The Insider: Community Edition - October 2024
Featured News
CU Â鶹ӰԺ Research & Innovation Week slated for Oct. 14-18
The sixth annual Research & Innovation Week is designed to elevate awareness across campus, build a sense of shared community, create opportunities for collaboration and recognize exceptional leadership and outcomes.
CU researchers to compete for share of $1.25M in grant funding to bring bio- and physical-sciences innovations to market
Fourteen teams of University of Colorado entrepreneurs, faculty researchers and graduate student innovators will compete for a combined $1.25 million in startup funding grants in this year’s Lab Venture Challenge (LVC) Showcases.
2024 cohort of CU Â鶹ӰԺ’s Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator launches new startups
The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator pairs seasoned entrepreneurs with university technologies to bring those breakthroughs to market in response to urgent societal needs. Embark has launched its second Entrepreneurs in Residence cohort and will provide Intellectual Property rights, salary support, grant funds and investor introductions to launch startups with real-world impact.
New records set as momentum continues for CU Â鶹ӰԺ research funding, initiatives
CU Â鶹ӰԺ Today—CU Â鶹ӰԺ researchers attracted a record $742.2 million in fiscal year 2023–24 for studies and initiatives that, among other things, could lead to an end of osteoarthritis, better space weather predictions and a more climate-resilient American West.
CU Â鶹ӰԺ Startups and Technologies in the News
Silvis Materials awarded $1 million NSF SBIR Phase II grant to reduce emissions in packaging and building industries
EIN Presswire—Female-founded Â鶹ӰԺ-based Silvis Materials, a CU Â鶹ӰԺ startup, has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue its work making sustainable and recyclable binders and adhesives.
Thornton’s Solid Power gets $50 million from feds to expand, prove out EV battery technology
The Colorado Sun—Thornton-based Solid Power, a CU Â鶹ӰԺ spinout, has a $50 million federal grant to ramp up development of the solid-state EV batteries it considers the technology of the near-future in automobiles, putting the company closer to its goal of developing a mass production facility in the eastern U.S. or Korea.
Polaris Electro-Optics demonstrates groundbreaking 102 Gbps PAM-4 silicon photonic modulator technology
Photonics Online—A new variant of liquid crystal is at the core of CU Â鶹ӰԺ startup Polaris Electro-Opstics' technology. Designed as a seamless drop-in enhancer of silicon photonic chips, Polaris's modulator technology paves the way for the next generation of optical interconnects critical to the future of data center disaggregation.
Infleqtion secures $1M grant to advance quantum software
BizWest—Infleqtion, a quantum information company that began at CU Â鶹ӰԺ as Coldquanta, recently received a $1.15 million Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop software for quantum computing.
How carbon-storing hempcrete is revolutionizing sustainable construction
Leeds School of Business—CU Â鶹ӰԺ alum Nick Manuzak is one of the 2024 Entrepreneurs in Residence in the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator, leading an innovative venture focused on integrating carbon-storing hempcrete into modern construction to revolutionize sustainable building practices.
Discovery could lead to longer-lasting EV batteries, hasten energy transition
CU Â鶹ӰԺ Today—An international team of researchers led by an engineer at CU Â鶹ӰԺ has revealed the underlying mechanism behind battery degradation. Their discovery could help scientists to develop better batteries.
Emerging Innovations
Licensing Opportunities for Quantum and Photonics Technologies
Quantum technology represents one of the most promising frontiers of modern science, potentially revolutionizing industries from computing to healthcare and beyond. At the University of Colorado, cutting-edge quantum research is not only advancing theoretical knowledge but also driving practical applications. Our CU quantum and photonics technologies include everything from aÌýMIR-IR Optical Frequency Comb to an environmentally robust, compact and inexpensive photonic resonator.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 3:30-5 p.m.
Ofelia Miramontes and Leonard Baca Education Building, Idea Forge Room MBE 288
Join Venture Partners at CU Â鶹ӰԺ during CU Â鶹ӰԺ’s Research & Innovation Week for an insightful discussion focused on translational research funding. Explore how the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps programming offered by CU Â鶹ӰԺ serves as a critical launchpad for securing funding, including SBIR/STTR grants, Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) and support from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)
Lab Venture Challenge Showcases
Physical Sciences Showcase: Wednesday, Oct. 23, 5:30-8 p.m.
Biosciences Showcase: Thursday, Oct. 24, 5:30-8 p.m.
Join Venture Partners at CU Â鶹ӰԺ as we award up to $1.25 million to top CU innovators. Fourteen teams will each pitch for grants up to $125,000 to support projects with commercial potential in the Biosciences and the Physical Sciences Showcases. Lab Venture Challenge is the can't-miss event of the year to see CU's next wave of breakthrough innovations!
Starting Blocks: Customer Discovery Workshop
Application Deadline: Friday, Oct. 25
Join the I-Corps Starting Blocks Workshop by Venture Partners at CU Â鶹ӰԺ to gain essential tools for translating research into impactful, fundable innovations over a three-week program.
Events and Opportunities Outside CU
Rolling application:Ìý—EncouragingÌýinvestments in Colorado advanced industries businesses by incentivizing investors with state income tax credits.
Oct. 14-18:Ìý—Join us for a live, virtual and free event featuring panels and breakout sessions with the founders and venture capitalists inventing our decarbonized future, plus aÌýpowerful VC-Founder Matchup for qualified participants.
Wednesday, Oct. 16 (deadline):Ìý—CelebratingÌýthe cleantech community andÌýhonoring the creativity, innovation, and dedication to a cleaner energy future.
Friday, Nov. 15 (deadline):Ìý—An invitation-only symposium featuring the most innovative therapeutics startup ideas from the world’s top research institutions.
March 30-April 1:Ìý—Spotlighting the region’s leadership in climate resilience and quantum technology, which together are shaping the future of sustainability and global innovation.
In Case You Missed It
- Venture Partners Update: Startups Surge
- Physics professor Ivan Smalyukh and his team receive Guinness Book of World Records award for most transparent material
- Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan: Bridging Entrepreneurship and Community
- If GPS goes dark, Mesa Quantum has a backup plan
- Six CU Â鶹ӰԺ startups selected to present at the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor Conference
- Chancellor announces reporting shift for vice chancellor for research and innovation
- A Band-Aid for the heart? New 3D printing method makes this, and much more, possible