Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

After spending years in the laboratory developing their innovation of interest, researchers are eventually confronted with the inevitable question of “what now?”

There are a few different routes researchers can go. They can seek publication, teach, collaborate with others in the field, or create a strategy to commercialize and turn their findings into a profit. Rob Coleman, the Director of Entrepreneurship & New Ventures in the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development at the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville is passionate about helping people do the latter.

He is leading the three-week regional I-Corps program and has eight start-up companies participating in the spring cohort.

I-Corps is a program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that uses experiential education to help scientists and engineers reduce the time it takes to translate ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace. It helps researchers gain valuable insight into entrepreneurship, starting a business, customer discovery, as well as commercialization.

During the three-week regional program, each team is expected to complete 20 potential customer discovery interviews. Upon completion, the teams will be eligible to apply for the national I-Corps program, which comes along with up to $50,000 in grants toward commercialization efforts.

Meet the teams

This semester, many of the teams are operating in stealth mode, nearing the launch of their products, services, and commercialization efforts. Coleman said the companies are some of the strongest he’s seen come through the program. He’s excited.

Altus Solutions, which is comprised of Ashleigh Chapman, Lucy Bloom, and Steve Grissim, is based out of Nashville. It is a data-driven company utilizing technology-enabled solutions to end human trafficking. Its goal is to elevate its JusticeU platform (which already has about 6,000 members). It provides education and resources for justice advocates, organizations, and businesses to engage in efforts to end trafficking.

FoodConnect, which is being founded by Dr. Nagwan Zachry, is an idea for an app that will help college students make healthier eating decisions. She aims to address the problem of obesity on campus, as well as help young people meet their dietary and health goals. She is looking for collaborations across different sectors that may support her research and efforts.

PCOEx-PMS, which was founded by Dr. Guilherme (Gui) Zuccolotto, is a data-driven support system that considers the role of humans in the machine-learning process. He is developing a performance measurement system to track company data and help provide solutions to propel operational goals. For example, his technology could help a company identify why they are facing retention issues.

Microplastic Immunoassay, which is led by Research Scientist  Dr. Ximin Zeng, is a company dedicated to developing immunoassays to analyze microplastics and nanoplastics. These small pollutants hurt our environment. He hopes his research can be a turning point in the prevention and detection of microplastics.

ASTERS, which is comprised of Subhadeep Chakraborty, Aniirudh Ramesh, and Heather Ricks, stands for “Active Shooter Tracking and Evacuation Routing for Survival.” It is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered real-time public safety system to mitigate active shooter solutions. The team has so far secured funding from NSF and the Department of Homeland Security. They have been working to bring this idea to market for many years.

VAINL, which is headed by Tanner Hobson, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make informed decisions with visualization and related data to foster health and vibrant communities. He believes this kind of data will be highly usable to hospitals, nonprofits, and grant-giving foundations to improve health equity. The system will let users ask or pose questions in natural language and respond to AI-driven predictions and visualizations of the result. We recently featured Hobson in teknovation.biz, as he was named the first entrepreneurial fellow of the UT Research Foundation (UTRF).

NorDIC Labs, which is comprised of Md Rahatul Islam Udoy, Ahmedullah Aziz, Diego Ferrer, and Md Mazharul Islam, has developed superconducting reconfigurable cryotons known for their exceptional energy efficiency. They were also a part of the regional I-Corps program in the Fall of 2023. During their experience, an interview with a customer led to the signing of an NDA to assess the technology’s suitability for space applications.

AluminAiry, which is co-founded by Colt Griffith and Brian Washington, is a company dedicated to developing aluminum air battery systems that allow for mechanical recharge using fully recyclable aluminum obtained from established supply chains.

Following the company presentation, Shawn Carson and Angelique Adams presented the importance of customer discovery, leading participants through an interactive exercise to show the flow of sample interviews. Participants will continue through a series of workshops and mentor meetings over the course of the program. Each of the companies will present its findings from the customer discovery process at the closing workshop on May 1.

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