Alfred University’s Battery AI training initiative introduces students to battery testing, data analysis and machine learning, connecting emerging technology with practical needs in the battery and energy storage industry.
The initiative builds on a $160,644 National Science Foundation award announced in 2025 through the NSF Energy Storage Engine’s Generating Regional Opportunities in Workforce (GROW) program.
That work is now expanding. Alfred will participate in a Greater Rochester regional workforce training project led by Rochester Institute of Technology and receive $270,000 for 2026-29. Through the larger Energy Storage Engine Scholars Initiative, students will have opportunities for training, capstone projects and paid internships designed to prepare them for careers in energy storage.
For Alfred students, experiences like the State Fair create opportunities to apply what they are learning, share their work and build connections beyond campus.
And, as Wright discovered, a student project can do more than demonstrate what you know. It can start a conversation—and potentially open a door to what comes next.
Photo: Brady Wright (right), who is set to earn a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering this fall, presents a computer vision battery assembly demonstration to a visitor at Alfred University’s exhibit at the New York State Fair.
(Adapted from the news story published September 9, 2026.)