On Tuesday, June 6th, CCTS hosted university research teams from across the South at the I-Corps South Regional Training at The Edge of Chaos. The National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program prepares scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory and accelerate the economic and societal benefits on research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization.
Eleven teams from UAB, Georgia Tech (GA Tech), University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (UA), and University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT) spent the day learning about entrepreneurship, innovation, and customer discovery, with the goal of helping them find successful commercial applications for their research and future grant opportunities through the NSF. The next step for team members is to connect with as many potential “target customers” for their products as possible. CCTS encourages any specialists in the areas listed below to please say “yes” if any I-Corps team member calls and requests a brief interview.
[Editor’s note: I-Corps teams are required to conduct customer discovery outside of their home institution. UAB teams will reach out to specialists at other I-Corps training participating institutions; likewise, GA Tech, UA, and UT teams will likely reach out to UAB specialists].
| Team Name |
First Name | Last Name | Role | Institution | Business Thesis |
Customer Archetype | |||||
| CURENT User Test Facility | Lisa | Beard | Business Lead | University of Tennessee, Knoxville | Energy transmission engineers need an accurate way to simulate and test the impact of renewable resources on the power grid | Utility engineers/managers | |||||
| ExpAero | Narayanan | Komerath | Technical Lead | Georgia Tech | Aricraft with slung loads are at high risk of divergent oscilations - Aircraft op[erations will be able to use our system to stabilize loads for increased speed and safety | Helicopter pilots | |||||
| MRIMATH | Hassan | Fathallah-Shaykh | Technical Lead | UAB | Radiation specialists analyzing glioma will use our software solution to analyze tumors and tumor change over time more accurately and rapidly | Radiologists Radiation Therapists |
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| IronMan | Karim | Budhwani | Technical Lead | UAB | Pharmaceutical development/formulation units will partner with our DDS solution to expand the usage of their drug portfolio to treat solid cancer tumors because it allows for better treatment with lower toxicity | VPs of drug development within Pharmaceutical companies | |||||
| Oculogx | Charu | Thomas | Business Lead | Georgia Tech | Warehouse managers will buy an Augmented Reality application in order to save time and improve efficiency and accuracy in order picking | Managers of large warehouses | |||||
| PUG Tube | Derek | Van Vessem | Technical Lead | UAB | Physicians will use our PEG Tubes to prevent dislodgement in patients | Physicians and nurses using PEG tubes and their patients | |||||
| Slip/Stick | David | Brown | Technical Lead | UAB | Custom-fitted shoe insert for stroke survivors recovering walking ability | Physicians treating stroke and their patients | |||||
| Biofit Technologies | Arnab | Chanda | Technical Lead | University of Alabama | Fast prototyping for biomedical services | Biomedical Organizations, Operations Officers | |||||
| Voltron | Ferhat | Zengul | Business Lead | UAB | Hospital admissions staff will use our clinical decision support system to detect patients incoming with infections | Patient Safety Officers | |||||
| UniverCity | Maria | Norena | Technical Lead | UAB | Young moms will use our community services in order to increase their sense of worth and financial security | Teenage/Young single moms |
For UAB faculty and students who are interested in I-Corps but were unable to attend this training, there will be a 14-week course in the Fall, ENT 450, that will offer a robust look at the I-Corps program and allow researchers to dive more deeply into the commercial applications of their research. For information about this course, and other upcoming I-Corps South programming, please contact Dr. Molly Wasko at
