SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ – Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) promoted the Einstein Corridor – his vision for building growth and opportunity through innovation and investment – during a series of visits across Sussex County. The visits focused on New Jersey’s energy, education, and next-generation technology sectors, hearing from local leaders about how Sussex County can play a role in New Jersey’s innovation future.
“My visits today across Sussex County are a reminder of the incredible work being done in every corner of the state to build a future New Jerseyans can truly be excited about,” said Senator Kim. “Building an Einstein Corridor across New Jersey means creating opportunities that will make our state the place where everyone who wants to shape the future will want to be. I want to thank everyone I met with across Sussex County and look forward to supporting them as they help build a brighter future.”
Senator Kim began his day in Wantage at the Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative where he met with President Chris Reese to see how their Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration (FLISR) technologies reduce outages for their members while allowing real-time remote monitoring and control the grid infrastructure, a critical need for rural residents during extreme weather events and when longer term outages occur.
“Sussex REC is the only Rural Electric Cooperative in New Jersey, providing our twelve thousand members the highest quality of service at the lowest possible cost each and every day,” said Claudia Raffay, Director of Marketing & Member Services for Sussex REC. “Today, we are proud to share how we leverage our advanced technology and our not-for-profit, member-focused business model to Senator Kim, the first United States Senator to ever visit since our founding in 1937.”
Looking to expand his vision of ‘New Jersey’s Einstein Corridor’ to businesses across the state, he traveled to Newton to tour Thorlabs, a leader in photonics, before holding a roundtable discussion with President Jennifer Cable and members of their board. They discussed the importance of Thorlabs photonics work before demonstrating the capabilities of photonics used in modern-day eye exams as well as the innovation behind the way photonics breaks down light and sound to communicate.
“We are excited to highlight the investments we are making into our employees, workforce development, on the job training, and in our manufacturing infrastructure,” said Thorlabs President, Jennifer Cable. “Thorlabs is a critical supplier to research and development labs, and our products enable real-world innovations from medical imaging to data center efficiency. We are proud to share our success story of building a high-tech Photonics company in my hometown of Newton, NJ.”
Looking to highlight the integral role community colleges play in the future success of New Jersey’s businesses and workforce, Senator Kim ended his day at Sussex County Community College (SCCC) where he toured SCCC’s Optics Technology Center. Senator Kim heard about the merits of possible program expansions with AmeriCOM and how this program is preparing students for careers in photonics and advanced manufacturing.
“Grateful to have been able to host Senator Kim at Sussex County Community College today where he was able to learn more about how we are addressing the critical need for skilled professionals in optics manufacturing,” said SCCC President, Cory Homer, Ph.D. “[Senator Kim’s] interest and support will help strengthen our efforts to build a workforce pipeline that meets the evolving demands of this vital industry.”
###
