SUNY Oswego Leadership, Innovation, and Discovery (SOLID) Conference

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Sheldon Ballroom at SUNY Oswego

9:00am-2:00pm

 Refreshments provided

9:00-9:30:         Coffee and Refreshments

9:30–9:45:       Welcome

Michele Thornton, Ph.D. - Interim Dean, SUNY Oswego College of Business and Entrepreneurship 

Kate Pechenkina, Ph.D. - Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs,

SUNY Oswego 

9:45–10:30:    “Wins from the EPIIC Program” Panel

Featuring EPIIC grantees from New York 

Moderator: 

Evan Lemley, Ph.D. -   Dean for the College of Mathematics and Sciences, University of Central Oklahoma

Panelists:  

Melanie Blood, Ph.D. - Dean for Workforce Development and Associate Provost for Curriculum, SUNY College at Geneseo

Laurie B. Cook, Ph.D. - Professor & Director, Pre-Professional Health Program, SUNY Brockport

Kristin Croyle, Ph.D. -  Dean for the College of Liberal Arts, Science and Engineering, SUNY Oswego

Martha E. Van der Voort, Ph.D., - Grants Manager, Paul Smith's College

10:45–11:45:  "Spotlight on Oswego Industry Partners: Regional Connections" Panel

Moderator:

Brandon Mastrangelo, Director of Client Success (INSPYRE Innovation Hub)

Panelists:

Sarah Bonzo, Ph.D.,   Chair of Marketing and Management & Professor of Healthcare Administration, SUNY Oswego

William Paolo M.D., MBA, Chair of Emergency Medicine & Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, SUNY Upstate University  

James Early, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Computer Science, SUNY Oswego

11:45–12:15:   Break and Student Poster Session

12:15–1:30:   Keynote: “Cultivating Innovation: From Research to Real World Impact"  

Closing out the day is a keynote from Dr. Paul Vianco, a materials scientist and retired Senior Engineer from Sandia National Laboratories, whose decades of work advanced soldering technology and high-reliability electronics used in some of the nation's most demanding applications. Dr. Vianco's career is a case study in exactly what the day has been building toward: how rigorous research, sustained over time, translates into real-world solutions that matter far beyond the lab.

1:30-2:00:         Wrap-Up, Student Awards, and Thank-Yous