CSU STRATA has announced the recipients of the 2023 Advanced Industries Proof of Concept Grant Program.
Funds are provided to Colorado State University through the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade with the goal of accelerating commercialization of CSU innovations with high potential for creating economic impact in the state.
CSU STRATA manages the selection process for these funds in conjunction with the CSU Office of Sponsored Programs.
CSU STRATA received 23 applications for the allocated funding. In addition to submitting the applications, applicants pitched the concept to a review committee coordinated by the technology transfer team with the goal of demonstrating its feasibility as a commercial product.
Nine grantees were awarded funds totaling $780,000 for the below projects. Grantees were selected for their innovative ideas with a high potential to advance various industries crucial to Colorado’s growth, including aerospace; advanced manufacturing; bioscience; electronics; energy and natural resources; infrastructure engineering; and technology and information.
Harnessing infection-mimicking and antigen-presenting conditions to rapidly produce IgY
Addressing a significant global concern of bacterial diarrhea through the development of a therapeutic that mitigates the risk of antibiotic resistance.
Primary Investigator: Brad Borlee, associate professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology
Hydrogen plasma-assisted radiant tube burner for heat furnaces
Developing a new hydrogen burner technology to address greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial heat process industry.
Primary Investigator: Ciprian Dumitrache, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Chemically recyclable plastics
Demonstrating the commercial feasibility of a chemically recyclable plastics technology, using multiblock copolymers to easily construct and deconstruct different polyolefin-like materials with diverse mechanical properties.
Primary Investigator: Garret Miyake, professor, Department of Chemistry
Development of a new generation of vectors to accelerate drug development
Advancing drug design and development with iVectors, a novel tool using parts of DNA to speed up drug discovery.
Primary Investigator: Jean Peccoud, professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Advanced all-terrain robot with tensegrity-based locomotion for public safety
Addressing the shortcomings of robots currently used for this purpose, such as mobility, through the development of a surveillance tool for law enforcement.
Primary Investigator: Jianguo Zhao, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
TraumaFoam: Developing an innovative wet hydrogel foam for effective pain management, antibacterial protection, and blood clotting for open wound recovery
Managing acute open wound care through the development of a foam that can be deployed in the field to mitigate pain, infection, and blood loss.
Primary Investigator: Kirk McGilvray, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
A novel gene therapeutic approach to osteoarthritis for companion animals
Treating osteoarthritis, a progressive, degenerative condition affecting many companion animals, through the development of a veterinary gene therapeutic.
Primary Investigator: Laurie Goodrich, professor, Department of Clinical Sciences
Developing a commercial high-throughput crop disease monitoring system with drone hyperspectral imaging and machine learning
Advancing precision agriculture in Colorado by developing a method for real-time detection and monitoring of crop disease in Colorado wheat.
Primary Investigator: Phuong Dao, assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Biology
GutSeq technology for improved diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases
Creating improved gastrointestinal diagnosis for the veterinary market by the development of a GI test that is rapid, non-invasive and lower cost than existing alternatives.
Primary Investigator: Steven Dow, professor, Department of Clinical Sciences
“We are immensely proud of the innovations showcased by the winners of the Advanced Industries Proof of Concept Grant,” said Richard Magid, vice president of technology transfer at CSU STRATA.
“These projects demonstrate the potential to create solutions in their respective industries while creating economic impact for the state of Colorado.”
Additional AI POC funding is available to researchers at eligible Colorado research institutions directly through OEDIT, which will begin accepting applications in January 2024 for their March 2024 deadline. CSU researchers should contact CSU STRATA about applying for these funds via techtransfer@csustrata.org.
CSU STRATA typically requests letters of intent in late summer for CSU’s allocated funding.
