A Clinton Hill Institution Just Secured Major Funding To Accelerate Technology And Support Businesses
It’s easy to forget that Brooklyn is a major hub of technological advancement. For so many years, the tech world has focused on Silicon Valley, neglecting to appreciate all that’s being developed in other innovation hubs across the US. But thanks to a major new project in Clinton Hill, tech companies will likely start appreciating all that Brooklyn has to offer.
In the summer of 2022, the IDC Foundation announced that it had awarded $1 million to support technological research through academic and business collaboration in Clinton Hill. The recipient of this money is The Pratt Institute. The money is being used for the creation of a 40,000-square-foot research facility that will be located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is situated at the very top of Clinton Hill. And this is just the latest sum that the institution has secured to create the facility. Previously, it had gained $6 million in funding, with $3 million of this coming directly from the New York City Council.
Specific areas of focus of this research facility include climate innovation, robotics, community development and design incubation. But the Pratt Institute has also stated that the research will have other focuses in addition to these core areas. The facility will offer those who use it a wide range of state-of-the-art technology through a range of fabrication labs, information visualization areas and design incubation tools.
And local entrepreneurs are strongly encouraged to participate in these exciting new research opportunities. When the funding for this project was announced, Pratt Institute President, Frances Bronet, stated the following about the potential that this new facility offers: “From vital infrastructure to mentoring experiences, from incubation to tech transfer, they will further enhance the Research Yard as a dynamic hub where creative researchers, industry professionals, and the local community can work together on today’s important challenges.”
The projects that will take place within this new research facility are set to commence in the fall of 2022. They will expand further in the summer of 2023, when the building that houses these projects completes phase two of its construction.
And the developments that come out of this cutting-edge new research facility are likely to have a long-lasting impact on the future direction of humanity, both on Earth and in space. For example, one of the many businesses that are already based in this new research facility is Honeybee Robotics, which has managed a wide range of projects for NASA, including those that have resulted in technology used for its Mars Exploration Rovers. So it's really no exaggeration to state that what’s coming out of Clinton Hill today will end up on Mars in the future.
The Pratt Institute’s Associate Provost for Research and Strategic Partnerships, Dr. Allison Druin, perfectly sums up the opportunity that’s on offer within Clinton Hill’s latest research hub: “The Research Yard creates a unique ecosystem for our surrounding community. It will offer partnership opportunities for creative researchers, industry and the local community to develop innovative research initiatives and learning experiences that will profoundly shape the world in which we share.”
And this is just one of the many business opportunities that exist within Clinton Hill. To the naked eye, Clinton Hill looks like a residential district. Yet below the surface, it powers innovation that will benefit people for decades, if not centuries, to come.