Core Members | Innovation Center

Director

Richard Chan is a dedicated advocate for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship at Stony Brook University (SBU). Serving as the Director of the Innovation Center of the College of Business, Richard has partnered with passionate entrepreneurs and organizations to jointly bridge the gap between academia and the startup ecosystem and shape the future of aspiring SBU and regional entrepreneurs. Together, they have developed entrepreneurship education programs and empowered students and researchers to generate entrepreneurial ideas, acquire startup resources, and form new ventures. This collective effort has built a dynamic and inclusive environment that continues to inspire and nurture the next generation of business innovators and entrepreneurs.

He is also an avid researcher whose research domain is broadly situated at the intersection of psychology, finance, and entrepreneurship. His work has appeared in top-tier journals and mentioned by media. He has served on the editorial boards of premier journals and the advisory boards of startups.

Manoj Mahajan

Co-Director

Dr. Mahajan has served in the federal government and the private industry in executive positions in scientific and business development roles. He was a technology adviser to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for National Information Technology Transformation, managed geospatial, imagery, and STEM research programs. He currently works at Stony Brook's CEWIT as a Senior Research Scientist with an appointment in the College of Business and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Edward Fabian

Chair, Advisory Board

As a passionate advocate for continuous prosperity for Long Island, Mr. Edward R. Fabian serves as a change agent committed to imagining new possibilities for the region. As the President of American Eagle Systems, an Information Technology firm that provides data protection and audit compliance solutions for clients managing substantial amounts of data, Mr. Fabian has become a respected and trusted resource engaged to provide detailed and comprehensive data center specific forecasting towards business continuity, risk mitigation and disaster readiness. His decades of experience in managing a successful local enterprise has bestowed first-hand knowledge of the opportunities, complexities and difficulties in fostering continued economic development in the region.

David Ecker

Partner

Mr. David Ecker is an Innovator | Leader | Entrepreneur | Author | Coach focuses on empowering people with technological systems. David brings a background in management, innovative technologies/approaches, client interactions, collaboration building, and project/system management. David has built three successful departments at Stony Brook University, iCREATE an innovative technologies/makerspace area; Research Technologies; and Client Support.

David holds an Advanced MBA Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship from Empire State University, an M.S. in Technological Systems Management, and a B.S. in Computer Science from Stony Brook University.

Outside his formal duties, David has been an adjunct faculty member and published two books "5 Lessons for Success: The Wolf's Path" and "$1200 and a Dream: An Entrepreneurs Guide." David has had many successful businesses, hosts a couple of YouTube sites and presented a Ted Talk at TedX Stony Brook, his talk 2013, When life throws you a curve ball demonstrates how teachers can learn from students.

David's wealth of technical knowledge and business expertise focuses him on empowering people to ensure they can be the best of themselves. He has abilities to blend his knowledge of technology, leadership, business, personal development and teams allows him to help organizations evolve.

David Ecker

James Dunne

James Henry Dunne

Partner

James Henry Dunne, J.D., M.A., B.A., A.A.S., joined SUNY Stony Brook University in September 2023. He brings his legal practice, entrepreneurial endeavors, management and operations experience, education, research, and peer-reviewed publication, to the College of Business. Prior to joining the CoB at SUNY SBU, James had taught entrepreneurship, business law, ethics, and hospitality management for over 26 years.

James is a licensed and practicing attorney in the state of New York with much of his practice dedicated to providing legal counsel pertaining to corporate law, corporate governance, business transactions, risk management, human resource and employment law, NYS and County regulatory compliance, and intellectual property, for entrepreneurial start-ups, established business operators, and multi-unit organizations. He is experienced at providing legal counsel at all stages of the business cycle for a vast array of industries, including but not limited to Licensed Professionals, Health Care, Retail Businesses, Trades, Contractors, Not-for-Profits, and the Food, Beverage and Hospitality Industries.

James is trained and certified by the NYS Bar Association in commercial dispute resolution (pursuant to Part 146 of the Rules of the NYS Chief Administrative Judge) to resolve disputes between commercial entities as a mediator and arbitrator. He was appointed to the New York Supreme Court Supreme Court Roster (Suffolk County) of Commercial Division Mediators.

In addition to his law practice, James is himself an entrepreneur that ‘walks the talk’. He is the President of SvDynamics Inc. (dba "Service Dynamics" – a hospitality industry consulting company he founded in 1995; and dba "Vino U." – an 'edu-taining' wine tasting event entertainment company he founded in 2005).

Louis Peña

Partner

Louis is responsible for academic programs that bridge the University and the CFB, particularly the Program in Life Sciences Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The LiSIE program supports graduate and undergraduate STEM students in developing business knowledge and skills to become the next generation of managers, leaders, or founders of life science companies. The academic program of classroom and experiential learning can lead to an Advanced Graduate Certificate in LiSIE. He also participates in CFB’s internship efforts for students.

Earlier in his career Louis mentored students and postdocs in the Medical Department of Brookhaven National Lab and later directed its nationally competitive Nuclear Chemistry Summer School program. Based on his research, he authored eight patents and co-formed a startup that developed his compositions through the preclinical stage to Phase 3 clinical trials before exiting by acquisition. Louis subsequently joined a biopharma contract research organization in a business development role but later took over company operations as managing partner. In addition, he advised inventors and early stage companies in technology assessment, markets, raising capital, and business strategy. In 2023, he joined the CFB and SBU’s College of Business and College of Engineering & Applied Sciences jointly as Associate Professor of Practice.

Gerrit Wolf

Professor Emeritus

Dr. Wolf is an industrial and organizational psychologist who has focused on entrepreneurship. His students have started on or joined growing technology-based businesses in New York, where he started entrepreneurship classes 20 years ago; in Budapest, where he held Fulbright's Alexander Hamilton Chair of Entrepreneurship in 1993; and in Stockholm, where he was the first Fulbright Chair of Wireless E-Commerce in 2001. He and his students have also consulted for a range of firms including Symbol Technologies and Ericsson. He has published more than 60 academic articles on conflict management, managerial decision-making and leadership. He presently researches wireless impact on organizations and consumers. He is a past Dean of the Harriman School for Management and has had academic and administrative appointments at Georgia Tech, University of Arizona and Yale.

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