Innovation

The Innovation unit is a new, stand‑alone group within UBIT dedicated to exploring, testing and scaling emerging technologies—especially AI and related digital tools—in a secure, coordinated and strategic way. The unit helps UB shape the future of IT rather than treating innovation as side projects or isolated pilots.

• Researchers, faculty, staff and students who want to experiment with new digital tools in a safe, governed environment.
• UBIT and distributed IT teams looking to evaluate or scale innovative solutions.
• Campus leaders who need clear, strategic guidance on emerging technology opportunities and risks.

• A structured approach to piloting emerging technologies, including AI, in ways that are secure, ethical and aligned with UB priorities.
• Platforms such as the BullsAI initiative, providing shared, UB‑governed capabilities rather than disconnected point solutions.
• Support for quickly testing ideas, learning from pilots and scaling only what demonstrably adds value.
• Partnership with other UBIT units to connect innovation efforts to enterprise data, security and governance.

• You are exploring an emerging technology or AI use case and want to understand how to pilot it safely.
• You are seeking a central partner to help coordinate innovative work that should integrate with UB’s enterprise platforms and governance.

• Submit a ticket to Innovation

716-645-4579
eye@buffalo.edu

Kevin Eye serves as the inaugural Director of IT Innovation, leading a new department focused on exploring and advancing emerging technologies across the University at Buffalo, with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI). In this role, he helps campus partners experiment, prototype, and responsibly adopt new technologies that support teaching, research, and operations.

Prior to stepping into this role, Kevin spent 15 years in UBIT as a Principal Technology Architect and full-stack developer, following 10 years as a web developer with University Communications. He served as technical lead for UBCMS, UB’s web content management system, guiding its evolution to support hundreds of campus websites and strengthening accessibility standards across the university’s digital presence—work that earned him the 2023 UB Digital Accessibility Advocate Award. He also contributed to the UB Mobile app, MyUB, enterprise Salesforce projects, and email marketing initiatives. Kevin is a UB alumnus, earning his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 2001.