The SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows program supports and honors faculty members who demonstrate a strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the areas of energy, environmental quality and sustainable design, with additional support available for projects engaging New York state-based companies. These projects were selected from a pool of faculty proposals submitted during a funding solicitation issued by SyracuseCoE earlier this spring. Since 2015, over $1 million has been awarded to advance research and development projects led by SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows.

“We are excited to include these exceptional faculty members in SyracuseCoE’s growing network,” says SyracuseCoE Executive Director , professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering amd Computer Science. “Their diverse expertise across disciplines and, in many instances, collaboration with local entrepreneurs will be critical in supporting our mission of promoting innovative solutions for human health, global energy and environmental challenges.”

“This is an excellent program for energy and environmental research and development,” says , associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “The support from SyracuseCoE addresses a critical gap in aligning the technical needs of regional and national companies with the expertise of faculty and students at Syracuse University.”

Lindi Quackenbush, interim vice president for research at SUNY ESF, says, “SUNY ESF is a longstanding partner institution of SyracuseCoE, and the SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows program provides important support for SUNY ESF faculty, often working in collaboration with regional companies and communities, to develop and expand their research capabilities and expertise while addressing global challenges.”

2024 Faculty Fellow awards include:��

• Bing Dong, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “Smart Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERVs) for Schools”
• Scott Erdman, associate professor of biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University, “Metal Doped Fungal Biomass as Material for Energy Storage Devices”
• Sevgi Erdogan, associate professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, “Smart Cities Research Network Development for Sustainable and Resilient Communities”
• Jennifer Goff, assistant professor of chemistry, SUNY ESF, “Characterization of Bimetallic Nanoparticles for Usage as Air Filter Antibacterials”
• Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, assistant professor of sustainable resources management, SUNY ESF, “Revitalizing Local Waste Material in Low Carbon Construction Materials Through Materials Circularity for Decarbonizing the Built Environments”
• Tong Lin, postdoctoral research associate, Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory, Syracuse University, “Enhanced Cooling Fan Design Coupled with Advanced Mixed-Flow Fan Rotor for Improved Efficiency and Compactness”
• Ericka Redmond, assistant professor of chemical engineering, SUNY ESF, “Innovative Nano-Sawdust Composites for Sustainable Thermal Insulation”
• Yilei Shi, associate teaching professor of civil and environmental engineering and undergraduate civil engineering program director, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, “A Pilot Study on Simulated Hygrothermal Behavior of a Novel Sustainable Roof System for Green Buildings”
• Endong Wang, associate professor of sustainable construction, SUNY ESF, “Facilitating Market Penetration of Sustainable Building Retrofitting Through Persuasive Technology”
• Yeqing Wang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, College of Engineering amd Computer Science, Syracuse University, “Renewable and MOF-Coated Highly Porous Delignified Wood Composite for Gas Separation”
• Weiwei Zheng, associate professor of chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University, “Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Emission Control Application”

The awards were made possible by funding to support SyracuseCoE activities, awarded by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR).

One of 13 New York State Centers of Excellence, SyracuseCoE strategically brings industry partners together with researchers and students in a thriving culture of collaboration and innovation, ultimately creating new businesses and jobs, strengthening regional and state economies. SyracuseCoE supports growth and innovation through companies and researchers. Since 2002, more than 200 firms and institutions have been engaged in SyracuseCoE collaborative projects, in addition to more than 75 faculty in Central New York. For more information, .

Story by Kai Volcy

From left to right: Gokdenis Ersoy and Aiden Robinson of Haynie’s Heroes; Emma Lueders, Jennie Bull and Julianna Hernandez of Moody Management LLC; Garv Prabhaker and Sarah Schoenecker of University Diaries; and Xiangyi Han, Jingjing Wu and Minna You of Boundless Why (Photo by Amelia Beamish)

Bandages that monitor for diabetic foot ulcers and creating safe spaces for conversations about sexual wellness and self-love were just some of the winning innovations presented at the Whitman School Dean’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Innovation Challenge on April 18.

The challenge was a semester-long initiative coordinated by Erin Draper, director of experiential programs, with Jude Azai G’24 and Aakanksha Maheshwari G’25, that encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration as students honed their problem-solving and critical thinking skills around the 17 . While each team was required to have one Whitman student, participants came from across the University and included undergraduate, graduate, online and doctoral students. The students received no academic credit for participating but did so because of their passion for innovation and sustainability.

Fourteen graduate and 17 undergraduate teams submitted reports in March, which resulted in the selection of the “Elite 8”–the top four undergraduate and graduate submissions thought to have the greatest potential to make an impact on sustainable development goals across disciplines.

On April 18, teams displayed posters and posted 45-second YouTube videos about their projects, while judges Mark Coleman, adjunct faculty, Whitman School; Anna Chernobai, professor of finance in the Whitman School; Brian Macrae G’01, managing partner, Synapse; Cary Mullin G’08, vice president and general manager, broadband solutions, Belden Inc.; Megan Quill ’05, vice president, finance, Smartest Energy; and Meg Tidd, CEO of VIP Structures; heard six-minute pitches from the “Elite 8” vying for $25,000 in cash prizes to help further their projects.

“Whitman is committed to creating leaders that understand the importance of sustainability for the future and where our students can use their innovative problem-solving skills to begin to address some of the grand challenges our society is facing,” says Whitman Interim Dean Alex McKelvie. “By providing real-world solutions to issues listed among the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, our students have shown how we can come together as a community to make the world a better place. I’m also delighted to support our students’ efforts in experiential learning, where they emphasize teamwork, communication and developing innovative solutions that help to create the next generation of responsible business leaders and entrepreneurs.”

The following awards were presented at the event:

THE WHITMAN INNOVATION GRAND PRIZE:�� $5,000

Moody Management LLC: The undergraduate team of Jennie Bull ’24, Julianna Hernandez ’24 and Emma Lueders ’24 created a sex-positivity community media platform with a safe space for conversations about sexual wellness and self-love. It addresses the SDG of good health, gender and reducing inequalities.

DiabeTech: The team of Tosin Alabi G’25, Manjusha Baddipudi G’25 and Katayoon Faraji G’25 took the grand prize with an innovative “smart bandage” to prevent diabetic foot ulcers. The product looks much like an ordinary bandage but is equipped with sensors and uses artificial intelligence analytics to monitor wounds, signaling patients and doctors of signs of infection to prevent gangrene or amputation. DiabeTech addressed the SDG of good health, technology and reducing inequalities.

From left to right: Interim Dean Alexander McKelvie, Tosin Alabi, Katayoon Faraji and Erin Draper, director of experiential programs (Photo by Amelia Beamish)

FIRST RUNNER UP: $3,000

Haynie’s Heroes: The undergraduate team of Gokdenis Ersoy ’25, Aiden Robinson ’26, William Akerson ’24 and Nicholas Santangelo ’25 developed an innovative platform for convenient, fast and efficient refurbishing of e-waste covering the SDG of quality education, reduction of inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production.

Eco Guardians: The graduate team of Aman Kumar G’25, Prashant Gautam ’25, Kushwanth Sai Chandu Meesala G’25 and Shivani Mangesh Sadare G’24 created a program for “climate literacy” in the education system to promote learning, awareness and self-incentivization of preserving the planet to help teachers and students have better understanding of the consequences of waste on the environment. The SDG were quality education and climate action.

SECOND RUNNER UP: $2,000

University Diaries: The undergraduate team of Sarah Schoenecker ’27 and Garv Prabhaker ’27 created an interactive online platform designed to help high school students through the college application process, particularly first-generation and underserved students who may lack resources, as well as newly enrolled college students. The SDG were quality education and reducing inequalities.

Circular Sages: The graduate student team of Trang Nguyen G’25, Akarsh Bhutani G’24 and Monthip Sonethavong G’24 created WasteWise, a digital platform for responsible consumption in the textile industry that identifies and manages resources through waste mapping and methods of eliminating excess materials in the marketplace. It addresses the SDG of responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water and life on land.

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD: $1,000

Daredevils: The team of graduate students Natasha Lobo G’25, Dishant Bhansali G’25 and Bhavya Chheda G’25 designed a portal for the management of e-waste that connects customers, service centers and recyclers. This award was selected by audience vote at the event.

SDG BLACKBOARD DISCUSSION AWARD: $1,000

Eco Guardians (see project description above) was selected based on weekly discussions throughout the competition related to SDG.

MOST IMPACTFUL INNOVATION AWARD: $1,000

Boundless Why: The undergraduate team of ��Xiangyi Han ’26, Jingjing Wu ’25 and Minna You ’25 were selected for this award for creation of a global online community that provides art resources and therapy for teenagers with autism.

BEST CREATIVE VIDEO AWARD: $1,000

KG’s: The team of Ghonche Khalaj G’26; Ali Kozehgaran G’26; Adhadreza Safasinia G‘28; ��Seyed Babak Seyd Asadollah ’28 and Seyedehniloufar Mousavi ’27 was selected for a video presentation on AgriNect, an app designed to find and tip farmers whose products consumers enjoy.

BEST COLLABORATIVE DIVERSE TEAM: $1,000

Circular Sages: (see project description above) was selected for best representation of students from different backgrounds and various schools, as well as the contribution by each team member.

For more information, visit the Dean’s SDG Innovation Challenge page on our��.

• 

  Shooka, founded by Natasha Brao ’22

  Shooka, founded by Natasha Brao ’22 () G’24 (). Shooka is a consumer-packaged goods brand that celebrates the mixing and melding of cultural cuisines to promote creative, adaptable cooking, bringing new experiences to the modern table. Inspired by the classic dish Shakshuka enjoyed in many Mediterranean cultures, Shooka makes creative variations that allow you to experience the dish at home. Brao has solidified the contractual relationship with her co-packer and is hoping to launch her first line by the end of the fourth quarter with the funds awarded from ‘Cuse Tank.

• 

  Marhold Space Systems, founded by Frank Marin ’23

  Marhold Space Systems, founded by Frank Marin ’23 () G’24 (Whitman). Marhold Space Systems, LLC is a space manufacturing company that is developing technology to assist in building long-term, in-space sustainable growth. They will be providing services through novel methods for active debris removal, on-orbit servicing and in-space manufacturing. Through designs and novel methodology, Marhold Space Systems promotes safer interactions with debris by minimizing contact with uncooperative objects. They will utilize the prize money for astrodynamics software to validate their debris removal methodology.

• 

  IconnHost, founded by Waqar Hussain G’24

  IconnHost, founded by Waqar Hussain G’24 (Whitman). IconnHost is a fully managed cloud hosting platform, engineered with proprietary software that crafts tailored hosting solutions with one click. They offer subject matter experts a streamlined cloud server management solution, enabling them to easily deploy and scale their digital products on dedicated cloud platforms. IconnHost will use the prize money to invest in product development, performance-improving technology, scalability, automation and marketing, and to build out their infrastructure and operations team.

This year’s prizes were generously donated by: Corey Lieblein ’93, parent Ajay Nagpal and Andrew ’79 and Linda Schwartz.

This year’s judges included:

• Jack Adler ’23, CEO of Out2Win Sports
• Melinda Dermody, associate dean of academic success, Syracuse University Libraries
• Ana Gil, owner, Ana Gil Studios
• Corey Lieblein, CEO of CP8 Capital
• Ajay Nagpal, president and COO of Millenium
• David Reed ’83, Champion Products
• Kira Crawford, technology consultant
• Tyrin Fernandes ’20, entrepreneur
• Karla Lellis JD’25, legal compliance specialist
• Lee McKnight, faculty, School of Information Studies
• Kate Oja, associate director of ERIE21, Le Moyne College
• Mark Wassersug, former COO of Intercontinental Exchange

About Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone

The is Syracuse University’s innovation hub, connecting the campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors and creators. The program serves faculty, staff, students and recent alumni across all disciplines who are interested in entrepreneurship, venture creation and innovation careers. The program supports a key pillar of Syracuse University’s academic strategic plan to give students experiential opportunities that help prepare them to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.

Open to members of the , the Innovation Fund offers awards of up to $10,000 to companies working to advance innovations in indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy��and��water resources. The awards for this program are funded through SyracuseCoE Partner Program member company contributions.

This year’s winning projects are:

• , Utica, NY: $10,000 to build a database and extraction tool for monitoring water quality in areas at risk of harmful algal blooms, making it easier to obtain reliable testing results quickly.
• , Ithaca, NY: $10,000 to support Fast Site Survey^TM, an AI-powered SaaS product that captures atomic-level equipment data to help customers estimate end of useful life and identify inefficient equipment.
• , Syracuse, NY: $10,000 to advance the development of a stadium lighting module that uses laser diodes in place of LED lighting for use in extended throw��applications, while improving the speed and reliability of optical communications.
• , Syracuse, NY: $10,000 to assist in the manufacturing and installation of the HydroPod XL, a retrofit system that provides heating, cooling, domestic hot water production and balanced ventilation, at a pilot NYSERDA housing site in Phoenix, NY.

“These projects are a win-win for Central New York,” says Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, SyracuseCoE executive director. “Through the support of the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund and its Partner Program community, these four companies will advance technical innovations and create economic opportunities that address pressing environmental and energy efficiency challenges.”

Each applicant pitched their project proposal to a group of reviewers. This review panel evaluated each project on the principles of sound engineering, innovation potential, feasibility and expected economic outcomes.

SyracuseCoE extends our sincere appreciation to this round’s review panel, including Linda Dickerson Hartsock of Syracuse University, Hugh Henderson of Owahgena Consulting, Kara Jones of CenterState CEO and The Tech Garden, Scott MacBain of Carrier Corp. and Christopher Neville of Upstate Medical University.

Since the program’s inception, SyracuseCoE has supported over 60 Innovation Fund projects, totaling nearly $640,000 in award funding. To learn more about the SyracuseCoE Partner Program or upcoming Innovation Fund opportunities, visit our page or contact Tammy Rosanio at��tlrosani@syr.edu.

From left: Thomas Montfort, Natasha Brao, Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Senior Associate Dean for Research Excellence Scott Warren, Alex Levy and Sam Schreiber

Three student teams are the winners of inaugural awards, a grant program administered through designed to help students commercialize their research ideas.

Natasha Brao ’22, G’23, G’24

Brao, who received an undergraduate degree from the , a graduate degree from the and is currently pursuing an MBA from Whitman, is the recipient of the Syracuse University Orange Distinction Award and an Invest in Success Scholar.

She is founder of a creative agency that creates brand strategy and design for clients ranging from products to services to environments. She also serves as the lead designer, marketing team lead and innovation mentor at the .

A culinary entrepreneur who is fascinated by food creativity, she is also founder of Root and Seed Brands, a company that is bringing real, whole and culturally diverse food products to market. This Orange Innovation Fund award will help her produce her official batch of product, Shooka Sauce, a Mediterranean spiced sauce that celebrates the mixing and melding of cultural flavors.

Working with the LaunchPad and Whitman faculty, as well as industry advisors, she recently produced her first test batch of professionally bottled sauce, which won accolades and funding in Whitman’s fall 2023 Orange Tank. She incorporated her venture with the assistance of a LaunchPad Innovation Award (funded by Syracuse University Libraries’ Advisory Board member Jeff Rich ’67) and is now working with a co-packer in Rochester to bring the product to market.

This grant will help her with final third-party independent nutritional analysis, labeling and other regulatory requirements, and to start larger scale production of her sauce for market placement.

Alex Levy ’25 and Sam Schreiber ’25

Levy, a student, and Schreiber, a student in the ,��were recent first-place winners of the spring 2023 Intelligence ++ inclusive design and entrepreneurship competition, funded by Gianfranco Zaccai ’70, H’09.

Levy and Schreiber are founders of Optimal Assessment, LLC, an ed-tech venture incorporated with the assistance of a LaunchPad Innovation Award (funded by Jeff Rich ’67), and are developing an original software platform to help faculty design courses for students with diverse and varied learning styles, including those who are neurodivergent.

Their Orange Innovation Fund award will assist them in working with industry advisors and software development experts to build out a prototype to pilot in spring 2024. Levy is a designer for Innovate Orange, an organization that plans and runs CuseHacks, and recently completed a designer internship with IBM where he earned eight IBM licenses and certifications, including Accessibility Foundations and Enterprise Design Thinking Team Essentials for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Schreiber is a Venture Fellow for the ORCA Network, a ChatGPT-powered platform for connecting founders and investors and serves as an innovation mentor for the LaunchPad.

Thomas Montfort ’24

student Montfort recently completed a software engineering internship at Amazon Web Services in Austin, Texas, following a software engineering internship at JPMorgan Chase. Montfort is one of the original co-founding team members and former vice president of Cuse Blockchain, a student organization based in the LaunchPad focused on research and education around blockchain technology.

He founded Agora Labs this summer with two other students he met in Austin. Agora is focused on democratizing access to AI computing resources via affordable peer-to-peer GPU networks. He and his team will use the Orange Innovation Fund award to build tools that engineers need for integrating Large Language Models into their tech stack. The funding will enable Agora to develop their product over the coming months and get user feedback.

Funding for the Orange Innovation Award program comes from a gift from Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill ’98, a member of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees who is operating partner of Silicon Valley Quad, an angel investing syndicate. Gill presented the three awards to the student teams and announced that applications are now open for the spring 2024 grant round.

The Orange Innovation Fund supports student research initiatives emerging from campus innovation programs. It is intended to help move graduate and undergraduate student research or scholarly projects from ideation to proof of concept and commercialization, supporting the University’s goals of excellence in research, scholarship, student experiential learning and innovation.

Applications for the spring semester will be due Friday, March 29, 2024, by 5 p.m. ET. . For a link to register for the required proposal writing workshop, as well as application materials, please email orangeinnovation@syr.edu.

Gill

The Orange Innovation Fund is a concept to commercialization seed fund for student research initiatives emerging from the Blackstone LaunchPad and other campus innovation programs. The fund is designed to help move student research, scholarly or creative projects from ideation to proof of concept and commercialization by helping overcome some financial barriers students face.

The program will be administered through Syracuse University Libraries, in collaboration with the University’s existing research and commercialization programs such as the , the , , , the , the at Syracuse, , , the (NYSTAR designated Center for Advanced Technology) and the . Applicants can also come through research classes, labs or independent study programs across the University.

“It’s been wonderful to see Syracuse University’s Blackstone Launchpad and its other innovation programs be so enthusiastically embraced by students across all disciplines. I hope this new fund will help remove any barriers student entrepreneurs might encounter as they develop their products for market. The U.S. economy depends on the tenacity of entrepreneurs to keep its edge,” says Gill. The Orange Innovation Fund supports the University’s goal to distinguish Syracuse University for excellence in research, scholarship, student experiential learning and innovation.

“We are so grateful for Raj-Ann’s commitment to Syracuse University, the Libraries and most importantly to the students we serve,” said David Seaman, dean of Syracuse University Libraries and university librarian. “Through her generosity, students will have the opportunity to apply for grants that will help bring their ideas to fruition, removing barriers to development of their products, services, technology and creativity.”

Each semester graduate and undergraduate students engaged in commercialization projects will have an opportunity to apply for grants up to $5,000 per award, with a total of up to $50,000 per academic year awarded over five years.

Applicants must identify specific tangible needs related to the development of a product, service, technology or creative work in the discovery, testing, building and/or launching of their initiative. Prospective applicants are encouraged to attend two proposal/grant writing workshops on Sept. 13 and 14 at 3 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in Bird Library. The workshops will be offered by Linda Dickerson Hartsock, advisor, strategic initiatives at Syracuse University Libraries, and former founding director of the Blackstone LaunchPad.

The first application round will close Sept. 29. Applications for funding will be directed to the Libraries and reviewed by a cross-campus committee. For additional information email�� orangeinnovation@syr.edu.

About Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University

Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University is poised to do just that. Fueled by more than 150 years of fearless firsts, together we can enhance academic excellence, transform the student experience and expand unique opportunities for learning and growth. Forever Orange endeavors to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to participate in the campaign, and actively engage one in five alumni in the life of the University. Now is the time to show the world what Orange can do. Visit����to learn more.

Michael Veley, the Department of Sport Management’s founding director and chair, speaks at the news conference announcing the launch of the groundbreaking Sports, Entertainment & Innovation Conference.

On July 14, and Syracuse��University’s , in collaboration with the Las Vegas-based guest experience agency , proudly announced the launch of a first-of-it-kind Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference��(SEI-Con) hosting thought leaders and subject matter experts from across the globe to educate, collaborate and create dynamic ventures together.

The inaugural conference will be held in Las Vegas with an opening reception on July 15, 2024, and the three-day conference from July 16-18. The event will include exhibitor pods, innovation labs, daily keynotes, seminars/sessions, roundtables and daily wrap parties with music.

“There has been momentum building in the area of professional sports throughout Southern Nevada in recent years, and the economic growth that comes along with it is undeniable,” says University of Nevada, Las Vegas President��. “Through business and workforce development, and of course innovation, UNLV is a key partner in this growth, and SEI-Con is the latest example of our collaborative work to reinforce Las Vegas’ reputation as the world leader in tourism, sports and entertainment.”

Analysts predict the global sports market to reach $2 trillion, which is 2% of the $100 trillion world economy, bolstered by an influx of money from new sources, emerging technologies and growing demand. Already the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas has become an emerging sports destination and is perfectly positioned to host an annual conference focused on the intersection of sports, entertainment and innovation.

“The opportunity for our students to work on this world-class event captures the essence of our experiential-based academic programs,” says , founding director and chair and Rhonda S. Falk Endowed Professor in the in Falk College. “We, along with our nationally acclaimed advisory council of industry executives, fully embrace the collaboration with UNLV’s premier programs, the creative genius of Circle, and business partners and sports entities in one of the most dynamic sports and entertainment markets in the world.”

From left to right, Shawn Garrity (Circle), Rodney Paul (Syracuse), Michael Veley (Syracuse), Sport Management alum Chris Sotiropulos ’09 (vice president of stadium operations for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders), Jay Vickers (UNLV Sports Innovation) and Vickers’ daughter, Juliana, gather to celebrate the launch of SEI-Con starting in July 2024.

Attendees will have opportunities to meet industry executives and explore the latest innovations in sports and entertainment, esports and gaming, sports sociology and diversity, broadcast brands and media, research and development and more.

“Through collaborations with academic partners and the sports and entertainment industry, we are training the next generation of sports scientists and sports business professionals through interdisciplinary education and research,” says UNLV Sports Innovation Chief Operating Officer . “SEI-Con will produce opportunities for education and collaboration that will result in unprecedented deal-making that will undeniably have a positive impact for our universities, students and the sports and entertainment industry.”

The event will also recognize leadership in sports, entertainment and academia, and connect audiences dedicated to the future of these industries.

“We are eager to display the work being done by our faculty directly in sports, including innovative programs in sport management, sport analytics and our newest program in esports, plus other elements of the college such as sports-related research in exercise science, nutrition and other areas,” says , director of the program and a professor in the Department of Sport Management at Falk College. “We are most excited, however, to show off our greatest asset, our students, on the world stage in the great city of Las Vegas.”

The July 14 kickoff news conference was covered by several media outlets, including the and . from the SEI-Con announcement featuring Veley and Vickers.

The impressive list of SEI-Con speakers for next summer’s conference includes David Falk, Falk College benefactor and one of the sports industry’s leading figures as an NBA player agent; Brandon Steiner, Falk College Department of Sport Management Advisory Council president and a sports marketing expert; Syracuse University Director of Athletics John Wildhack; Sport Management Associate Professor and Undergraduate Director Gina Pauline; and Veley and Paul.

For more information about SEI-Con, including a FAQ and how to register, visit the .

Participants will learn to apply discovery methodology to help translate technology innovation from the lab into a successful product and/or service through a better understanding of how to achieve product-market fit.

The monthlong virtual course will be offered Sept. 18-Oct. 18��through Syracuse University as a partner in the , funded by the NSF, led by Cornell University and with other collaborators, including Dartmouth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of Vermont and West Virginia University. The Hub is part of the , connecting researchers, entrepreneurial communities and federal agencies to help commercialize research.

.

Course Overview

This virtual course combines self-directed online learning activities, with six Zoom-based class meetings and one-on-one instructor check ins. The course is technology-agnostic, and any sufficiently developed (i.e., beyond ideation) tech innovation team is welcome to apply.

In the first half of the course, teams learn how to identify target customer segments, develop hypotheses about the value proposition offered to each customer segment and effectively interview potential customers about their problems/needs.

In the second half of the course, teams will conduct customer discovery and join personalized calls with instructors to share progress and receive coaching. In the final class, teams present their findings, receive additional coaching, learn about other local entrepreneurship programs and receive information about applying for the national I-Corps Teams program and various grants.

Applicant Information

Criteria for apply to the program are as follows:

• Applicants should have an early-state technology innovation, with either a prototype or some form of scientific validation.
• Teams of one to three people may apply.
• All team members are required to attend and participate fully in every course session and complete all coursework to be considered for NSF lineage and a nomination for ��the national I-Corps Team.

While all applicants are welcome, preference is given to those with university-affiliated technology (i.e., faculty working with the Office of Technology Transfer), as well as postdocs, graduate students and undergraduate students who are commercializing research.

Applications are also encouraged from researchers and early-stage founders engaged with other campuses as well as community incubators and accelerator programs.

The application closes Wednesday, Aug. 23.

More Information

NSF I-Corps course programming at Syracuse University is being co-led by Linda Dickerson Hartsock, strategic initiatives advisor, Syracuse University Libraries, who was founding director of the Blackstone LaunchPad, and Jeff Fuchsberg, director, Syracuse Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering. Both Hartsock and Fuchsberg led the Syracuse Tech Garden before joining the University. NSF certified instructors will be teaching the course modules.

Read more about Syracuse University’s participation in the new IN I-Corps Consortium and its $15 million STEM innovation program. The new initiative aims to create a cohesive innovation ecosystem through inclusive models of education and workforce training designed to catalyze innovation in economically underserved areas.

Partners in Syracuse University’s NSF I-Corps programming are resource providers across campus, including the Office of Research, Office of Technology Transfer, Syracuse University Libraries, the College of Law’s Innovation Law Center, the College of Engineering and Computer Science and its Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

For more information about the upcoming NSF I-Corps course, contact Linda Dickerson Hartsock (ldhart01@syr.edu) or Jeff Fuchsberg (jrfuchsb@syr.edu).

Traci Geisler ’90

Prior to joining the LaunchPad, Geisler served in an investment, program and contract management role at The Tech Garden since 2016. There she provided business development services to incubator member companies and managed procurement, funding programs and the investment portfolio of the incubator. Geisler also has more than 25 years of experience in corporate and finance law in 10 countries. She began her career in communications and sports/entertainment after graduating with a dual degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences. She obtained her master’s in business administration from the City University of New York and her juris doctorate from New York Law School.

In her role as director of the LaunchPad, Geisler will be responsible for creating programs and services that support Syracuse University students, faculty, staff and alumni across all disciplines. This includes entrepreneurship resources for those who want to build and create, as well as intrapreneurship resources for those who want to strengthen leaderships skills. The LaunchPad is dedicated to inspiring, coaching and empowering the world’s future innovators through connections with subject matter experts, co-working space, individualized coaching, alumni and peer mentoring, workshops, professional networking events, demo days and talent fairs, competitions for seed funding, toolkit resources, technology platforms, access to accelerators and innovation grant funding.

“We’re thrilled to have someone with Traci Geisler’s experience and skills join Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad as the new director. Linda Dickerson Hartsock created a communal hub for student entrepreneurs that is well known across the region and has allowed the Libraries to serve Syracuse University’s schools and colleges in their various innovation programs, bringing new energy and capacity to entrepreneurship,” says David Seaman, dean of the Libraries, University Librarian and interim dean of the School of Information Studies. “Having Traci now in this role will ensure the LaunchPad continues to evolve and grow organically. Traci’s background and connections will add another layer of depth that will translate to more opportunities for our student entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives.”

About Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad

The is Syracuse University’s innovation hub, connecting the campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors and creators. The program serves faculty, staff, students and recent alumni across all disciplines who are interested in entrepreneurship, venture creation and innovation careers. The program supports a key pillar of Syracuse University’s academic strategic plan to give students experiential opportunities that help prepare them to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.

Gloria Somolekae

In celebration of International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8, the (WiL), in partnership with the , the and the , is pleased to bring Gloria Somolekae G’94, H’22 back to campus for an in-person keynote talk titled “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality: Challenges and Prospects.” This presentation will give a global focus on technology and education, with an emphasis on how women and girls across the globe can be empowered in the digital age.

The event will be held in the Goldstein Auditorium at the Schine Student Center from 1 to 2 p.m. All students, faculty and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend. Registration is required in advance and .

As a barrier-breaking academic in her home country of Botswana and a dedicated public servant, Somolekae has been a leader in women’s rights, democracy and development in Botswana and throughout southern Africa. Somolekae, who earned a Ph.D. in public administration from the Maxwell School, was the first citizen of Botswana to earn a Ph.D. in public administration, and the first woman in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Botswana—a trailblazer as one of only a small number of women in academics at the university at the time. In 2022, Somolekae was recognized with an Honorary Degree from Syracuse University.

More About Somolekae

Somolekae earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration and political science from the University of Botswana and Swaziland in 1981. She then earned a master’s in public policy and administration at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague in 1983, before coming to Syracuse.

After her studies, Somolekae returned to Botswana where she became a senior lecturer at the University of Botswana. She then worked in various policy advisor and director roles for foundations in Botswana, including as a policy advisor on rural development for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, before entering government service. The president of Botswana appointed her first to a position in the 10th Parliament of Botswana, and then to the position of deputy minister of finance and economic development. It was another first for the nation—the first woman to serve in a senior position in the Ministry of Finance. She was tasked by the president to review the country’s rural development; the Somolekae Report led to major policy shifts in the country’s rural development programs.

Along with her public service, Somolekae has had a deep presence in leading civic engagement projects, helping to energize voters and engage more citizens in politics in Botswana. She co-founded and directed the Democracy Project in Botswana, which was organized to help preserve and strengthen democracy through education of the public on their rights and responsibilities in a democracy and monitor elections. She was a board member of the organization Emang Basadi, which successfully challenged a number of laws that discriminated against women, and helped conceptualize the organization’s effort to encourage women to get involved in politics.

Currently, she serves as senior research fellow and head of the Governance and Administration Unit in the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis. She is working to build capacity in governance, advocating for evidence-based policymaking.

In recognition of her public service and engagement with the citizenry, she was awarded the Presidential Order of Honour by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Botswana, the highest civilian honor in Botswana, in 2008; was named one of Botswana’s 50 Inspirational and Formidable Women by W.A.V.E. as part of Botswana’s independence celebrations in turning half a century in 2016; and was named by the All Africa Council of Churches, based in Kenya, as an Eminent Persons for Peace in Africa.

More About WiL

The WiL Initiative seeks to catalyze the personal and collective advancement of women on campus.��To learn more about WiL or get involved in upcoming programs, visit the��. Programs are open to all community members, regardless of gender identity or expression.

Led by Syracuse University, SyracuseCoE is one of�� that brings industry partners together with researchers and students who are creating new tech products and businesses.

The winning projects are:

• , of Potsdam, was awarded $10,000 to develop a new blade and hub design for its��3.5 kW wind turbine. The innovation offers improved power production, increased part reliability, reduced cost and higher safety margins
• , of New York City, received $9,988 to deploy a pilot of its Q Sense thermal-LiDAR sensor and software platform. It generates thermal digital twin layouts of buildings to gauge reductions in energy consumption and improve occupant comfort.
• , of New York City, was awarded $10,000 to advance development of HydroBox. The product is key to the Hydronic Shell deep energy retrofit system that, when integrated into a façade, allows for complete conditioning of a dwelling unit from the exterior wall.
• , of Dundee, received $10,000 to optimize the system design parameters of its patented uvcPhyzx device, which integrates with controlled environment agricultural (CEA) HVAC systems.

“SyracuseCoE’s Innovation Fund Awards continue to serve as an effective way to help companies achieve commercialization of their technologies,” says Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, SyracuseCoE executive director. “These awards strengthen both the company and Central New York’s position as a leader in technology innovations that address energy and environmental challenges.”

SyracuseCoE has supported 60 Innovation Fund projects��with awards totaling over $635,000 to date.

To compete for the awards, companies that��are members of the could submit proposals to help commercialize projects within SyracuseCoE’s core focus areas: indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy and water resources.��The awards are funded by member companies of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.

Judges included Michael Birnkrant��of , Brian Carter; SyracuseCoE; Jeffrey Fuchsberg, ; Jamie Newtown, ; Nathan Prior, ; Marcus Webb, and Mike Wetzel,��.

Grant applications from companies who are new or existing members of the are being accepted through 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 20. Awards of up to $10,000 each for up to five projects may be presented.

M3 Innovations’ Chris Nolan, left, and Joe Casper with their Mako Solution System. The company received Innovation Fund grants in 2020 and 2022. (Photo by Kerrie Marshall)

Companies at all —industry, affiliate and start-up—are invited to apply for the grants. Project proposals must address a challenge in the SyracuseCoE’s core focus areas of indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy and water resources.

Led by Syracuse University, SyracuseCoE is one of�� designed to foster collaboration between the academic research community and the business sector to develop and commercialize new products and technologies and promote private sector investment in emerging high-technology fields in New York state.

SyracuseCoE Executive Director , who is also a professor of in the University’s , notes that many SyracuseCoE partners have leveraged their Innovation Fund awards��to commercialize their technologies and strengthen their companies.

Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, executive director, SyracuseCoE.

“These awards accelerate research and development and help transform innovative discoveries into commercially viable products and services, making the companies more competitive. The entrepreneurial culture that is inherent in university-industry collaboration contributes to a strong economy for New York state, while addressing important, multifaceted societal challenges,” Zhang says.

Zhang cites the success of three prior grantees as a measure of the potential the awards can mean. used its 2016 grant to build financial and physical models of their system to advance critical conversations with utilities. The company is now working with National Grid to build New York state’s . 2014 award allowed it to test new, innovative LED sports lighting technology that they used the following year to light the Super Bowl. ’s 2016 grant helped it test the heat management system for its portable electric vehicle chargers. The startup built its first prototype at SyracuseCoE headquarters and has won millions in other grants. Founder Josh Aviv ’15 G’17 has received multiple “best entrepreneur” honors. Recently, he introduced President Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68 at the White House signing of the CHIPS and Science Act.

Those who are interested in joining the partner program now to be eligible for grant consideration for this October’s awards can contact Tamara Rosanio at tlrosani@syr.edu.��More details about the program and application process can be found on the .

The NSF award is providing the funding to a consortium of 10 academic institutions for the implementation and execution of the IN I-Corps Hub program. The program aims to expand the nation’s geography of innovation by creating a cohesive innovation ecosystem that delivers inclusive models of education and workforce training designed for and by innovators in rural regions and small cities. The region that includes Syracuse University stretches from New Hampshire to West Virginia and represents large portions of the U.S. that are largely rural, economically underserved and working to restore economic vitality.

Syracuse University is joined by hub lead Cornell University and hub partner institutions Dartmouth College, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of Vermont and West Virginia University. Each institution will be hosting regional I-Corps courses and contributing to programming and curriculum strategy in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The grant captures activities taking place across the Syracuse University campus, including at the College of Law’s Innovation Law Center; the College of Engineering and Computer Science and its Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering; and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, says the University is excited to partner with the NSF and other colleges to boost entrepreneurism and contribute academic programming and curriculum development in that field.

“The University has a long and distinguished reputation as a leader in entrepreneurship education, evidenced by the many innovative programs in place across our campus,” Ritter says. “We are pleased to lend our expertise and capacities to the I-Corps program goals. Given our institutional priority to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, we are gratified to see that a special program focus is assuring equitable access to resources and talent development among groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in STEM field education.”

Duncan Brown, vice president of research, says the program provides new opportunities, both interdisciplinary and cross-school collaboration on campus and dynamic partnerships with other colleges that emphasize innovation, entrepreneurship and local economy initiatives.

“We are pleased to join with these institutions and the NSF in this initiative and the University looks forward to the many ways our faculty and leadership can enhance STEM learning and market innovation through this collaboration,” Brown says.

New Tech for Society

Founded by the National Science Foundation in 2011, I-Corps programming nationwide empowers researchers to combine their technical and scientific knowledge with an entrepreneurial mindset to develop new technologies and startups that benefit society. The I-Corps curriculum addresses the knowledge gap between the skills needed to develop an innovative technology in a lab and the skills needed to bring that technology to market. With a core tenet of customer discovery, participants in I-Corps courses work to connect with potential customers and ensure the solutions they are developing fill an existing market need.

Campus Leads

Alexander McKelvie

Alexander McKelvie, interim dean and professor of entrepreneurship in the Whitman School, is the principal investigator for the Syracuse University portion of the grant. Todd Moss, chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises and the Pettinella Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Whitman School, is the research lead for the program. Pramod Varshney, distinguished professor of electrical engineering and computer science and director of CASE, is the faculty lead.

“We are delighted to collaborate with these partner institutions in the interior northeast region on this transformational program,” says McKelvie. “The combination of practical teaching and academic research reflects the ‘sweet spot’ of the strengths of Syracuse University’s entrepreneurship model. It is also gratifying that Todd Moss has been selected to the be research lead for the program, and that the work aligns closely with the expertise of multiple Whitman School faculty members. This reflects Whitman’s academic standing in the field.”

Todd Moss

Syracuse University is a recognized leader in the field of entrepreneurship. Its entrepreneurship programming includes applied education in the community, such as through the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans, the WISE Women’s Business Center, the South Side Innovation Center, the Innovation Law Center and the Blackstone Launchpad, among other programs. Its leadership in the field is also reflected as a globally ranked academic research unit having 11 tenure-track faculty housed at the Whitman School, many of whom are thought leaders in their entrepreneurship fields, as well as multiple other scholars across campus. The University has hosted a number of I-Corps courses in recent years in collaboration with the UNY I-Corps Node.

DEIA Focus

Pramod Varshney

A mission-critical element of the IN I-Corps Hub’s approach to entrepreneurship is the creation and administration of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. IN I-Corps officials report that STEM researchers in underrepresented groups face heightened barriers to success and creating equitable access to resources and talent development is crucial to ensuring the most innovative deep-tech developments are being discovered and amplified. Hub leadership and partners are working to actively create opportunities to support the development of STEM research talent who are women, veterans, people of color and individuals with disabilities. These initiatives will include collaborations with such organizations as the National GEM Consortium’s and.

The IN I-Corps Hub joins eight other I-Corps Hubs within the (NIN). ��The hub will regularly offer regional courses designed to support geographically dispersed participants in learning the I-Corps method of customer discovery and applying it to real-world opportunities, while still remaining connected to their home institutions and communities.

The Interior Northeast Hub launches officially on Jan. 1, 2023. STEM researchers interested in learning about opportunities to participate in regional I-Corps courses at Hub institutions will be able to look for that information on the program website.

Answers to that question are what ’80, director of the and an adjunct faculty member in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, hopes to seed through his Fulbright Specialist grant project in Estonia this spring.

Sean Branagan

Branagan was awarded the prestigious grant to teach a digital media entrepreneurship course at cutting-edge . He’ll work with students and faculty at the public research university’s film, media and arts school and with community entrepreneurs for six weeks.

As part of the larger hosted by the U.S. Department of State, his grant is one of 400 typically awarded each year to professionals and academics to share expertise, strengthen institutional partnerships, and gain international and other-cultures experiences. The grants are awarded based on academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership and the potential to foster cooperation.

Tallinn University is one of the three largest higher education institutions in Estonia and is ranked among the top 1,000 universities in the world. It promotes achieving an “intelligent lifestyle” through education, research and cross-discipline collaborations to promote citizens’ well-being and to improve society.

A Digital Nirvana

The digital media landscape is at another moment of acceleration, Branagan says, and that’s what prompted his interest in the Fulbright Specialist program as he and his peers started asking, “What’s next after the pandemic?”

Estonia is a perfect place to assess how the digital media future might unfold, he says.

“It’s one of the most digital countries in Europe and maybe one of the most digital countries in the world. It’s the Silicon Valley of Europe, yet with just 1.3 million people, it has the highest concentration of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ‘unicorns’ in a community that’s just a fraction of Silicon Valley’s size.”

Take Chances Now

Sean Branagan

Branagan plans to optimize the current disruptive state, a business environment ripe for innovation and a world more accepting of change to teach Estonian students to take chances and create new types of media right now. He foresees a whole new group of creative lifestyle and small businesses, new media platforms and new business models emerging from this time.

“Right now, it’s all Game On. It feels like 2006 again, and I think we’re about to see another 20 years of major disruption taking place in the media world. There’ll be new players, new centers of media, new films coming out of unusual places. It’s going to be a mix and match of things that used to be very distinct. So, it’s opportunity time again,” Branagan says. “New voices, new media owners and new kinds of media create new narratives that change our culture and society. Media entrepreneurship is powerful. It’s a very accessible type of entrepreneuring. I see it as a force multiplier for social change.”

Branagan has been teaching digital media entrepreneurship since 2011, when the late Newhouse School Dean Emerita Lorraine Branham “took a chance on me,” he says, and established the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship.

In addition to starting lifestyle businesses and high-tech companies, Branagan served five years as entrepreneur in residence at the in Syracuse. He has been instrumental in Syracuse University’s Kauffman-funded, award-winning��, and is the creator and co-founder of , a national collegiate startup tournament that culminated at SXSW. He has been involved from the early days of entrepreneurship programming, and still teaches entrepreneurship to transitioning military personnel via the program. He also serves as advisor, board member and in other roles with several early-stage startups and venture funds.

Three Goals

The professor has three goals for the project. They are to show students that entrepreneurship is a creative endeavor they can pursue freely, versus a mechanism or a business focus; to help faculty cast aside myths about who entrepreneurs are (“because the student getting a C grade is more likely to innovate and do something creative, unusual, and non-conforming”); to share perspectives with and soak in the Tallinn startup community.

How will the immersion in the Estonian innovation space disrupt him?

“I want to come back and look more expansively at what we have built at the Newhouse School around media entrepreneurship and media innovation. We already have been expanding the academic offering inside the school,” Branagan says. “I’d like to go further and bring media entrepreneurship to other parts of the Syracuse University campus to take advantage of the emerging Creator Economy. And then I’d like to go beyond Syracuse University and bring the Newhouse brand of media entrepreneurship and media innovation to other schools, especially schools with underserved populations and globally. Ultimately, we could have an institute that trains faculty from all over the world to teach media entrepreneurship in their programs.”

Please note, this image pre-dates the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies at all partner levels—Industry, Affiliate and Start-Up—are invited to apply. Projects must��address a challenge within SyracuseCoE’s��, which include indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy, and water resources. Projects that include research engagements with faculty and students, support for product development and testing, market analyses and proposal match requirement are encouraged.

Previous companies that received Innovation Fund awards include:

Visit the�� page to see how other partners have used these funds.

Applications, due by Thursday, Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. ET, will be invited to give a proposal pitch, via Zoom, with a panel of judges. Visit the SyracuseCoE ��to learn more, or, if interested in joining the Partner Program, contact Tamara Rosanio at tlrosani@syr.edu.

Organized by the School of Architecture in cooperation with in Shanghai, the grand opening of the exhibition celebrated all of those who made it possible for Syracuse Architecture to provide a unique hybrid pedagogical model for more than 150 undergraduate students who were unable to travel to Syracuse.

“Over the last 18 months, our school organized in-person studios in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen; curated exhibitions; ran workshops and traveling programs for incoming freshmen; held in person portfolio reviews; and conducted high school visits,” says Michael Speaks, dean of the School of Architecture.

“All of this was overseen by Fei Wang, School of Architecture assistant teaching professor and director of China programs,” says Speaks. “Wang’s extraordinary efforts, along with those of our faculty here in Syracuse, provided our students in China with the opportunity to continue their studies without interruption and gave them and their parents confidence in our school and university.”

The School of Architecture was among the very few architecture schools in the nation that was able to continue teaching in person and recruiting in China during the pandemic.

Dr. Qi Fang, founder of Tontsen, and Professor Fei Wang welcomed more than 100 in-person guests—as well as 5,000 virtual attendees participating via a livestream broadcast—to the opening of the exhibition that included presentations by some of China’s leading young architect-designers who taught Syracuse Architecture students amid the pandemic.

Curated by Tontsen founding partner, Dr. Wang Xia and Professor Fei Wang, “Challenge and Opportunity: Syracuse Architecture Education Innovation in the Pandemic” is divided into three sections and showcases design drawings and models made by the students in the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters.

The first section focuses on work done in four distinct Beijing and Shanghai-based visiting critic studios taught by and (Drawing Architecture Studio, Beijing), (GEIJOENG®, Shanghai), (Natural Build, Shanghai), and (Pills, Beijing).

The second section features student projects from Professor Fei Wang’s integrated design studio course in Shanghai, as well as from “branding for architecture,” an elective course taught by graphic designer, .

The third section of the exhibit displays highlights from “Introduction to Architecture and Architecture Practice,” a unique course offered in fall 2020 for incoming freshmen living in China who deferred admission to January 2021. Led by Professor Fei Wang, students enrolled in the course traveled to three of China’s major cities where they visited 47 of the top architecture offices, met firm principals, toured important architecture projects and learned the fundamental principles of architecture.

“Thank you to all our students and faculty in China and Syracuse whose hard work and dedication transformed challenge into opportunity,” says Speaks. “The work produced was truly exceptional and we look forward to future collaborations in China.”

“Challenge and Opportunity” is on display in Shanghai through Nov. 15. Visit to view additional photos of the exhibition.

Dean David Seaman hands a prize check to Selim Dangoor, founder of MUNCH Jerky, at ’Cuse Tank 2021.

Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad (LaunchPad) hosted its annual on Friday, Oct. 8, at Bird Library. Twenty-four student teams from various schools and colleges across campus competed in a “Shark Tank”-style business pitch in front of a panel of judges consisting of Syracuse University parents and successful entrepreneurs. Families were invited to attend this event as part of Family Weekend to experience the entrepreneurial spirit of University innovators. This year’s winning teams were:

• First place winner, $15,000: Ambassadoor Technologies, led by Bruno Gonzalez Hauger G’22 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management). The company connects small brick-and-mortar businesses to nano-influencers, enabling anyone on Instagram with engagement to be a paid influencer, while automating the influencer search, compensation and management processes.
• Second place winner, $10,000: Munch Jerky, led by Selim Dangoor ’23 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management). The company provides a gluten-free, artisanal flank steak jerky using all-natural ingredients.
• Third place winners, each receiving $2,500: BusPoint, led by Justin Gluska ’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Sice-Me, led by Alexander Peter Rolinski ’24 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management). BusPoint is a web-based application allowing students to monitor where their designated school bus is at all times, provide parents with real-time monitoring and alerts, and provide teachers and administrators with real-time data. Sice-Me is a mobile application that creates insular marketplaces for college and high school students, enabling users to create an account with their student email address in order to buy or sell products to students at their school.
• Wild card winners, each receiving $1,250: Holy Egg! Shakshuka Truck, led by Natasha Brao ’22 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Shop All Yours, led by Julia Gomez ’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management).

Seaman announces the ’Cuse Tank prize winners, including wild card winner Julia Gomez, founder of Shop All Yours.

“After more than a year of virtual competitions, the energy and creativity that the student teams brought to ’Cuse Tank this year was so welcome,” says David Seaman, dean of Syracuse University Libraries and University librarian. “Parents and guests were equally excited to witness firsthand the creativity, business acumen and professionalism of the student teams. We started the day with $22,500 for the judges to award as they saw fit, raised from generous SU Libraries supporters; however, the judges were so impressed with our student entrepreneurs that they added an additional $10,000 to the prize money during their deliberations! We are so grateful for their investment in our students.”

Other venture teams, led by idea champions, who presented during the competition included:

• Sweatration, led by Paul Franco ’22 (College of Arts and Sciences), Zach Stahl ’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Anthony Mazzacane ’24 (College of Engineering and Computer Science and College of Arts and Sciences)
• Fundwurx, led by Ben Ford ’23 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management)
• Phantom Tea, led by Christine Wu ’22 (College of Arts and Sciences)
• Fitted, led by Damaris Koi Munyua G’22 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management)
• LunaX, led by Diego Luna ’22 (College of Arts and Sciences)
• SENSE-A, led by Gabriela Angel G’22 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), Simran Lakhani ’22 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Hong Yan Chen ’22 (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
• YOKA, led by Isabella Perkins ’25 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), Daren Wang ’23 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Matthew Swanson ’22 (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
• Out2Win Sports, led by Jack Adler ’23 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) and Sam Holland ’23 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Martin J. Whitman School of Management)
• Patchwork, led by Jackson Ensley ’22 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) and Paul Hultgren, LaunchPad Innovator in Residence
• Civilian Medical Response, led by Jared Anderson ’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
• Glisten, led by Justin Monaco G’22 (College of Arts and Sciences), Bianca Andrada ’22 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Anh Dao ’23 (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
• Wo-manly, led by Kelly Davis ’23 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management)
• Candid, led by Mia Hinz ’23 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)
• Urban Coders, led by Mohammed Ali ’22 (School of Information Studies)
• TEAGO, led by Noah Mechnig-Giordano G’22 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management)
• Athletify, led by Season Chowdhury ’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Raul Chakraborty ’23 (School of Information Studies)
• Lateral Assist, led by Xinyao Zhao ’22 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), Andrea Merloiu ’22 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Cheyenne Kersavage ’21 (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

This year’s judges included the following Syracuse University parents and alumni:

• David Martirano
• Jeffrey Gates
• Burt Podbere
• Kristina Campos
• Andrew Neuberger
• Douglas Canfield
• Corey Lieblein ’93
• Andrew Schwartz
• Carter Holland
• Marlowe Sidney Bamberger
• Linda Schwartz
• Jim Armstrong
• Matt Shumer
• Steve Shumer
• Phil McKnight
• Patrick Prioletti ’21��

About the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University Libraries:

The Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University Libraries is the University’s innovation hub, connecting the entire campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors, and creators. The program serves faculty, staff, students, and alumni across disciplines who are interested in innovation, invention, entrepreneurship, venture creation, careers, entrepreneurial skills, diversity, equity, inclusion, and taking ideas from concept to commercialization. The program supports a key pillar of Syracuse University’s Academic Strategic Plan to create an innovation ecosystem across the institution that prepares participants to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.v

It’s with this spirit of innovation that the iSchool announces the launch of two new undergraduate programs: and . These two new majors will complement the current program and will provide further opportunity for inquiry and exploration.

“We’re excited to add new undergraduate programs at the iSchool,” says Bruce Kingma, director of undergraduate programs. “There’s a growing need to understand data and technology’s role in society. Businesses want to know how to use technology to reach their audiences. They want to improve cybersecurity. And they want to find efficient ways to use and manage data. These new programs give students the chance to specialize in any of these areas. After graduation, they’ll be top candidates for many emerging roles.”����

Students in the program will learn to find, present and apply data insights to anything from policy, to product, marketing and business decisions. They’ll study R and Python programming languages and visual and conceptual data science methods, as well as explore new approaches to machine learning and artificial intelligence.��

The i program takes a liberal arts approach to technology. Students will explore how technology impacts society, studying topics like misinformation, privacy issues and policymaking. They will also learn how social media and technology impact communication, advocacy and social justice.

The program will focus on the intersection of business and technology. Students will examine how technology systems are integrated into organizations of all sizes, and how to develop and manage those systems. They will also study topics like website design, cybersecurity and the future of work.��

Each of the programs will prepare graduates with the skills to become innovative leaders and experts in their fields. iSchoolers learn to challenge themselves, so they feel confident entering the workforce. And they are in-demand, earning them the highest placement rates and starting salaries of any school on campus.��

“The job market at the intersection of business, tech and data continues to grow,” says iSchool Dean Raj Dewan. “Our graduates are sought after because we’re always innovating our programs to keep up with the job market and align our programs with what employers are seeking. With these two new programs, our students will be able to specialize in areas that interest them, while gaining the skills that will prepare them for successful careers.”��

New majors are open for current students who wish to transfer. Each major requires 120 credits for graduation. Students can specialize their studies by choosing a concentration. Concentration options include information security management, project management, network and systems management, web design and management, digital retail strategies or innovation, design, and strategy.��

Students can begin enrolling in the new programs for the Fall 2021 semester. For more information on applying to any iSchool undergraduate program, .

Initial money in the Innovation Fund was provided by Jeffrey Rich ’67 (College of Law), partner at Rich Michaelson Magaliff LLP, and a member of the Syracuse University Libraries Advisory Board. Rich’s multi-year pledge is to help students pursue business startup ventures and move their ideas from concept through research and discovery to proof and commercialization.

For more information on Innovation Fund requirements or to obtain a copy of the application template, email LaunchPad@syr.edu.

About the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University Libraries

��The Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University Libraries is the University’s innovation hub, connecting the entire campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors, and creators.��The program serves faculty, staff, students, and alumni across disciplines who are interested in innovation, invention, entrepreneurship, venture creation, careers, entrepreneurial skills, diversity, equity, inclusion, and taking ideas from concept to commercialization. The program supports a key pillar of Syracuse University’s Academic Strategic Plan to create an innovation ecosystem across the institution that prepares participants to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.

The event—co-sponsored by the Blackstone LaunchPad and Syracuse University Libraries—is the kick-off to Family Weekend and offers opportunity for families who are visiting from around the country, and around the world, to experience the entrepreneurial spirit of SU innovators. All are invited to watch the pitches and show support for the teams.

A distinguished panel of judges who are SU parents and successful entrepreneurs from a variety of industry sectors voted on “Sweet Sixteen” semi-finalists from scores of applications, narrowing the field to the “Elite Eight” that will pitch for $10,000 in prizes.

In Family Weekend spirit, two brothers are competing in ’Cuse Tank.��Will McKnight, a senior and founder of Farm to Flame, will face off against sophomore Phil McKnight, co-founder of Promptous.

“The library is delighted to showcase innovative student ideas from across campus and bring to bear the services of the Blackstone LaunchPad to help these designers and inventors develop their services and products,” says Dean of Libraries and University Librarian David Seaman. “We are particularly grateful to SU parents for their willingness to participate in this exciting event!”

The contestants come from across campus, including the Newhouse School, the Falk College, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Whitman School and the School of Information Studies.

In alphabetical order, the teams��are:

• Cllctve Agency LLC, a creative agency that connects brands with strategy content and college creatives who can execute transmedia content.��CLLCTVE connects revolutionary strategic concepts with collaborative transmedia content to reposition brands for success, while simultaneously nurturing the freelance community on college campuses across the country.��Clients have included Coca-Cola, Land Rover, PUMA and Syracuse University.��The team is already working with 50 universities and expanding to more.��— Kelsey Davis and Ryan Williams, co-founders
• Farm to Flame Energy, a smokeless, odorless, biomass-powered generator providing energy to off-the-grid communities.��Winner of several campus impact competitions, as well as a regional finalist for the prestigious Hult Prize competition, Farm to Flame is a fully patented generator and grinder system that can provide power to off-the-grid communities in Africa, Asia and remote portions of North America. Farm to Flame generators are smokeless and odorless, and can use��anyfeedstock or agricultural waste.��They can also provide reliability to disaster-prone communities that need secure and resilient backup energy to supplement electricity delivery. ��— Will McKnight, founder
• FibreFree, a device that traps microfibers shed from synthetic clothing to prevent them from entering oceans and aquifers.��Winner of the campus Impact Prize and finalist for the Dyson Innovation Competition, FibreFree developed its prototype through the Invent@SU program.��FibreFree traps tiny plastic microfibers that are shed from synthetic clothing before they go into the water system and make their way into the food chain.��FibreFree resembles a conventional laundry ball, but its unique porous shell and novel filter, made of 100 percent recyclable materials, traps microfibers in the laundry process. — Charles Keppler and Serena Omo-Lamai, co-founders
• In-Spire, a wearable and refillable bracelet-style asthma inhaler that can deliver an emergency dose.��First place winner of the 2017 Invent@SU program, In-Spire also won first place in SU’s Impact Prize, RvD/iPrize and Panasci Business Plan Competition, and was the campus nominee to the ACC InVenture competition.��The team, which has filed a non-provisional patent, is working to commercialize its stylish bracelet that integrates a small refillable inhaler and provides on-the-go relief, particularly for exercise- induced asthma. Technical advisors are helping the team develop a strategy for FDA approval. — Kayla Simon and Elizabeth Tarangelo, co-founders
• MedUX, a wearable, lightweight IV shoulder device. First place winner of the 2018 Invent@SU program, MedUX designed a wearable, portable IV system that allows people who need infusion treatment to receive it without being tethered to a traditional pole-mounted unit. It is particularly suited for stand-alone infusion centers, cancer centers, post-op hospital settings and palliative care where a patient needs intravenous delivery but also wants to be more mobile and comfortable. It can also be used in emergency and disaster situations where IV systems mounted on poles are not practical. Using new and pre-existing technologies, the lightweight shoulder-mounted device uses a pressure flow system to control a desired flow rate without the use of electronics or heavy batteries that need to be frequently changed.�� — Alec Gillinder and Quinn King, co-founders
• OptechVR, a standalone, affordable social VR headset. For applications from gaming to medicine to education and enterprise, there is an opportunity to create a better, more affordable all-in-one VR headset that offers a multi-user experience.��OptechVR is a plug-and-play, all-in-one device, eliminating the need for high-powered external computers or game consoles or wires. It incorporates dual hand and room tracking technology, replacing complicated controllers with the user’s hand movement.��It can connect to other headsets, enabling users to work in teams or experience VR together.�� — Matt Shumer and Sam Hollander, co-founders
• Prioritage, a platform for triage and real-time patient monitoring in emergencies. In events such as mass casualty situations, disasters or large, crowded ER rooms, a patient’s condition can deteriorate rapidly after initial triage, especially if there is a high ratio of patients to medical professionals. Prioritage, a first place winner of the NYC Invent@SU program, is a wearable armband that monitors a patient’s vital signs to detect changes after triage, sending wireless alerts if conditions change and suggesting prioritized treatment based on the rate of change post initial assessment.��— Angelica O’Hara and Ibnul Rafi, co-founders

• Promptous, an insurance claims processing platform using blockchain technology and smart contracts to create transparency, more predictability and prompt payment. Promptous eliminates the need for a costly third-party benefits administrator, and its streamlined system, targeted for the dental insurance industry, is simpler, easier to understand and creates secure transactions in a regulatory compliant platform. — Joshua Jackson, Timothy Kelly, Phil McKnight, co-founders

The will bring its expertise to Syracuse through a free short course at the Blackstone LaunchPad at Bird Library this fall to connect Syracuse University faculty and students with seasoned entrepreneurs, potential industry partners and other researchers working with deep technology.

is now open for the Sept. 28-Oct. 12 course.

Participants will learn how to acquire and apply information from the marketplace, customer interviews and industry partners.��Individual researchers or whole teams can participate in the short course. Teams already working with industry mentors stand to maximize their experience in the short course, but a mentor is not required. Short course participation is a great way to connect with the nationwide NSF I-Corps network of mentors, sites, nodes and programming, as well as to better position projects for NSF and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding opportunities.

SU course dates are:

• Session 1, Sept. 28, 4-8 p.m., Blackstone LaunchPad, Bird Library
• Session 2, Sept. 29, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., Blackstone LaunchPad, Bird Library
• Session 3, Oct. 3, 2-3 p.m., via conference call
• Session 4, Oct. 10, 2-3 p.m., via conference call
• Session 5, Oct. 12, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., Blackstone LaunchPad, Bird Library

The course focuses on two topics: 1) customer discovery to identify and connect with the target market, assess needs, and develop a project to best serve customers; and 2) a validated business model to confirm the best pathway for taking technology to market and demonstrate to potential funders that assumptions have been tested.

Of the teams that participate in I-Corps training successfully, 40-50 percent win SBIR seed funding (up to $225,000).

The course will be taught by experienced faculty and mentors from the Upstate New York I-Corps Node, which acts as a hub for commercialization training in the Northeast, connecting researchers to valuable resources through national and regional I-Corps programming.

The Syracuse I-Corps course is co-sponsored by the Syracuse University Office of Technology Transfer, Syracuse University Innovation Law Center + NYS Science and Law Science and Technology Law Center, and the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars.

Who Should Apply?

New York-based academic researchers and student entrepreneurs who:

• have a tech innovation in any STEM field and want to explore its commercialization potential;
• are willing to find and talk to 30 potential customers in��two weeks;
• may want to apply for the NSF I-Corps Teams national program and a $50,000 grant; and
• have one to three team members who can participate, including:
• required: one “entrepreneurial lead” (typically a graduate student or postdoc, sometimes an undergraduate student, with interest in pursuing a��startup based on the technology)
• optional: one “technical lead” (faculty or senior lab staff)��and an “industry��mentor” (experienced entrepreneur) who will��support the entrepreneurial lead in their market��exploration

How It Works

During the free two-week course, researchers working on a technical innovation “get out of the lab” and talk with potential customers to identify the best product-market fit. The course begins with��an in-person kickoff workshop, where teams learn how to use the Business Model Canvas,��a hypothesis-testing methodology and customer discovery interviews to explore if there’s a viable market fit for their product idea. The course ends with an in-person closing workshop (half day), where teams present their findings, get more coaching, and learn about next steps with NSF I-Corps and other entrepreneurship programs. I-Corps short course graduates become eligible for national I-Corps teams.

For more information, contact jmcrisp@syr.edu or jeffery@syr.edu in the Syracuse University Office of Technology Transfer, mzimme01@law.syr.edu in the Syracuse University Innovation Law Center + NYS Science and Law Science and Technology Law Center, or ldhart01@syr.edu in the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars.

Ibnul Rafi, left, and Angelica O’Hara

After seeing news coverage of natural disasters and mass casualty incidents where victims outnumber responding EMTs, bioengineering student Angelica O’Hara ’19 and biochemistry student Ibnul Rafi ’18 wanted to find a way to help first responders monitor numerous patients at the same time.

“EMTs are constantly making judgment calls—who should I go to next?” says O’Hara. “There is nothing currently that takes your blood pressure, your heart rate, your oxygen and your respiratory rate all in one device—something that combines all the vital signs.”

During the in New York City this summer, O’Hara and Rafi developed a system called Prioritage that allows first responders to put armband units on multiple patients to measure vital signs and relay them to a central onsite monitoring device.

“The system will sort patients from most critical to least critical, will sort from who should be treated first, who should be treated last,” says Rafi.

“We thought if a command person had a sort of central base to observe everything and give them a better view that could be helpful,” says O’Hara.

O’Hara and Rafi were among 20 SU students participating in the Invent@SU session in SU’s Fisher Center in midtown Manhattan. Over the course of six weeks, they designed, prototyped and pitched new inventions to guest evaluators and judges.

Finance and information technology major Hanna Yacubov and bioengineering major Patrick Riolo took second place with their Artemis Wand invention. It is designed to help people with disabilities reach household items by using Fidlock fasteners on the side of an item and on an extendable wand. They came up with the idea after one of the Invent@SU instructors brought in his child’s bike helmet.

“It had this Fidlock fastening tech and we said—we can use this,” said Riolo.

A significant part of Invent@SU is feedback from accomplished alumni and other professionals. Teams pitch their inventions to guest evaluators each week leading up to final judging.

“We are really passionate about the product so it was easy for us to pitch,” said Yacubov.

Rafi and O’Hara won $5,000 for first place and Yacubov and Riolo won $2,500. Many of the teams plan to continue working on their inventions and work with the on campus. O’Hara and Rafi say they have already received good feedback on their invention from EMTs.

“I know if I was a victim in an incident like this, I would feel much safer with something there to constantly monitor me, I would feel like the EMT is almost always with me, has eyes over me, doesn’t forget about me after he walks away,” says O’Hara. “A sense of safety and security.”

Another Invent@SU session will be held on the SU campus from July 2 to August 9. Any undergraduate student could apply to join either the New York City or Syracuse sessions.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York State, with a global footprint, and nearly 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit www.syracuse.edu.

The challenge is both simple and complicated. Build an oven capable of baking a chocolate chip cookie—but it has to be solar powered and use everyday recycled items like cardboard boxes, plastic wrap and newspaper. For incoming engineering and computer science freshmen in the , it was a chance to work with classmates and workshop solutions.

“A lot of it was about team building and how they work together, how they work through the design process,” said academic advisor Giovanna Colosi. “Whether they are civil engineers, mechanical engineers, computer scientists, they all have to come in with that skill set of learning how to work together, coming up with a concept, tweaking that concept and coming up with a final product.”

Kyra Thomas ’21 and her team angled aluminum foil to reflect heat into their carboard box and then insulated the oven with recycled paper.

“I think that’s the cool part about it is actually seeing your idea and a project coming to life—whether it works or not, just being out here is really cool right now,” said Thomas.

Every oven had a different design and some teams were still making changes moments before the dough was put in. Arvin Lin’21 and Lluvia Lopez ’21 looked for every opportunity to focus the sun’s rays on their cookie.

“We were actually looking for a mirror and I looked at Arvin’s phone and realized she had a mirrored sort of case on so we decided to take it off and point it towards the cookie to reflect the light as heat,” said Lopez.

Reflected sunlight and insulation are effective but it took more than an hour for the cookie dough to cook in the solar ovens.

“My dream is to work with NASA so it is really fun to do a hands on job see how we can get the cookie to bake better and in the future incorporate that into future projects,” said Lopez.

Graduate Student Pitch Competition winner Flaviyan Jerome Irudayanathan with judge Craig Marcinkowski from Gryphon Sensors.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science celebrated student innovation at the annual Research Day luncheon. The focus of the recent event is on the importance of bringing research to a broad audience and presenting it in a way that is accessible to people learning about the topic for the first time.

90 undergraduate and graduate students showcased posters explaining their research areas, and 16 Ph.D. students made three- to five-minute pitch presentations to a panel of judges. The competition was designed to mimic real-world situations where a researcher might only have a few minutes to convince a business or investor that his/her concept was worth pursuing.

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering (BMCE) graduate student Flaviyan Jerome Irudayanathan won the pitch competition with a proposal he hopes will help find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. He presented his research on “Molecular Transport Through Blood-Brain Pores” and how it may be possible to deliver small amounts of prescription drugs to areas of the brain that are difficult to access. His research proposal also won the biomedical and chemical engineering poster competition.

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) graduate student Matt Rushby ’16 took second place with a proposal to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. His research was titled “Oxygen transport membrane for oxy-fuel combustion and carbon capture purpose.”

There was a tie for third place. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) student Yiou Xiao G’11 won for his presentation on “Prediction of Biological Functions by Histone Modification Patterns Profiling.” Pranay Sharma, also an EECS student, won for his presentation on “Inferring Communication Network Topology via Transfer Entropy.”

MAE student Andrew Welles G’09 won the overall poster competition for his work on “CFD Analysis of Distributed Propulsion Systems for Vertical Takeoff and Landing.”

Hang Yin G’15 won the MAE poster competition for research focused on “Modified Artificial Potential Field for UAV Formation Generation and Changing.”

Graduate student Omar Youssef El Masri’s research on “A Cost-Effective Method to Retrofit Steel Girders” won the Civil and Environmental Engineering poster competition.

Yiou Xiao and Diksha Shukla tied for the best poster in the BMCE poster competition. Yiou Xiao’s poster explained his research on “Prediction of Biological Functions by Histone Modification Patterns Profiling,” and Diksha Shukla’s poster focused on how “Your Smartphone Security is at Risk!”

Research Day was organized by Gurdip Singh, associate dean for research and doctoral programs, and Yoanna Ferarra, director of research, graduate programs and corporate relations.

The “I” and the “you” in the recording are both Edgar Choueiri ’82, G’83, separated by time. This eerie audio from his younger self, discovered among old compilations of Beatles and Louis Armstrong tracks, predicted his future with exceptional accuracy. “The first time I heard this recording, I was completely shaken,”��Choueiri says. “The little boy was speaking to me. Nothing has changed. I had the same passions then that I do now—space, music, and sound.”

About a decade after he first recorded that message in a bottle, Choueiri was at Syracuse University studying aerospace—obsessed with a book titled “Physics of Electric Propulsion” by Robert Jahn. Spacecraft had always relied on chemical propulsion, and this new field was in its infancy. Choueiri’s mentor, Professor John LaGraff, connected him with an aerospace professor at the University of Pisa, Mariano Andrenucci, and Syracuse aerospace professor Frederic Lyman to delve deeper into the topic, and it set him on a course to study the futuristic concept with Jahn himself at Princeton University.

“The idea is to use electrical power instead of chemical reactions to produce thrust to travel through space,” Choueiri explains. “When I was in Syracuse, these rockets were still science fiction for the most part, yet LaGraff, Andrenucci and Lyman encouraged my pursuit. Today, this is a multimillion-dollar industry. SpaceX is hiring people in this field because they want to use it for their Mars missions, and nearly all geosynchronous spacecraft are switching to this technology.”

Today, Choueiri works in the same aerospace department that Jahn had when he wrote the book that inspired Choueiri during his time in Syracuse, and he is now an expert in the field. However, his 11-year-old self had greater plans than becoming an aerospace engineer alone.

Like so many alumni, Choueiri’s Syracuse educational experience went beyond his selected major. He has always had a great love of music. As a student, he spent hours in E.S. Bird Library absorbed in��the overwhelming catalog of vinyl albums—from the early age of music, all the way to modern music. He also took courses in electronic music with American composer Franklin Morris and spent every Saturday night in the Electronic Music Laboratory in Crouse College working on original compositions. He says, “I couldn’t have a normal dating life because I spent so much time in that lab.”

While he didn’t pursue music or sound academically after Syracuse, it remained his primary hobby. He built a recording studio in his home and spent his spare time recording Princeton’s Symphony Orchestra. It was there that an entirely new research focus first emerged for Choueiri.

“You can capture very good tonal realism, but I found myself frustrated with the spatial realism of the music I was recording. It sent me on a trajectory to uncover how to deliver recorded audio three-dimensionally.”

If you have ever seen a movie with surround sound or listened to a song in stereo, you might assume that you’ve already experienced 3D sound, but you haven’t. For the brain to experience true 3D audio, your right ear can only be permitted to hear the sound emitted by the right speaker, and your left ear should only hear the sound coming from the left. If one hears the “crosstalk” in both ears, the cues that your brain uses to determine where sound is coming from become��corrupted and the effect is lost. Choueiri has developed an electronic filter that blocks the crosstalk between speakers and preserves the cues our brains receive. “It’s like putting a mattress between two speakers,” he explains.

Featured in The New Yorker, Atlantic and on NPR, it is called the BACCH filter. Available commercially on Jawbone’s Jambox, it can create a 3D audio environment around you from only two speakers, and fits in the palm of your hand. It is also available in a more advanced $54,000, no-expense-spared version tailored to audiophiles, called the BACCH-SP that delivers audio that is actually customized to the shape of the user’s head.

In demos of the technology, Choueiri operates like a magician. He holds the Jambox up to your face and plays “Money” by Pink Floyd. At first, it sounds just as you’d expect. Then, when he engages the BACCH filter, you suddenly hear the thrumming of the guitar and the whirring and chimes of a cash register all around you. And not just to your left and right. It completely envelops you.

For his next trick, he plays the sound of a box of matches being shaken. Again, quite ordinary at first, but when the 3D kicks in, you literally feel as if an invisible man is encircling you, rattling the box as he moves. Recorded binaurally using a dummy head, the 3D effect is nearly flawless.

Using the BACCH-SP, he unveils the richest experience yet. The room erupts with an a capella choir singing a Latin hymn. The music engulfs you. You turn your head and expect to see the tenor standing next to you, the soprano to your left. Close your eyes and it feels like you are sitting on the altar with the performers surrounding you in a horseshoe.

Each experience is so real it’s breathtaking. Fortunately, in the coming years, Choueiri foresees 3D becoming more accessible to consumers, being introduced to home and car stereo systems.

For a man who is so clearly at the bleeding edge of two innovative advancements, Choueiri remains kind, affable and eager to share his work. He’s deeply grateful to the men who helped him reach the point he is at today: “My work in propulsion and 3D can both be traced back to professors that inspired me at Syracuse University. My experiences there changed my life, and it can do the same for any young person that is willing to take advantage of everything the University has to offer.”

While it is true that his training and hard work got him to where he is today, it’s clear that the dreams of an 11-year-old boy in 1972 set the course.

Nick Danyluk at his computer

Danyluk is not most people. Instead of taking the easy way out, he chose to employ a more challenging solution—invent a device that converts his ordinary monitor into a touch screen.

After nearly a year and a half of designing, building and fine-tuning, BeamBreak was born. Small and light enough to be carried in a backpack, the device is little more than four long thin circuit boards connected to each other to form a rectangle that fits directly over a 15-inch monitor. These are wired to another small, square circuit board, the device’s “brain,” situated behind the screen. To power it, a short USB cord plugs into the laptop’s port. The inside of the rectangle is lined with tiny clear LEDs that flash beams of infrared light across the screen to black phototransistors on the opposite side, generating an invisible grid.

When you touch the screen, your finger blocks two intersecting beams of infrared light. With this, Danyluk’s code is able to determine where you are touching and tells Windows. The operating system takes it from there and the effect is virtually indistinguishable from the touch screens of top manufacturers.

A senior in the ’s , Danyluk is eager to find innovative solutions using the knowledge he is gaining in the classroom. His work on BeamBreak is indicative of this. Inside and outside of his studies, he is engaged and passionate about technology, and he’s having fun doing it.

Q: It’s clear that electrical engineering is a good fit for you. Why did you choose to study this subject?

A. I’ve always liked to tinker. ��I took programming courses in high school and spent a lot of time learning about my family’s home computer. That carried over. At 12 or 13, I was replacing the memory and upgrading video cards. I considered pursuing computer science, but I can’t see myself programming every day. Although I’ve seen the computer engineers build some amazing things, that’s not for me.

I feel that electrical engineering is much more hardware-centric. The real draw was that I could work on projects like this, and once I learned the fundamentals, I found that there is so much you can do with engineering. It’s a broad field and Syracuse University��has a great program. I enjoy having full access to the labs and my professors really encouraged and helped me when I was just getting started.

Q. BeamBreak has taken up a substantial portion of your free time. Have you made time to participate in other things at SU?

A. I’m a part of the IEEE professional society. It’s a place where you have a bunch of passionate people in one spot and it’s amazing what you can come up with. For example, I’ve joined the SU Micromouse team. Micromouse is a competition in which we design a robot mouse to make its way through a maze using the shortest path possible to the center. It has sensors on it that can detect if it has a wall next to it and uses an algorithm to dictate its strategy. I’m going to be involved with building the hardware. It’s a great example of the college’s majors overlapping—electrical engineering students build the robot and the computer engineering students figure out the software and how to get through the maze. We provide the body, they provide its brain.

Q. BeamBreak is complete and you are in your final year of your undergraduate education. What’s next?

A. Just for fun, I’ve started work on a robot that moves around the room and bumps into things like a Roomba vacuum cleaner does. It will also post to the internet to announce how its day is going.

As far as after college, I am looking for a full-time job. I’ve always really liked consumer electronics and am gravitating toward a career in that. I would love to work on the latest laptops, phones, tablets, 3D printers or other cutting-edge gadgets. I want to build things and have tangible results.

Q. So much of what you are involved in is above and beyond your academic responsibilities. What do you get out of these experiences that make them worth your time and energy?

A. The easy answer? It’s fun. There are parts that are a struggle. I had a weird bug with BeamBreak where it was nearly short-circuiting the USB port because one line of my code was wrong. These kinds of roadblocks are frustrating and can leave you banging your head up against the wall, but the end result is worth every second.

As an engineering student, there have been nights when I’ve had to pull an all-nighter, but also many nights when I am just able to hang out with friends. I have a group of friends that I met here that I wouldn’t change for anything else in the world. We’re very close-knit.

Through my academic work and related extracurricular activities, I can confidently say that if you gave me a box of circuit components, 24 hours and my computer, I can build something innovative with it. It’s a lot of work. It takes a lot of dedication and time management skills, but it’s been so positive. I’ve learned so much.

Given that the pressures on higher education are greater than ever, the timing is right to take a closer look at all the University does. Accordingly, senior administrative leaders and key faculty leaders believe it is essential that the University’s planning be informed by a depth of knowledge gathered from all areas of the institution.

That’s why a new steering committee involving faculty, staff, deans and administrative leaders will begin conducting an “Innovation and Opportunity Assessment” at SU.

The charge to the committee is multifaceted: to better understand the administrative structure of the University and how it compares to a group of peer institutions; to evaluate the RCM budget model and to identify possible modifications to make it more effective; to identify opportunities for academic innovations based upon SU’s strengths; and to provide a high-level overview of opportunities to Chancellor-designate Kent D. Syverud.

This past spring, the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs recommended the University engage an outside consultancy to evaluate the academic and administrative structures across all parts of the University. Concurrent with this recommendation, and to support and enhance the important comprehensive assessment work of the steering committee, the University retained Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm. Bain’s Higher Education Practice has helped achieve near-term and long-term results working closely with a number of major research institutions as colleges and universities seek a more measured strategic approach.

Bain’s assignment is to provide the University steering committee with options and recommendations to inform its work. They will conduct interviews with deans and unit leaders across campus and gather various data for analysis. Progress reports and recommendations will be shared with the steering committee and the larger campus community. The consultants are expected to assist through the end of the calendar year.

Steering Committee

Kal Alston, Senior Vice President for Human Capital Development
Lorraine Branham, Dean, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Gail Bulman, Chair, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Nancy Cantor, Chancellor and President
Shiu-Kai Chin, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees
Jamie Cyr, Director, Auxiliary Services
Craig Dudczak, Associate Professor, Communication and Rhetorical Studies, and Chair, Senate Budget Committee
Gwenn Judge, Director of Budget and Planning
Kristen Jones-Kolod, Executive Director of Budget and Operations, Division of Student Affairs
Sandra Lane, Professor of Public Health and Anthropology, and Chair, Senate Academic Affairs Committee
Mary Lovely, Professor of Economics and former Chair of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Enrollment
Louis Marcoccia, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Chris Sedore, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Operations, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Eric F. Spina, Vice Chancellor and Provost
Laura J. Steinberg, Dean, L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science

Syracuse University will hold “Immigration Reform: An Economic Imperative,” a roundtable discussion, on Friday, April 19, from 10-11:30 a.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. It is free and open to the public but a reservation is required. Email gcr@syr.edu or call 315-443-3919.

The discussion is one of several taking place at colleges and universities around the country on April 19, in conjunction with the Partnership for a New American Economy () to highlight the role of immigration in driving innovation and creating American jobs, and the need for smart immigration policies that will allow institutions of higher learning to attract and retain the best and brightest minds from around the world. Current U.S. immigration laws make it difficult for foreign students to stay in the United States after graduation to apply their education.

The United States faces a shortage of more than 230,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skilled workers by 2018. When the United States opened its yearly supply of high-skilled visas in early April, the entire year’s supply was exhausted in less than a week.

The roundtable discussion will address why high-skill immigration and visa reform is necessary now, whether it can really happen and what components should be a part of an immigration reform package.

The roundtable discussion will be moderated by Patricia Burak, director of the Slutzker Center for International Services at SU. Roundtable participants will include Dave DiMaggio, CASE co-op manager at SU; Randy Wolken, president of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY); Ashish Mare, a former graduate student on a CPT-STEM extension; immigration attorney Andrea Godfread-Brown; Mary Idzior, associate director of the Slutzker Center; and Jennifer Gavilondo, legal��associate at the Slutzker Center. A question-and-answer session will take place following the roundtable discussion.

For more information, call Syracuse University’s Office of Government and Community Relations at 315-443-3919.