3rd Annual Research & Entrepreneurship Week to Highlight Bio and Nanotech

A image showing the reflection of a man in a blue lab coat and wearing blue safety goggles.

UAlbany's third Research & Entrepreneurship Week will highlight the work being done across UAlbany's campus to serve the public good through scholarly pursuit, scientific discovery and startup culture. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 10, 2025) – The University at Albany will host its third Research & Entrepreneurship Week from Oct. 27-31 this year, highlighting the institution’s growing role as a hub of technological innovation, intellectual curiosity, scientific discovery and economic development.

The weeklong event brings together faculty, students, researchers and industry leaders to showcase the impact of UAlbany’s research and the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Each day of R&E Week will focus on a specific area of innovation, beginning Monday with Innovation and Entrepreneurship Day examining how members of the UAlbany community advance the public good by taking their inventions from the lab to the marketplace. It will include a student-led mini-hackathon focused on applications for artificial intelligence in mental health.

Learn more about the full schedule and register for each day on the R&E Week website.

Spotlight on pathbreaking research, startups

Tuesday will feature the Capital Region BioInnovation Forum 2025, which focuses on work pushing the frontiers of biotechnology in areas like advanced manufacturing from the perspective of both industry and university researchers.

Wednesday and Thursday, the focus shifts to nanotechnology and the region's thriving semiconductor R&D ecosystem with the Albany Nanotechnology Symposium. Wednesday’s “Industrial Day” is specially geared toward students and will feature representatives from leading companies like IBM, GlobalFoundries, Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron. Thursday will highlight the cutting edge of R&D happening here in semiconductor, quantum and photonic device technologies.

The week concludes Friday with a new Pathbreaking Research Talk Series and awards recognizing outstanding achievements by UAlbany researchers to advance the state of knowledge in their fields. The final day will be kicked off by a keynote by Samir Mitragotri, Hiller Professor of Bioengineering and Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Mitragotri's work focuses on pioneering new approaches to drug delivery for diseases like diabetes, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

“Celebrating UAlbany’s Research 1 designation is not just about prestige — it’s about recognizing the critical role our research plays in driving innovation, advancing knowledge and creating economic opportunity in the Capital Region and beyond,” said Vice President for Research and Economic Development Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas. “I hope students, faculty and staff from across campus and our partners in industry will join us throughout R&E Week to be inspired by our colleagues’ successes and the power of public-private collaboration.”