Launch Blue Announces Summer ‘24 UAccel Quick Start + I-Corps Cohort
Launch Blue is pleased to announce that 12 teams have been selected to participate in the 6-week Summer 2024 UAccel Quick Start + I-Corps program. This is the eleventh UAccel cohort Launch Blue has run.
UAccel Quick Start + I-Corps offers business development and an experiential learning opportunity to innovators in higher education interested in learning the best commercialization path for their technology. The goal of the program is to advance the technology toward commercialization, including preparations for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications, the creation of a startup, or licensing of the technology. UAccel Quick Start is organized in partnership with the University of Kentucky Office of Technology Commercialization and Kentucky Commercialization Ventures.
UAccel Quick Start is the first phase of the two-phase program, the second phase is Innovation Corps (I-Corps). The National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program is an immersive, entrepreneurial training program that facilitates the transformation of invention to impact. The University of Kentucky is a member of the NSF’s Mid-South I-Corps Hub and offers a regional I-Corps program through Launch Blue.
Candidates were selected through a competitive application and interview process. The final selections for the cohort were determined by a selection committee appointed by the organizing partners. Applications for the Fall 2024 UAccel Quick Start + I-Corps program will open in late summer 2024.
The following teams are set to participate in the program, beginning on May 24:
Anindita Paul, PhD, Assistant Professor, Engineering and Technology Management, Morehead State University
Creation of an energy harvester to charge a power bank to energize rechargeable batteries.
Anthony Bardo, Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences
Eduarda Frizzo, Political Science and Economics student, University of Kentucky
Social network analysis (SNA) application to assist with the design, implementation, and assessment of interventions intended to foster close social connections with an emphasis on enhancing mental health outcomes.
Bethany Setser, Research Administrator, University of Kentucky
Fostering community support via collection drives of period care products for underserved populations including those experiencing homelessness.
Boaz Burnett, Electromechanical Engineering student, Murray State University
A mobile-first wireless touchscreen monitor designed to reduce creative friction and allow for more control of filming.
Dee Dlugonski, Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences
A model to leverage community physical activity promotion resources to increase physical activity among youth with schools as partners.
Hala Nassereddine, PhD, Assistant Professor in Construction Engineering and Project Management, University of Kentucky
Amin Khoshkenar, PhD Student in Construction Management, University of Kentucky
Developing digital twins for the construction industry to create a scalable and flexible solution for contractors, owners, and facility managers.
Jay Hatcher, Software Engineer, University of Kentucky
A software tool for both children and adults with dyscalculia that specifically assists with mathematical cognitive difficulties.
Madison Bates, PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering, University of Kentucky
Sridhar Sunderam, PhD, Associate Professor; Director of Graduate Studies, Biomedical Engineering, University of Kentucky
SensorE Exoskeleton (SEE) provides monitoring of hand function, quantitative measurements of both movement and grasp force, and real-time feedback to the wearer, allowing a patient to see improvements during their recovery and increase their ability to regain function in their impaired hand.
Mary Jo Cooley Hidecker, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders and Rehabilitation Sciences Doctoral Program, University of Kentucky
A procedure to develop augmentative and alternative communication pages/message for pre-teens and teens to use to communicate with their health care providers.
Preeti Ramachandran, MD, Assistant Professor at University of Kentucky College of Medicine
The app offers a quick roadmap to imaging common congenital cardiac defects that are encountered by those who are learners or beginners in the field of congenital echocardiography.
Sangwook Kang, PhD, Associate Professor in Foods and Nutrition, Eastern Kentucky University
A food-hub concept restaurant that can aggregate locally grown fruits and vegetables sourced from veteran farms in the Appalachian region.
Taraman Kadayat, PhD, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy
Sythesis of small, bridged molecules as selective DCN1 inhibitors and their use for cancer therapy.