The New York State Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging (S3IP) at Binghamton University and the Southern Tier Opportunity Coalition (STOC) recently honored four individuals for promoting economic development in the Southern Tier.

William Fierle, president of Emerson Network Power Surge Protection Inc., was recognized as Technology Leader of the Year for his efforts in shaping the technology community through leadership in energy management.

J. Micheal Harris, director of Integration Technology at Corning Inc., was recognized as Technology Innovation Mentor of the Year for his contributions to providing industrial experiences for developing scientists and engineers.

Gay Canough, president of ETM Solar Works, was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year for her contributions to the development of solar technologies in the Southern Tier.

Merwyn Jones, IBM Fellow and director of the Linux Technology Center at Binghamton University, was recognized as Educator of the Year for his efforts in educating the next generation of computer scientists.

Awards were announced Nov. 17 during the S3IP annual dinner, which featured remarks by Edward Reinfurt, executive director of the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). Gary Kunis, retired chief science officer for Cisco Systems, provided keynote remarks. S3IP Associate Director Mary Beth Curtin and David Gdovin, president of Diamond Visionics and STOC vice president, presented the technology innovation awards.