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ABOUT ACCELERATE UCONN

Open to: Students, Faculty, Alumni, Community Members

Accelerate UConn is UConn’s National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Program. Its mission is to catalyze entrepreneurial teams whose technology concepts are likely candidates for commercialization. Participating teams will receive an introduction to the most critical elements of the I-Corps Curriculum and Lean Launchpad methodology. With the support of Accelerate UConn, teams will learn first-hand about entrepreneurship and explore the transition of their ideas, devices, processes, new scientific discoveries or other intellectual activities into the marketplace.

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DEVELOP

Create innovative methods to articulate the value proposition of your product or technology, followed by developing comprehensive strategies aimed at fostering demand for your offering.

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    IDENTIFY

    Identify the actionable next steps needed for the successful launch your venture, while pinpointing customers most likely to bring you your initial revenue. You'll also learn how to understand the structure and market dynamics of the market you are entering.

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      RECEIVE

      Receive top-notch training on the Business Model Canvas (BMC) and Customer Discovery Process. Teams will also access individualized coaching from industry experts, and up to $3,000 in funding to support customer discovery and development of a minimum viable product.

      UPCOMING COHORTS

      The Accelerate UConn program is broken down into three phases; with the main program and emphasis being on Phase 1 (Propelus). Each workshop provides hands-on training in the fundamental components of new venture creation and is delivered by experienced entrepreneurs and faculty members. Participants are provided with personalized coaching and feedback which will help them construct an evidence-based business model and market entry strategy. Participating teams have the ability to receive up to $3,000 in funding for their ventures across all three phases.

      You do not have to take Phase 0 to apply to Phase 1, but you must complete Phase 1 to be considered for Phase 2. 

      Application Process

      All applications will be reviewed by a panel of industry experts, who will make admission and grant award selections. Final selections will be made within a week of the application deadline and all teams will be notified of the decision. Final admission decisions will be announced publicly the day of the kickoff event.

      logo for the NSF I-Corps Hub Northeast Region

      In 2024, UConn joined The National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) Northeast Hub.

      The hub is part of a nationwide NSF-funded network of universities formed to accelerate the economic impact of federally funded research – delivering benefits in health care, the environment, technology and other areas – while building skills and opportunities among researchers from all backgrounds, including those historically underrepresented in entrepreneurship.

      As part of the hub, UConn joins nine partner institutions including: Princeton University, the University of Delaware, Rutgers University, Lehigh University, Temple University, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Rowan University, Delaware State University, Drexel University and Yale University.

      Learn more here: icorpsnortheasthub.org

      PREVIOUS COHORTS

      Spring 2023

      Durga Joshi, Chandi Witharana PhD (PhD/Doctoral Student, Faculty), CAHNR – Powerline Dashcam Video

      Muhammad Jamil (Undergraduate Student) School of Engineering Data Raptor

      Kia Golzari, Hugo Posada-Quintero PhD, Sarah Reed PhD, Jorge Paricio PhD (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), School of Engineering, CAHNRDevice to monitor stress in horses

      David Wright PhD, Duo Dickinson, Diane Covello (Faculty), School of LawSuper Windows

      Cesar Gouveia, Douglas Adamson (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), The Graduate School, CLASHEPA Filtration improved with Graphene

      Markus Bookland, Megan Anderson, Dana Jungbauer (Faculty), School of MedicineMobile Evaluation of Neonatal Cranial Deformities

      Brenna McAllister, Leslie A. Caromile PhD (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), UConn Health – Think Different – Think in 3D

      Sahana Ganesh, Yuan Kuo (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – SignAssist

      Clara Ramirez, Mohammed Albayati (Ph.D/Doctoral Students), School of Engineering – InfinEnergie

      Audrey Larson, Angel Velasquez, Charlotte Chen, Deepthi Pai Manoor (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – Geomate

      Spring 2022

      Mohamed Reaj Uddin, Michael Aisevbonaye (Undergraduate Students), School of Fine Arts, School of Engineering –EnviGreen Recycling

      Lawrence Silbart, Kevin Bouley, Cassandra Speight (Faculty, Research Technician) Allied Health Science Tick Me Off

      Harsha Jain (Undergraduate Student), School of EngineeringPlant Monitor

      Kianjai Huggan, Leila Daneshmandi, Sam Nanayakkara (Graduate Students, Faculty), School of Engineering – Webquity

      Justin Nappi, Tara Watrous, Sudiksha Mallick (Undergraduate Students, Staff), School of Engineering, Head of Entrepreneurial Transformation at UConn Werth Institute, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – SmartCards

      Brian Peng, Shivam Patel (Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – ShadeSnap

      Jasna Jankovic, Sara Pedram, Leonard Bonville, Sean Small (Faculty, PhD Student, Graduate Student), School of Engineering, Research Specialist, Center for Clean Energy Engineering, Center for Clean Energy Engineering, AMES –Novel Tubular Proton Fuel Cell

      Jean Pondugula, Mohan Kocherla (Undergraduate Student), School of Business – DNAG Expansion Project

      Spring 2021

      Dr. Ali Tamayol, Dr. Mohamadmahdi Samandari, and Jacob Quint (Faculty, PostDoc and Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering – In Vivo Printing Using Handheld Bioprinter for Regenerative Applications

      Dr. Yupeng Chen, Aaton Beams, and Bridget Loura (Faculty and Undergraduate Students) School of Engineering and School of Business– I2TS technology as an advanced drug delivery solution

      Dr. Sanjeev Nayak, Dr. Vishnu R Khade,  and Sachin Girdhar (Faculty and Industry), School of Engineering and School of Business – Read a Book – An interactive platform

      Dr. Minghu Song, Qinqing Liu and Yibing Zhou (Faculty, Graduate Student and Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering – Knowledge-guided and causal AI for Drug Discovery

      Theresa Chu (Staff), University Information Technology Services – Nutritional Service

      Dr. Hasan Baig, Yusra Maryam Javed, and Sumaiya Hasan (PostDoc and Industry), School of Medicine – Programmable Development Platform for Genetic Circuits inspired from FPGAs

      Jonathan Moore, Hunter Bowden, Hailey Altobelli, Michael Greco, and Michelle Saglimbene (Faculty, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student, Alumni and Industry), School of Business – Clinical Assistant by Appoint

      Dr. Kshitiz and Ashkan Novin (Faculty and Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering – RNA based therapy for metastatic cancer

      Spring 2020

      John Campanelli, Michael Bobowski, Dr. Michael Fendrich, Ishita Kapoor, and Pamela Mulready (Alumni, Faculty, and Graduate Student), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, School of Social Work, School of Business, and Trinity College – Whirleybird

      Dr. Weiqiang Chen, Dr. Lei Wang, Kevin Chen, and Michal Ciebielski (Faculty, Ph.D. Student, and Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering – CTOP Smart Charging

      Matthew Yang, Nick Huynh, Tyler Lasicki, and Richard Greenbaum (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering, School of Business, and Cornell University – RobinFood

      Benjamin Buchanan, Kathleen Quinn, and Donna Agogliati (Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering – StudEase

      Dr. Madhur Upadhyay, Dr. Kshitz Gupta, and Dr. Yasir Suhail (Faculty and Post Doc), Dental School and School of Engineering – AI Based Decision Making Model

      Dr. Challa Vijaya Kumar and Ankarao Kalluri (Faculty and Graduate Student), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Stable Suspensions of Carbon Nanotubes

      Dr. Kaipei Yang and Robert Smith (Faculty and Graduate Student), School of Engineering – PriorFusion

      Kate Gorman and Cindy Burnett (Alumni), School of Social Work and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Brain hAPPy

      Timothy Krupski and Jeremy Bronen (Graduate Student and Undergraduate Student), School of Business and School of Engineering – Powered Lift Toilet Seat

      Matthew Ternullo (Undergraduate Student), School of Business – SimpliGreen

      Spring 2019

      Dr. Arash Esmaili Zaghi, Alexandra Hain, and Danielle Marzitell (Faculty, Ph.D. Student, Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering, and School of Fine Arts – Arax Engineering: 3D imaging for bridge inspection.

      Dr. Mark Brand, Jonathan Mahoney, Dr. Elaine Choung-Hee Lee, Veronica Vallejo, Keiona Khen (Faculty, Ph.D. Student, Industry Partners, Undergraduate Student), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources- Aroniomics: Aronia for commercial fruit production.

      Nikolas Franceschi-Hofmann, Elizabeth Perry, and Dr. Yu Lei (Undergraduate Students and Faculty), School of Engineering and School of Business- Geyser Remediation: Remove PFAs from drinking water.

      Joseph Rapisarda and Akash Balaji (Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student), School of Business and School of Engineering- FitTrek: data sharing application

      Emily Yale, Anthony Mastrocola, Dr. Mei Wei, and Kevin Waugh (Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student, Faculty, Industry Partner), School of Engineering- Land Maverick: Soil sampling using robotics.

      Christian Heiden, Joseph Bonelli, and Mark Meyering (Undergraduate Student, Faculty, Industry Partner), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources- Levo International: Hydroponic garden installation.

      Dr. Lawrence Silbart, Joseph Carbonaro, and Malu Foley (Faculty, Undergraduate Students),College of Agriculture, Health and Natural resources, and School of Business – Therapeutic Bandage Systems: Bandage used to treat infections

      Michael DaCosta, Brendan Mabey, Ankit Saini, and Sandeep Saini (Undergraduate Students and Industry Partner), School of Business and School of Engineering- Transit2College: College application support

      Dr. Amanda Zaleski, Dr. Beth Taylor, and Dr. Robert Sanchez. (Post Doc, Faculty, Industry Partner) College of Agriculture, Health and Natural resources, SAMS-CI App: Mobile health application for patients and doctors.

      Daniel Ruskin and Jonathan Davis (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering- Secure Election Systems: Secure electronic absentee ballot collection.

      Michael Gaulin and Dr. Lei Wang (Undergraduate Student and Faculty), School of Business and School of Engineering- Smart Charging System: Wireless charging station.

      Spring 2018

      Dr. Xiuchun Tian & Elizabeth Johnson (Faculty & Graduate Student), College of Agriculture, Heath and Natural Resources, Department of Animal Science- “MycoZap” Plant-derived natural compounds to effectively

      Dr. Leslie Shor, Grant Bouchillon, Chris Hawxhurst & Wallis Boyd (Faculty, Graduate Students & Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering & Department of Environmental Engineering- Living Fertilizer

      Dr. Robert Aseltine, Dr. Riddhi Doshi, Wenjie Wang & Cal Collins (Faculty, PostDoc, Graduate Student & Industry), UConn Health, Division of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health, Center for Public Health and Health Policy- “WellTech” Improving the Collection of Patient Information Using Mobile Health Technologies

      Dr. Bradley Wright, Elisabeth McClure, Lindsey Fecko, Samantha Tracey, Kendall Comstock (Faculty & Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department Sociology and Department of Communication- “Ackme Research” Testing well-being interventions 

      Dr. Arash Esmali Zaghi & Alexandra Hain (Faculty & Graduate Student), School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering- “Arax Engineering” Hybrid building columns

      Ernesto Ortega-Hernandez, Shemona Singh, Nicole Gauer (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Department of Computer Science & School of Business, Finance Department- “Mesa” Bridging the disconnect of social interactions through food sharing

      Dr. Ruth Lucas, Patrick Hocking & Amy Robinson (Faculty & Undergraduate Students- UConn), School of Nursing, School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Electrical Engineering, Dr. Jimi Francis, Sarah Cowan & Shambhavi Adhikari (Faculty & Graduate Students- University of Texas at Tyler), College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Department of Health and Kinesiology- “Dyadic Innovations” Breastfeed diagnostic device

      Dr. Amit Savkar, William Moshella & Matthew Dermody (Faculty, Industry & Graduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics & School of Business, Masters in Business Administration- “Savkar.ai” Predictive analytics platform for student retention in STEM fields

      Dr. Mu-Ping Nieh, Armin Tahmasbi Rad & Leila Daneshmandi (Faculty & Graduate Students), School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering- “Encapsulate” A tumor-on-a-chip device for individualized treatment

      Dr. Christine Finck, Dr. Liisa Kuhn & Todd Jensen (Faculty & Researcher), UConn Health, School of Medicine & School of Dental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics & Department of Reconstructive Sciences- “Esophadex” A new esophageal device to treat esophageal

      Fall 2022

      Sandy Chafouleas Ph.D, Emily Wicks (Faculty, Staff), Neag School of Education, School of Fine Arts – Feel Your Best Self

      Zania Johnson, Shanicka Reynolds (Alumni) CLAS (BA), CAHNR (MA), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Let's Eat!

      Sabrina Uva, Ryan Coles Ph.D, Jorge Paricio Ph.D (Graduate Student, Faculty), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of EngineeringMilieu

      Tarun Kumar (Graduate Student), School of BusinessOrga

      Alexander McLeod, Ethan Wicko (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – Transcend Bicycle LLC

      Douglas Vilaysom, Nicolas Brigada (Alumni), School of Business, School of Engineering – Wayside Wing Roadside Safety Tool

      Lorraine Linkhauer, Ph.D, James Linkhauer (Graduate Student), School of Fine Arts – Whale Steps

      Fall 2021

      Richard Ruiz (Alumni) – RIOKEE

      Roberto Vazquez-Munoz and Anna Dongari Bagtzoglou (PostDoc, Faculty) School of Dental Medicine/Department of Periodontology, UConn Health Division of Periodontology BionnTek antimicrobial

      Zoey England (Undergraduate Student), CLAS, IISP; UCHC, PUBHPhyMap

      Ethan D'Orio, Thanh Duc Nguyen, Thinh T. Le, Yang Liu (Graduate Student, Faculty, Graduate Assistant, PostDoc), School of Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing for Energy Systems Department, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science Institute – PLLA Nanofiber Face Masks and Additional Applications

      Kazuya Machida, Prem Shrestha, Dr. Bruce Mayer, Dr. Ji Yu (Faculty, PostDoc, Faculty, Faculty), UConn Health – Fluoro-SH2: Multiplexed Phospho-Protein Profiling Tool

      Delaram Ghanbariamin, Ali Tamayol Ph.D (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), School of Engineering – Smart Bandage with 3D-Printed Miniaturized Needle Arrays

      Abhishek Dutta, Haseeb Mahmood, Rafael Soliven, Rogenry Munoz, Toni Smakaj (Faculty, Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – Airborne Virus Extermination Device

      Ellen Quintana, Alexander Candow, Eric Knight (Alumni, Undergraduate Student, Faculty), School of Nursing, School of Business, UConn TIPReduSeal

      Maumita Bhattacharjee, Lakshmi S. Nair (PostDoc, Faculty) Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering, UConn Health – Injectable amnion hydrogel as a stem cell delivery system for osteoarthritis treatment

      Hritish Bhargava, Matt Silverman, Ethan Aoki, Alyssa Nguyen, Sam Nanayaakkara (Undergraduate Students, IM) School of Engineering, School of Letters and Science, Berkeley – Anzen LLC

      Fall 2020

      Dr. Sergey Dergunov, Dr. Eugene Pinkhassik, and Kevin Rivera (Faculty and Graduate Student), College of Liberal Arts and Science – Nanoreactors in flow processes for simplified chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing

      Jake Winter, Massyl Mallem, Mitchell Miller, and Khalid Husain (Undergraduate Students and Industry), School of Engineering – PatentPlus

      Robert Samples, Rishabh Kejriwal, and Sara Puckett (Graduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Pharmacy – Agrowell Biosciences

      Dr. Rahul Kanadia, Dr. Stefan Wuchty, and Asha Marie Kanadia (Faculty and Alumni) College of Liberal Arts and Science – Verintas LLC

      Dr. Reid Waldman, Dr. Timothy Durso, and Matthew Fanelli (Medical Resident and Industry), School of Medicine – VeraDermics Inc.

      Dr. Shivam Mehta, Dr. Po-Jung Chen, and Dr. Madhur Upadhyay (Dental Residents and Faculty) School of Dental Medicine – Anchorage Reinforcer

      Dr. Mayur Ostwal and Dr. Jeffery McCutcheon (Faculty), School of Engineering – Mixed Matrix Membranes

      Dr. Dan Fabris and Dr. Will McIntyre (Faculty and Post Doc), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – RiboDynamics LLC

      Cayman Cushing and Mohamad Daeipour (Graduate Students), School of Engineering – Performetal

      Dr. Thanh Nguyen and Vinayak Mishra (Faculty and Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Developing a Biodegradable and antibacterial guided bone regeneration membrane to treat Periodontitis

      Dr. Hugo Posada-Quintero, Dr. Ki Chon, and Youngsun Kong (Faculty and Graduate Student), School of Engineering – Wearable Device for Pain Quantification

      Nancy Marek (Doctoral Student), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources – BirdHabitatBot

      David Mittelman and Nathan Looney (Graduate Student and Industry), School of Engineering – Phoenix Farms

      Fall 2019

      Dr. Georgios Bollas and William Hale (Faculty and Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering – Fault inference in cyber-physical systems

      Dr. Wes Hamrick, Dr. Tom Scheinfeldt, and Brooke Foti Gemmell (Faculty, PostDoc, and Staff), School of Fine Arts & Greenhouse Studios – Sourcery

      Dr. Baikun Li and Nikhil Gupta (Faculty and Industry Partner), School of Engineering – Determinant Materials

      Jason Micalizzi, Brian Gibbs, and Dr. Paul Nahass (Alumni and Faculty), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering – SnakeSkin Basketball

      Kishan Patel and Harsh Patel (Undergraduate Student and Graduate Student), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Lund University – Wrap-up

      Shaleighne Cantner, Richard Forristall, Joshua Salazar, and Raja Sivaramakrishnan (Alumni and Industry), NEAG School of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Industry Partners – Engagement Solutions

      Allyn Sweet, Dylan Nenadal, and Dr. David Noble (Alumni, Undergraduate Student, and Faculty), School of Business – GridLite

      Michael Toomey (Graduate Student/Staff) School of Fine Arts – Traveling Interactive Museums

      Peter Goggins and Daniel Lesh (Undergraduate Students), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Pisces Atlantic

      Christopher Papa and Owen Brown (Undergraduate Student and Industry Partner), School of Business and Industry – Chiron Recovery

      Fall 2018

      Dr. Xiuling Lu, Sterling Glass, Derek Hargrove & Andre Beringhs (Faculty, Ph.D. Students, Graduate Student), School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Science- Doxorubicin Nanoparticles for Leukemic Stem Cell Inhibition

      Dr. Dasha Frias Landa, Ardita Hinkle & Dr. Flavio Uribe (PostDoc, Research Assistant, Faculty), UConn Health, Orthodontics- Triangle Retainers: Prevent the relapse of open bite using nonremovable retainer

      Dr. Jason Henderson, Matthew Deluca & Rober Narciso (Faculty, Undergraduate Students), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Department of Plant Grass Science and Landscape Architecture- Turfgrass Weedbine

      Michael Martin, Nick Myers, & Dr. Thomas Villalon (Graduate Student, Industry partners), School of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department & Institute of Material Sciences- iFrit: Using waste generated through production to develop a sustainable disposal process

      Dr. Linda Pescatello, Yin Wu, Burak Cilhoroz & Robert Maybruch (Faculty, Ph.D. Students, Graduate Student, Industry partner), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Department of Kinesiology- Team Optimize: Decision support system for a guided approach to ExRx

      Dr. Islam Mosa, Esraa Elsanadidy, & Dr. James Rusling (Post Doc, Graduate Student, Faculty), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry- BioCap-Harvest: New power course or implantable pacemaker

      Dr. Simona Augyte & Daniel Koval (Post Doc, Industry Partner), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department- Kelp Development and processing: Locally and sustainable grown sea vegetables

      Dr. Erik Wallace, Faith Sporbert, Thomas Crosby, Augusto Iversen, & John Bochicchio (Faculty, Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics- Mystika: Software designed for improve safety and speed of all secure communications

      Dr. Krystyna Gielo-Perczak & Alexandros Mathioudakis (Faculty, Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department- Jointless Lower Extremity Exoskeleton

      Peter Goggins & Patrick Hockings (Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Environmental Science Department & School of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department- Next Generation Multi-Trophic Aquaculture

      MEET THE ACCELERATE UCONN TEAM

      alycia-chrosniak-headshot

      Alycia Chrosniak
      Assistant Director of Brand & Venture Development
      alycia.chrosniak@uconn.edu

      michelle-cote-headshot

      Michelle Cote
      Lead Instructor

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      Caroline Dealy Ph.D.
      Faculty Lead