Insyte Consulting lost one of its founders and guiding lights this Tuesday when Steve Sample, former President of the University at Buffalo, passed away. In 1983, together with Art Moog, co-founder of Moog Inc., and Bill Donahue, then Executive Director of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, Dr. Sample founded Insyte Consulting (then known as the Western New York Technology Development Center) to link companies with university researchers in order to stimulate the introduction of technology into new products. It was a perfect role for Dr. Sample who, as an innovative electrical engineer, designed digital controls including the touch pad used on microwaves. Dr. Sample’s many important contributions to UB have rightly been noted in the wake of his passing, but his role in starting Insyte has also had a significant and on-going impact on WNY’s economy particularly on working men and women throughout our area. Since 2000, Insyte’s projects with manufacturers have generated over $2 billion of economic impact—new sales, investments and cost savings—including saving or creating over 10,500 direct manufacturing jobs in Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties. According to the Buffalo News, Dr. Sample was known for telling everyone that “Buffalo was loaded with hidden treasures and untapped potential. He would tell them that they could do more, and that better days were ahead.” At Insyte, we strive every day to make Dr. Sample’s vision a reality, one company at a time. Learn more about Dr. Sample’s legacy here and here and here.
