Cornell University awarded $15M to oversee expansion of entrepenuership upstate

ITHACA, N.Y. (WBNG) -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that the National Science Foundation awarded $15 million to establish a federal Innovation Corps for the Interior Northeast Region.

The new I-Corps will be led by Cornell University and include a consortium of top research institutions that include the University of Buffalo, Syracuse University, the Rochester Institute of Technology, Binghamton University and the University of Rochester.

Schumer’s office said these institutions will expand entrepreneurship, translating more research into new businesses and bolstering new innovative industries upstate.

Cornell, working hand-in-hand with Upstate New York’s top research institutions, will strengthen the state’s research and innovation potential from Buffalo and Syracuse to Rochester and Binghamton,” said Senator Schumer. “Federal investment like this is how we breathe new life into Upstate New York and help re-establish the region as a global leader for innovation.”

Schumer said this announcement in combination with the CHIP & Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act will aid with job growth in Upstate New York.

Recently, Schumer announced Binghamton University was awarded $63.7 million for its New Energy New York proposal, which would create a battery research and manufacturing center in the Southern Tier.

New York State awarded the university $50 million in tandem for the project.