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Public higher education would suffer a reduction in funding under New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed fiscal year 2021-22 state budget, which is contingent on $15 billion of federal support.
New York state’s revenue has suffered an estimated $19.7 billion reduction since the coronavirus pandemic, Cuomo said in his budget address on Jan. 19. In the worst case scenario, the state would only receive $6 billion in federal relief, which would force the state to make further budget cuts. Under Cuomo’s proposal, higher education would receive around $11.1 billion, a 9.2% reduction from the previous fiscal year when adjusting for inflation.
Stony Brook University researchers, in collaboration with UMass Lowell, will be investigating ways to make energy generation, storage and system operation more efficient and reliable particularly in microgrid settings such as shore-based environments under a new program funded by the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research.
The Navy grant, totaling $7.36 million and shared equally between the two institutions, will run through fall 2022.
Each institution will conduct nine multidisciplinary projects to achieve the research goals, complementing each other’s efforts in areas including grid control, security and infrastructure monitoring; energy storage, materials and grid management; and zero-carbon fuels.
Both will collaborate to develop new training approaches, an area in which the domain knowledge and experience of National Grid and the Long Island Power Authority will be valuable assets.