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Entrepreneurs tell Assembly panel CSIT grants spurred hiring, investor interest and product progress
Summary
Startups and trade‑association leaders told the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee that New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology grants have helped early‑stage companies hire staff, access university facilities and attract follow‑on investment; speakers urged restoring recently reduced CSIT funding.
Debbie Hart, chair of the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT) and president and CEO of BioNJ, told the Assembly panel that CSIT grants and seed funding ‘‘have been transformative for our state's STEM economy’’ and urged continued support for the commission.
CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft told the committee the commission runs 11 programs — including SBIR/STTR matching grants, R&D vouchers and pilot demonstration funding — and described the program's results. Sheft said the commission has made 110 awards in one program totaling $3,300,000 and ‘‘over 400 awards, totaling close to $20,000,000 since 2020,’’ and cited survey results showing cohort companies created jobs and raised substantial additional investment after CSIT awards.
Entrepreneurs who received CSIT awards described how the funds were used and the economic returns they reported. Steve Parent, cofounder of Copara Bioscience, said CSIT awards (SBIR matching, Catalyst seed grants and R&D vouchers) filled funding gaps between federal awards, allowed the company to hire PhD scientists, and enabled collaborations with Kean University and Rutgers. Parent said his company, founded in early 2020, has grown from one full‑time employee to three full‑time and several part‑time staff and appealed to the committee to help restore CSIT funding after recent reductions.
Chuni Ghosh of Princeton Innotek described work on lasers for quantum computing, said CSIT and prior state programs aided his company’s development, and urged the state to pursue opportunities tied to the federal CHIPS and Science Act. Linda Ziemba, founding CEO of Aero Defense, said a $75,000 Catalyst seed grant and other CSIT support helped the Monmouth County company advance drone‑detection products and hire interns and employees from Rutgers, Stevens and Rowan.
Vitruvier founder Sonia Cicada said two CSIT grants accelerated development of an immunotherapy for congenital CMV and a cancer immunotherapy, led to secured patents, proof of concept and $1,000,000 in outside investor funding, and supported opening new laboratories in Nutley, New Jersey.
Why it matters: CSIT leaders and awardees told the committee that relatively small state awards can lever much larger follow‑on investment, create high‑skilled jobs and help retain companies in New Jersey. Several witnesses urged the legislature to restore or increase CSIT appropriations and to help address an ongoing shortage of affordable lab space for small life‑science firms.
The hearing closed without a committee determination on CSIT funding levels; committee members discussed proposals such as enterprise zones and centralized policy efforts to support commercialization and lab infrastructure.
