Inaugural Chancellor’s Innovation Fund Helps Move Technology from Lab to Market
From athletic field safety to waste reduction through bioplastics, from data engine visualizations to quantum computing, research faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are developing the technologies that will make life and lives better. That’s why we have launched the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, a new annual program to help faculty entrepreneurs move these solutions from their laboratories into the hands of the people they will help.
Two years ago, Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development Deb Crawford and her team came to me with the idea for a new kind of funding for faculty entrepreneurs.
She told me that if East Tennessee is going to be the innovation hub we know it can be, we must create pathways to turn inventors into entrepreneurs. Getting technology to market is a place where the University of Tennessee can and should lead.
This spring, the inaugural class of awardees—five faculty members from three colleges—will receive $50,000 awards to help them refine their technology, develop prototypes, and conduct viability testing over the next year.
The recipients were chosen through a rigorous process that included a pitch competition where the faculty described the benefits of their technology and how the funding would help propel their ideas to market. Along the way, the UT Research Foundation supported the program by evaluating proposals and coaching participants.
The fund is intended to bridge the gap between early-stage technology development and later-stage company investment. Without this kind of seed money, many high-tech ideas like these would never make it to the people who need them.
I am proud of this program and the role it serves, but of course the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund is just one piece in a larger entrepreneurship pipeline. We are lucky to have programs like I-Corps entrepreneurship training, the Spark Accelerator and Incubator Programs, and the Oak Ridge Innovation Crossroads Program serving entrepreneurs at different stages.
Together we are investing in place-based innovation and creating a collaborative environment where creativity thrives and new ideas take root.
Part of our mission as the state’s flagship land-grant research university is to foster economic growth and create opportunities for the people of Tennessee. Translating these discoveries to technology that works for people is one of the most visible ways we carry out that mission.
UT is nurturing an ecosystem of entrepreneurship by establishing a supportive infrastructure where thinkers and movers will continue to ask important questions, generate new ideas, and think outside the box.
I look forward to seeing how these inventions impact our community and the world beyond. I hope you will read more about these incredible award recipients.
