{"id":235577,"date":"2025-09-22T07:35:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T11:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=235577"},"modified":"2025-10-27T14:51:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T18:51:25","slug":"tech-showcase-celebrates-uconns-economic-innovative-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/09\/tech-showcase-celebrates-uconns-economic-innovative-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Showcase Celebrates UConn\u2019s Economic, Innovative Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

UConn\u2019s debut Tech Showcase highlighted Connecticut\u2019s bright future of innovation and industry while paying tribute to an infrastructure built on manufacturing and security.<\/p>\n

The Showcase, held at the UConn Tech Park on Sept. 18, drew almost 200 people, including University and state leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators. It was hosted by UConn\u2019s Technology Commercialization Services (TCS), the wing of the Office of the Vice President for Research that facilitates tech transfer, intellectual property, other facets of entrepreneurship and innovation.<\/p>\n

The event celebrated Connecticut\u2019s industrial history, economic recovery from recession, and promising trends for a state amid a technological renaissance in areas such as quantum technology and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s because we have this incredible hundred plus-year legacy of making incredibly complicated things here. That is where we have a true comparative edge,\u201d said Daniel O\u2019Keefe, the state Commissioner of the Economic Development and Chief Innovation Officer.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Keefe highlighted the state\u2019s production of photolithography machines, which are machines that make semiconductors. \u201cEvery advanced semiconductor, not hyperbole, is made right here in Connecticut.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Commissioner
Commissioner of Economic Development and Chief Innovation Officer for the State of Connecticut Dan O’Keefe addresses UConn Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Anne D’Alleva as he gives part of the keynote address during the UConn Tech Showcase at the Innovation Partnership Building on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (Sydney Herdle\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The commissioner tied Connecticut\u2019s future success largely to its embracing and integrating quantum technology. He highlighted the collaboration between UConn and Yale \u2013 the state\u2019s two R1 research universities \u2013 for the QuantumCT proposal, which was just named a finalist for a $160 million National Science Foundation award<\/a>. O\u2019Keefe said Connecticut can be a leader in quantum, developed over decades of integrating material science, mechanical engineering, and chemical engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we do here. If you actually boil it down, that\u2019s the skillset our workforce has built over the last 100-plus years,\u201d O\u2019Keefe said. \u201cThis combination of AI and quantum which we expect to happen and impact on a broad commercial scale in the next 10 to 20 years, I think that is a Silicon Valley moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Provost Anne D\u2019Alleva, reflecting on her 26 years at the University, connected UConn\u2019s mission as a land-grant university with its emergence as an innovation engine. She highlighted initiatives like the Technology Incubation Program, which is the largest incubator of tech startup companies in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the innovative, groundbreaking work that we do that pushes our state forward and pushes our nation forward,\u201d D\u2019Alleva said, also lauding UConn\u2019s resources and infrastructure. \u201cWe are continually on the leading edge bringing leading-edge technologies and experts here to Connecticut to work in partnership with industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Showcase was an opportunity for startups to make pitches to investors as backers of their companies and innovations. Expert panels served as judges and advisors, grading the presentations and offering constructive feedback. Thousands of dollars in prizes were awarded to pitches in business and technology in the life science and physical science fields.<\/p>\n

The full-day event also featured panel discussion, faculty presentations and pitches, and a poster showcase in the IPB lobby. The College of Engineering as well as the Tech Park were key partners in presenting the Showcase.<\/p>\n

Abhijit Banerjee, the Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, said he hoped the Tech Showcase was the first of many to come annually. In addition to demonstrating UConn\u2019s breadth of technology and initiatives, it provided a priceless opportunity to bridge that success with communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where we derive our strength, our passion, and our support,\u201d Banerjee said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first-ever event connects Connecticut\u2019s manufacturing roots with emerging technologies and industries<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":235578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,2650,2668,2076,2364,2235,2225,2227,2233],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2381],"class_list":["post-235577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-blue-impact","category-institute-enviro-energy","category-research","category-technology-commercialization","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-storrs","category-uconn-edu-homepage","category-university-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-06 20:12:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235577"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237179,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235577\/revisions\/237179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/235578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235577"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=235577"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=235577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}