Lehigh tied for fifth place among universities receiving awards in 2014 through a new National Science Foundation program that trains researchers to commercialize their inventions.
Three Lehigh research teams completed entrepreneurship training last year through NSF's competitive Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, and three more are scheduled to take the six-week course in February.
According to the National Academy of Inventors, Lehigh and four other universities tied for fifth place among schools whose research teams won I-Corps awards in 2014. The teams receive NSF funding to travel to training sessions, find business mentors and interview potential users of their technology.
Yatin Karpe, associate director of the Office of Technology Transfer, said the showing was impressive.
"For a university of Lehigh’s size to have three teams receive I-Corps funding in two consecutive years,” he said, “testifies to the growing interest of our faculty in entrepreneurship.”
Lehigh’s 2014 I-Corps teams represent a variety of research interests. Mayuresh Kothare and Shivaji Sircar, professors of chemical and biomolecular engineering, are developing a smaller, more efficient Medical Oxygen Concentrator (MOC) for persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Chao Zhou, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, develops new imaging technologies for biomedical applications, with a special interest in optical coherence tomography (OCT) and microscopy (OCM). Clay Naito, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, analyzes the abilities of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures to resist the loading forces of explosions, earthquakes and tsunamis.
Read the full story at the Lehigh University News Center.
