“The last few years have seen tremendous growth on campus,” explains Thenkurussi “Kesh” Kesavadas, vice president for research and economic development at UAlbany. “One of the reasons for this has been our increased focus on STEM. At the same time, many of our key research areas like atmospheric science and climate resilience have been impacted by the change in federal funding priorities.”

The institution has responded quickly. In December 2025, it announced an emergency $381,435 bridge fund for 10 research projects that were impacted by federal funding cuts or delays. These projects include extreme weather decision-making research to help emergency managers respond to disasters, and work at the RNA Institute affected by slowed federal funding decisions at key agencies that support the life sciences. 

Catalyst 2030 ensures that the university’s research agenda aligns with national scientific and technological priorities. It is a four-pronged approach, encompassing high-impact seed funding of $2 million over two years; recruiting high-caliber research talent; the creation of interdisciplinary centers that will attract new funding; and strengthening the university’s entrepreneurship and industry engagement. “Nationally there has been concern among R-1 universities about the future of higher education and research,” Kesavadas says. “We had been offering ad hoc support but wanted to mitigate the problem and future-proof ourselves in a more coordinated and comprehensive way.”

Talent acquisition plays a huge role in this strategy, with $3.6 million targeted at bringing in high-caliber postdoctoral researchers and junior scientists. “We’re proactively helping our centers overcome funding challenges and make sure that talent doesn’t leave us. There has been tremendous feedback across campus for this as a tangible way to jumpstart research,” Kesavadas says. The funding is not only for recruitment but will also support faculty to develop mentoring relationships and build a sustainable talent pipeline for the future. 

One example of the kind of collaborative, public-impact research that Catalyst 2030 is intended to support is the partnership between UAlbany’s RNA Institute and the University of Rochester’s Center for RNA Biology. The joint Center of Excellence in RNA Research and Therapeutics is not only pioneering new RNA-based therapies but is also training New York’s future biotechnology workforce, creating accessible pathways in STEM careers and giving hope to people with inherited disorders such as muscular dystrophy. 

UAlbany’s seed funding will initiate new, interdisciplinary research with a clear impact and strategic importance. It will be used to explore ways to diversify its revenue, increase collaboration among faculty at different institutions and deliver answers to the grand challenges faced nationally and globally. Researchers at its Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, for example, have launched a new center to study how urban weather will impact autonomous systems such as drones and electric air taxis in cities, a project with significant economic and public safety implications in New York and beyond. Through this work, UAlbany also hopes to cement relationships with the local aerospace industry. 

In some cases, philanthropy has allowed UAlbany to accelerate high-priority research areas, such as quantum computing. The university recently announced a new Neuromorphic Quantum Computing Constellation, supported by the Simons Foundation, that is funding four faculty hires to investigate the intersection of neuroscience, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. Faculty are encouraged to propose new centers in areas with promise for both strong public impact and sustaining external funding, adds Kesavadas. “We’ll hire a manager and start working with them so that when funding does come through from the government or industry, we will be able to approach them with an established center, not just an idea,” he says. 

Building strong relationships with industry is central to Catalyst 2030. The university has long had a close partnership with IBM, which recently launched Anderon, an Albany-based subsidiary focused on manufacturing advanced quantum computer chips. Anderon leverages $1 billion in federal funding and will be located at the NY Creates Albany NanoTech Complex, next to UAlbany’s campus. Since its founding, Albany NanoTech has also been home to UAlbany’s Department of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, exposing students and researchers to cutting-edge semiconductor engineering, photonics and quantum computing. Kesavadas says major public-private investments in quantum research and development such as Anderon – combined with UAlbany’s deep expertise in quantum devices, photonics and sensors – represent the next frontier of the lab-to-fab innovation ethos that launched Albany NanoTech’s success three decades ago.

Institutional investment is also available through the Strategic Allocation of Resources Program (StAR) for public-impact research and international collaboration. “We have a long track record in research that impacts people’s lives across different domains, such as weather and climate,” says Tianning Huang, director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives at UAlbany. “It’s critical for us as an institution to commit to continued support in this environment, so there’s no disruption to our partnerships or to roles that cannot easily be paused.” Investment demonstrates to the public, potential partners and future talent that the university values public impact research. “We’re not just saying it; we’re putting money behind it,” adds Kesavadas.

Another priority is research translation – turning university research into start-ups, licenses and commercial products that help people and return resources to the campus. To this end, UAlbany’s Office of Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Industry Partnerships helps researchers and students launch companies, supporting them with market research, business planning and licensing intellectual property. Technology disclosures have already doubled over the last five years and, crucially, there is far greater awareness among faculty of what research might be patentable. 

“This is a model we must embrace,” Kesavadas says. “We have spent the last three or four years building a pipeline from lab to start-up. Industry royalties can help us hire scientists and fund labs, and they get faculty thinking about their research in a different way.” 

When the going got tough, UAlbany decided to double down rather than waiver under the pressure from federal cuts. “We survive because we have smart people who want to make an impact, and we can’t do that if we close everything down,” Kesavadas says. When priorities change, and industry investors come calling, UAlbany will be at the front of the queue with established research centers and talented academics – ready to solve society’s most complex problems. 

Find out more about the University at Albany.