be upgraded to include “modern” kitchenettes, while floors nine and 10 will include new laundry facilities.

Contractors will fit new exterior windows on floors three through 10 to “improve comfort and energy efficiency of the complex.” In addition, the installations will include two new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units (known as make-up air units) on the roof to “ensure optimum ventilation and healthy building conditions are achieved.” They’ll also install new high-efficiency boilers as well, DASNY said.

Crews will replace all doors on floors three through 10 and all bedrooms will receive power and data upgrades. They’ll also extend fire-protection systems to the upper floors, providing a full-coverage sprinkler system throughout the building. The work will also include fire-alarm upgrades to “enhance resident safety.”

“When it is done, all of our on-campus student apartments will be completely modern, energy efficient and competitive with residences available at more expensive, private colleges,” SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum contended in the release.

Company veterans begin top leadership roles at McFarland Johnson in Binghamton

Regional News, Subscriber Only

BINGHAMTON — Two long-time employees who have worked closely for nearly 20 years have assumed top leadership roles at Binghamton–based McFarland Johnson, Inc. (MJ). The planning, design, and construction-services firm announced it has named James Festa CEO and Chad Nixon president and chairman of the company’s board of directors. Festa is replacing Richard Brauer in

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BINGHAMTON — Two long-time employees who have worked closely for nearly 20 years have assumed top leadership roles at Binghamton–based McFarland Johnson, Inc. (MJ).

The planning, design, and construction-services firm announced it has named James Festa CEO and Chad Nixon president and chairman of the company’s board of directors.

Festa is replacing Richard Brauer in the CEO role. Brauer resigned after 13 years with the firm “in pursuit of new endeavors,” Ruthanne Bulman, human resources director at McFarland Johnson, tells CNYBJ in an email.

Nixon is assuming the duties that Brauer previously had as the company president along with duties that the now-retired David Lee had as board chairman, according to Bulman.

Both Festa and Nixon bring business, engineering, and finance experience to their respective roles, the company said.

Both have served as leaders of MJ’s operations and business-development functions for the last decade.

Festa has served as MJ’s COO since 2008, focusing on internal operations and office management at the firm. Nixon has served as the business-development officer, expanding MJ’s geographic reach and leading the firm’s “innovation initiative” on the national level.

“This is an exciting time for MJ’s employee owners,” Bulman says. “With Jim’s strong command of our business and operations, his focus will remain internal, delivering value to our employee owners. Chad’s strengths and energy lend him to focus mostly externally, forging strong client relationships while developing and leading MJ’s strategic growth and innovation initiative.”

About the firm

McFarland Johnson is an employee-owned planning, design, and construction-services firm.

The company was founded in Binghamton in 1946 by engineer William McFarland, who was later joined by another engineer, John Johnson.

For more than 70 years, MJ has grown its services and expanded geographically throughout the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and the Southeast with more than 15 offices serving public and private clients.

New York’s minimum wage rises again in phased-in hikes

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Subscriber Only

ALBANY — Minimum wages across much of New York increased again on Dec. 31, 2019 as the state moves toward a statewide minimum wage of $15. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 30 reminded New York employers to update their required minimum wage informational posters. The New York State Department of Labor has established a hotline

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St. Joseph’s Health adds Auburn OB-GYN, calling it an expansion into the Auburn market

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Health Care, Nonprofits, People on the Move, Regional News

AUBURN, N.Y. — Dr. Eileen Murphy, an Auburn physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, has joined St. Joseph’s Health women’s health services. Prior to joining

Excellus recommends New Yorkers get their flu shots

Health Care, Subscriber Only

With more than twice as many confirmed cases of the flu at this point of the flu season than at the same time a year ago, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield says, “you’ll want to think twice about skipping the flu vaccine.” As of Nov. 30, 2019, New York logged 3,158 confirmed cases of the flu, compared

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As of Nov. 30, 2019, New York logged 3,158 confirmed cases of the flu, compared to 1,462 confirmed cases at the same time a year earlier.

The flu has different types, or strains, affecting people. Health experts are seeing more cases of influenza B strains circulating this flu season, compared to a year ago. Nationally, influenza B, influenza AH1N1 and influenza AH3N2 have “significant circulation,” with dominant strains varying by region and patient age, Excellus said in a Dec. 18 news release.

Six of 10 upstate New York adults surveyed by Excellus believe it’s important to get the annual flu vaccine, but last year, only half were vaccinated.

Rochester–based Excellus is Central New York’s largest health insurer.

People with the flu can infect other individuals one day before any symptoms develop, and up to about seven days after they become sick. The virus can spread to others who are up to about six feet away, mainly by microscopic droplets expelled into the air when people cough, sneeze, or even talk.

For some people, the flu results in a fever, the chills, body aches, cough, and a runny nose. But for the very young, the very old, women who are pregnant, and individuals with compromised immune systems, catching the flu can place them at high risk for much more serious complications, including death.

It isn’t “always obvious” who among us is most vulnerable, per the release.

“It takes all of us getting vaccinated to keep our community safer this flu season,” said Vienne. “The flu vaccine is covered in full by many health insurance policies, and you usually don’t need an appointment to receive the vaccine at a pharmacy, so there’s really no excuse for not getting a flu shot.”

The flu season lasts until May. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual flu vaccines for everyone six months and older. It takes about two weeks after the vaccine is administered for it to provide protection, and it is “never too early or too late” in the flu season to get a flu vaccine, the health insurer said.

Clarkson instructors receive robot to continue human-robot handover interaction research

Health Care, Manufacturing & Engineering, Regional News, Subscriber Only, Technology

POTSDAM — Two assistant professors at Clarkson University are using a new mobile grasp robot to continue their research related to intuitive human-robot handover interactions. Natasha and Sean Banerjee, assistant professors in computer science, acquired the robot through a joint Facebook and Carnegie Mellon grant, the university announced on its website. The Banerjees submitted one

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POTSDAM — Two assistant professors at Clarkson University are using a new mobile grasp robot to continue their research related to intuitive human-robot handover interactions.

Natasha and Sean Banerjee, assistant professors in computer science, acquired the robot through a joint Facebook and Carnegie Mellon grant, the university announced on its website.

The Banerjees submitted one of 30 grant proposals that was awarded one of the robots.

The device will help the professors continue with their research on augmenting robots to be “human-aware” by using “deep learning to automatically detect where humans prefer to hold objects and provide assistance with human awareness built-in.”

“The driving force behind this research was that we are very rapidly moving toward a world where robots are going to be a part of our daily interactions, so it is really important for those robots to collaborate and cooperate with humans because it does not make sense for them to just be independent,” Natasha Banerjee said in a statement. “We are spurring a new area of research on creating artificial intelligence algorithms for robots that are human-aware. There is a pretty broad research area on human-robot interaction or HRI, but a lot of this research has focused on experimental or toy problems. My research makes novel contributions to HRI by assessing how to ensure a robot hands over an object to a human such that a human is comfortable holding it.”

Banerjee said she has recently presented work that focuses on detecting where humans prefer to hold cups, and that research can help determine where robots should be gripping objects to best interact with humans.

“Let’s say you have an elderly individual and they want assistance. A cup is at a height where they are not able to get it. If you had an assistive robot that had a gripper arm, then the robot should hold the cup around the body so the person can hold it around the handle, especially if there are hot contents. A robot’s gripper is able to handle that heat better than a human hand,” Banerjee said.

Banerjee noted that where her research is beginning to differ is that no one else is using a data-driven perspective, and most other researchers have been looking at only one object at a time, such as a bottle or a screwdriver.

“If you want these robots to be universally acceptable, they have to be able to understand any object in your environment and predict where a human is likely to hold an object,” she noted.

Having the ability to predict this requires machine learning. Banerjee said she and her research team are using a “special brand of computational neural networks” that help predict a distribution map that can indicate where humans are more likely to hold an object.

The robot is equipped with a camera that can be used to create an image that combines color and depth to tell the robot where it should prefer to hold an object based on where a human would hold it. The robot will analyze how to hold the object in places where a human would tend not to hold it. This method can be used to generate predictions for any average object.

The Banerjees work with three students on the project. Yijun Jiang is a computer science graduate student, who provides research for the project and develops algorithms to support the work. Elim Schenck is a double major in computer science and computer engineering, who supports the work of Jiang by helping develop algorithms and has been in charge of learning the controls for the robot. In addition, electrical engineering student Jack Lamuraglia has been in charge of assembling the robotic platform and getting it running.

Finger Lakes supplier to manufacturers acquired by Ohio firm

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

DRESDEN — Abtex Corporation, a Yates County–based supplier of brush deburring systems and technologies to the manufacturing industry, was recently acquired by the Malish Corporation of Mentor, Ohio. The deal closed on Dec. 6. The companies didn’t disclose any financial terms. Abtex, founded in 1980, is based in the village of Dresden near Seneca Lake.

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ConMed wins Defense Department contract worth up to $36 million

Manufacturing & Engineering, Regional News, Subscriber Only

UTICA — ConMed Corp. (NASDAQ: CNMD), a Utica–based surgical-device maker, has won a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, worth up to $36 million over five years, to provide medical equipment to the U.S. military branches. The company has been awarded a maximum $36 million “fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract” for hospital equipment and

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FuzeHub’s Build4Scale NY seeks to help manufacturers take products to market

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

ALBANY — Build4Scale NY is a new FuzeHub program designed to help manufacturers take new products to market and “more rapidly expand” their operations in New York. In addition to training and one-on-one guidance, Build4Scale NY will provide grants of up to $10,000 to participating, “high-potential” businesses. FuzeHub is an Albany–based nonprofit organization that works

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ALBANY — Build4Scale NY is a new FuzeHub program designed to help manufacturers take new products to market and “more rapidly expand” their operations in New York.

In addition to training and one-on-one guidance, Build4Scale NY will provide grants of up to $10,000 to participating, “high-potential” businesses.

FuzeHub is an Albany–based nonprofit organization that works to help small- to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York. FuzeHub is also the statewide New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP) center.

Program origin

FuzeHub during the summer earned the $250,000 top prize in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) American Inventions Made Onshore (AIM Onshore) prize competition. FuzeHub used the funding for the new Build4Scale NY program, which will serve “hardware innovators” across all industries statewide.

It will target startups and early-stage manufacturers that need assistance “optimizing” products or processes, as well as small- and medium-sized manufacturers that are ready to scale up their operations.

In addition to the AIM Onshore grant, Build4Scale NY is supported by NYSTAR, Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology & Innovation.

Build4Scale is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Energy, which FuzeHub has applied to its program with DOE’s permission.

“Build4Scale NY will provide innovators with the toolkit they need to forge an idea into a manufactured product that meets a market need and exceeds customer expectations,” Elena Garuc, executive director of FuzeHub, said in a statement. “The program will also connect local innovators with local manufacturers to ensure new technologies are produced in New York State — which will strengthen our manufacturing industry and support job creation.”

FuzeHub recently hired Eric Fasser — a 20-year veteran of the manufacturing industry who has deep expertise in product design and development — to lead Build4Scale NY as a design and engineering-solutions specialist.

Fasser and FuzeHub will advise participating businesses on how to design products that are easier to manufacture, adopt lean product-development standards, accelerate commercialization, and address common manufacturing and design issues.

“Even the greatest inventions can be challenging to bring to market, and even the most promising small manufacturers can have a tough time scaling up their production,” Fasser said. “That’s why Build4Scale NY is so important. We’ll help innovators get the job done, launching products and growing companies that contribute to New York’s economic growth.”

How it works

Build4Scale NY will open a membership program, which startups and manufacturers can join to access training, resources, expertise and funding. Member companies will receive individualized support to address specific needs, solve unique challenges and spark their growth.

Build4Scale NY trainings will happen monthly in webinars and live workshops, which will be held in regions across the state. A webinar that was scheduled for Jan. 8 focused on what to expect from Build4Scale NY in 2020.

The webinar was recorded and made available for viewing on FuzeHub’s Build4Scale NY website, John Mackowiak, media contact for FuzeHub, tells CNYBJ.

The first live workshop will be held Jan. 29 in Kingston.

FuzeHub will award grant funding to Build4Scale member companies based upon their needs and their products’ commercial potential. Multiple grants of varying values, up to $10,000, will be awarded. A total of $140,000 in grant funding is available, and only member companies are eligible.

Le Moyne to use 2020 to plan for “entrepreneurial plaza” project

Health Care, Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Le Moyne College will use the remainder of 2020 to plan for the $2.45 million project that will redevelop the Le Moyne Plaza into an “entrepreneurial plaza.” The school will utilize a state grant of $485,000 to help pay for the project. The funding is part of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) awards

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SYRACUSE — Le Moyne College will use the remainder of 2020 to plan for the $2.45 million project that will redevelop the Le Moyne Plaza into an “entrepreneurial plaza.”

The school will utilize a state grant of $485,000 to help pay for the project.

The funding is part of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) awards announced in Albany on Dec. 19. Le Moyne’s grant is part of $86.2 million in funding announced for projects in the five-county Central New York region.

“We’re going to spend the remaining part of 2020 coming up with the plan,” says Jim Joseph, dean of the Madden School of Business and special assistant to the president. “We probably will start construction late this year or [in] early 2021.”

The college is hoping to have project finished by the fall semester in 2021. Le Moyne still has to choose the contractor and architect for the project, Joseph notes in his Jan. 7 phone interview with CNYBJ.

Besides an “entrepreneurial plaza,” the project will also include a “makerspace lab.” Both will operate in the Le Moyne Plaza at 1135 Salt Springs Road. The plaza will be reconfigured and “act as an incubator, accelerator and shared workspace for entrepreneurs across all industries.”

The makerspace lab will be a collaborative workspace open to people of all ages in the community. It will include a mechanical room, virtual lab, woodshop, 3D printing lab, and shared work spaces. Both will be under the auspices of Le Moyne’s Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity.

The entrepreneurs who will use the space will come from three places, according to Joseph. Le Moyne students, those involved in the StartFast Venture Accelerator program, and anyone from the Central New York community at large that has an idea or a startup business.

StartFast is a value-add pre-seed venture firm that makes five new investments each year in SaaS (software-as-a-service), e-commerce, marketplace, and IoT (internet of things) businesses, per its Twitter page.

Le Moyne needs the space to be as “flexible as possible,” says Joseph.

“We very much see this as a revolving door … continually pumping out businesses that out grow us into the Central New York community,” he adds.

“This project is clearly a win-win for Le Moyne and the entire Central New York region,” Le Moyne President Linda LeMura said in a statement. “It will serve to strengthen the academic offerings the College provides for our students, while also deepening our ties to the local community. We will create a vibrant, state-of-the-art facility that will be utilized by the public in a variety of ways, from K-12 students to entrepreneurs at all stages of development.”

The Plaza currently has tenants that include Dunkin’ Donuts and a Barnes & Noble bookstore. When asked about their status, Joseph indicated Barnes & Noble would remain in operation and the future of Dunkin’ Donuts in its space is up to the company.

Joseph says he gets asked why Le Moyne wants to offer the plaza to the public at large. He says he tells people it’s part of the school’s Jesuit mission.

“If someone has an idea or wants to start a business or has started a business within the community that can utilize our services and that become a springboard for them to create jobs in the community then we have fulfilled a big part of our Jesuit mission,” he explains.

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