Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Six of the seven innovators selected for the 2024 “Innovation Crossroads” cohort at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) spent Thursday afternoon with ecosystem partners at Smoky Mountain Brewery in Turkey Creek. The Founders’ Forum event is a monthly informal gathering where entrepreneurs can hear talks, learn lessons, and participate in Q&A sessions with program alumni, community members, and experienced startup founders.

Thursday’s event drew a larger-than-normal crowd as partner organizations and the start-up community rallied around the newest cohort.

“Of course, the benefit of the Innovation Crossroads program is the impact and support of working at a National Lab with all the resources,” said Dan Miller, the Program Director for Innovation Crossroads. “However, it’s the people in this room, and the connections  in this ecosystem that will make the difference as you bring these innovations to market.”

Each of the six founders stood up, introduced themselves, and briefly shared their innovations. The spectrum of science is vast in the 2024 cohort – from Jordan Cannon, who is working on integrating enzymes into Poly-L-Lactic acid to solve the plastic crisis through biodegradability, to Kevin Roccapriore, who is working on a scalable atomic quantum computer network.

For the first time in the program’s history, half of the innovators are either from the Knoxville region or have spent the last several years doing their research in the area. For example, Vinit Chaudhary has spent the last nine years in the Knoxville area studying aligned composites technology alongside researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Notably, his research won the Chancellor’s Innovation Award in early 2024.

Nicholas Sokol’s research is also rooted in the Knoxville region. He introduced himself to the group as a “veteran” in Knoxville’s entrepreneurial scene. His start-up Algaeo has been through the Spark Cleantech Accelerator and several other programs. He seeks to reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers, which are harmful to the environment, and instead equip Algae to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The other two innovators present at the Forum were Katy Bradford and Brian Iezzi, both of whom have relocated for the program. Bradford shared that she moved from Georgia to pursue the opportunity at Innovation Crossroads. As an engineer, she is researching sustainable construction materials for 3D-printed housing.

Iezzi moved from North Carolina and is determined to further his research on fiber codes and textile manufacturing. He is working on an innovation that could allow for different textiles to contain digital codes and labels.

“How can we recycle fibers if the tag is gone? We can’t,” Iezzi said. His innovation would confront that issue head-on.

Tim Vosburgh has also relocated to Knoxville from Idaho but was unable to attend the gathering.

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