Think Breakthroughs
Binghamton University discoveries power the state's economy and improve quality of life for its residents.
At Binghamton University, research is not just an abstract word. Here there is an environment where amazing thinkers can develop truly fresh solutions to important problems. Researchers in virtually every field are exploring the frontiers of their disciplines and making discoveries that will have major impacts on the way we live.
Think:
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Jessica Fridrich and her research team discovered that every digital camera is left with its own distinctive electronic "fingerprint" during manufacturing, and that this unique identifier is hidden in every picture a particular camera takes. Hidden, that is, until a sophisticated set of algorithms developed at Binghamton University is applied to discover it. Fridrich's breakthrough cuts through uncertainty about the origin of images in record time and with unflagging accuracy to authenticate communications from suspected terrorists or tie a photo to a particular camera for a courtroom conviction.
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At Binghamton, biology professor David Davies thought of a new way to protect people from a potentially fatal kind of bacteria. He discovered the bacteria communicated with each other through chemical signals to form tough slimy layers called “biofilms.” In 2006, Davies found a molecule that could break up these biofilms, making the bacteria more vulnerable to antibacterial assault. His findings could make it easier for physicians to treat many chronic diseases including pneumonia and certain types of heart disease. Furthermore, stopping the industrial corrosion caused by biofilms — like the corrosion that ate through part of the Alaska oil pipeline — could prevent environmental damage and save billions of dollars in damages around the world.
Researchers at the University’s Center for Advanced Sensor Research and Environmental Systems are hard at work developing ways to noninvasively detect cancer and other diseases with handheld DNA monitors, lowering mortality.
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Computer security expert Assistant Professor Scott Craver’s research has national security implications. He has received support from the U.S. Air Force in his search to uncover messages that criminals may be transmitting across the Internet using digital watermarks.
An amazing sensor that will target and identify many chemicals at the same time, unlike today's single-chemical sensors, has received significant funding from the U.S. Air Force. It was developed by NSC Technology, a business start-up that grew out of research by chemistry Professor C.J. Zhong, who has been contacted by several investors interested in his plans to develop a sensor to detect diabetes by analyzing a patient's breath.
At Binghamton’s Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC), director Bahgat Sammakia is overseeing research into Roll-to-Roll (R2R) flexible electronics that could be printed on a roll of flexible plastic or metal foil. This technology could one day lead to computers the size and shape of a ballpoint pen or to biomedical and environmental sensors that are woven right into articles of clothing.
And that's just for starters.
Research at Binghamton University is growing faster than at any other school in the SUNY system. In fact, Binghamton has the second-fastest growing research function for all schools in New York state as the strength of our ideas continues to attract attention and excitement from outside funding sources.
Binghamton University is in the process of expanding its Innovative Technologies Complex (ITC) to provide a nurturing environment for more start-up companies that will bring high-paying, high-tech jobs to our neighborhoods. Already, Binghamton researchers have populated this cluster with 10 businesses.
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