Credit: NSF

We first told you about the NSF Innovation Corps initiative when it was unveiled by NSF director, Subra Suresh, in late July. The NSF has delivered on its promise to make the first round of awards by the close of FY 2011.

The thrust of the initiative is to expedite the transition of research discoveries to economically viable products and processes by providing funding to help PIs assess the commercial readiness of their innovations and to provide support in the form of training and mentorships.

About the very short proposal/evaluation/award timeline, the NSF press release says the “award process was intense, yet swift,” with awards being made less than 30 days after proposals were submitted. The program will continue to make awards quarterly.

Here is a listing of the inaugural class of I-Corps awardees.

Photocatalysts for water remediation
Principal Investigator: Pelagia Gouma, SUNY at Stony Brook; Stony Brook, N.Y.

IDecideFast – A web-based application for effective decision making for the layperson
Principal Investigator: Ali Abbas, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Champaign, Ill.

Silicon Terahertz Electronics
Principal Investigator: Michael Shur, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.

Naked eyes-based standoff detection of explosives using novel signal-amplifying nanocomposite and hand-held UV light
Principal Investigator: Yu Lei, University of Connecticut; Storrs, Conn.

Establishing an innovation ecosystem for technology transition of MEMS-based drug infusion pumps
Principal Investigator: Ellis Meng, University of Southern California; Los Angeles, Calif.

Replication of Laser-Generated Surface Textures for Anti-Icing and Sun-Light-Trapping Applications
Principal Investigator: Mool Gupta, University of Virginia; Charlottesville, Va.

Concentric Technology
Principal Investigator: Walter Besio, University of Rhode Island; Kingston, R.I.

Hand-Held Tonometer for Transpalpebral Intraocular Pressure Measurement
Principal Investigator: Eniko Enikov, University of Arizona; Tucson, Ariz.

Flexible, Low Cost Cooling Technology for LED Lighting
Principal Investigator: Satish Kandlikar, Rochester Institute of Technology; Rochester, N.Y.

Radiotracer Synthesis Commercialization
Principal Investigator: Stephen DiMagno, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Lincoln, Neb.

Accelerated Innovation and Technology Transition in Semiconductor-Based Hydrogen and Hydrocarbon Sensors
Principal Investigator: Lisa Porter, Carnegie-Mellon University; Pittsburgh, Pa.

Mobile Life Guard
Principal Investigator: Ram Dantu, University of North Texas; Denton, Texas

Pilot Production Of Large Area Uniform Single-Crystal Graphene Films
Principal Investigator: Alan Johnson, University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pa.

Technological Assessment of Artificial Membrane-based Ion Channel Screening
Principal Investigator: Jacob Schmidt, University of California, Los Angeles; Los Angeles, Calif.

Commercialization Feasibility Research and Demonstration Preparation for Privacy-Preserving Location Based Services
Principal Investigator: Nan Zhang, George Washington University; Washington, D.C.

MySkinTone: A breakthrough technology and product for skin melanin evaluation
Principal Investigator: Michael Silevitch, Northeastern University; Boston, Mass.

Mobidemics: Using Mobile Gaming for Healthcare
Principal Investigator: Nilanjan Banerjee, University of Arkansas; Fayetteville, Ark.

SmartMenu
Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Mynatt, Georgia Tech Research Corporation; Atlanta, Ga.

Portable sensors using the widely available personal glucose monitor
Principal Investigator: Yi Lu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Champaign, Ill.

SwiftVax — A Green Manufacturing Platform for Faster, Cheaper and Scalable Vaccine Manufacturing
Principal Investigator: Karen McDonald, University of California, Davis; Davis, Calif.

Commercialization of an Engineered Pyrolysis Blanket for the Economic Conversion of Forestry Residues to Soil Amendments and Energy Products
Principal Investigator: Daniel Schwartz, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.

Author

Eileen De Guire

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