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Applications for the 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs) are now open. Fellowship recipients will spend the summer on an individual research project under the guidance of a Michigan Tech faculty mentor. SURFs are open to all Tech undergraduates who have at least one semester remaining after the summer term. Awards are up to $4,000.

How to apply

Applications are due by 5 p.m. on February 11, 2022. For more information on the SURF application process, watch the workshop video included on this page. To access application materials and instructions, visit the SURF webpage. If you have any questions, contact Rob Handler at rhandler@mtu.edu. 

(Reposted from Michigan Tech News)

In an effort to nurture a regional innovation ecosystem and move more discoveries from the research lab to the real world, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has established a Great Lakes Innovation Corps Hub and Michigan Technological University plays a key role.
 
The 11-university Hub is led by the University of Michigan (U-M), and it’s one of five Hubs across the country announced Aug. 26 as NSF continues to evolve the I-Corps program. Launched in 2011, the NSF Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, trains scientists and engineers to carry their promising ideas and technologies beyond the university and into the marketplace to benefit society.
 
In addition to Michigan Tech and U-M, the Great Lakes Hub includes Purdue University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Toledo, the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, the University of Akron, the University of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Impact of I-Corps

Each university in the Great Lakes Hub already has a successful I-Corps program. Michigan Tech has been part of the NSF I-Corps Site program since 2015. Over the past five years, Michigan Tech’s I-Corps Site has helped introduce the entrepreneurial mindset to over 300 researchers, faculty, staff, and students, and helped teams assess the commercial potential of nearly 150 technologies.
 
The Great Lakes I-Corps Hub aims to connect people at a large scale to increase the “effective density” of the Midwest’s innovation ecosystem. Mary Raber, Michigan Tech I-Corps principal investigator and chair of the Department of Engineering Fundamentals, said Michigan Tech researchers will be able to engage with the other members of the Hub and benefit from the extensive resources available throughout the Great Lakes region.
 
“Being invited to join the Great Lakes Hub is reflective of the success of Michigan Tech’s I-Corps Site program and the number of teams that have been selected to attend the National I-Corps program,” said Raber.
 
Other members of the Michigan Tech I-Corps team include Lisa Casper (Pavlis Honors College), Jim Baker (Office of the Vice President for Research), Michael Morley, and Nate Yenor (Office of Innovation and Commercialization), and Jonathan Leinonen (College of Business).
 
“The Great Lakes region is home to many of the world’s leading research institutions, and many of our nation’s critical industries. Our goal with this I-Corps Hub is to leverage this intellectual depth to create a lasting economic impact on the region,” said Alec D. Gallimore, the U-M Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, the Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, and a professor of aerospace engineering.
 
“We’ll do this by creating new businesses, by keeping our existing companies globally competitive and on the leading edge of technology, and by developing talent that not only has technical and cultural expertise, but also an entrepreneurial mindset,” he said.
 
The new Great Lakes Hub has set a goal of training 2,350 teams in the next five years and sending an additional 220 teams to a more in-depth National NSF I-Corps program.
 
In this way, I-Corps is helping to fill what Jonathan Fay, executive director of the U-M Center for Entrepreneurship, calls the “widening gap” between the cutting-edge research being done at universities and the development work of industry to turn research into societal benefit and economic gain.
 
“U.S. universities are set up to reward scientific breakthroughs, but not necessarily the hard work of turning that discovery into social or economic impact,” Fay said. “On the industry side, investing in long-range R&D is expensive with uncertain payoffs. This has led to a shift in the industry away from research and toward development.”
 
“What I-Corps does is fill that gap by changing both the mode of thinking and the social networks of the academic community so we can maximize the benefits of publicly funded research by finding the right place within the industry for a new breakthrough to take hold,” he said.

A Proven Track Record of Success

Each university in the Hub already has a successful I-Corps program, and the new model will make it easier for them to network and learn from one another. Supported through Husky Innovate, Michigan Tech’s innovation and entrepreneurship resource hub, the University will continue offering I-Corps training and support to faculty, students and staff who are developing new ideas and want to explore their commercial viability. “Michigan Tech is an integral part of the Great Lakes Hub,” said Raber.

Teams that have successfully participated in the Michigan Tech I-Corps Site program include:
 
●   Nanosound Inc. is focused on quieting noise from pipes and ducts, such as building HVAC systems, by using active noise control and carbon nanotube technology. Nanosound has secured an initial investment and has partnership agreements with multiple companies to further develop the technology.
 
●   SwimSmart aims to enhance beach safety through smart and connected beachfront technologies that improve swimmer situational awareness, increase forecast frequency and accuracy, and assist lifeguards, first responders and beach managers in their efforts toward the greater goal of ending drownings in our communities. SwimSmart products are on beaches this summer in Frankfort and Muskegon, Michigan, with expansion planned for next year.
 
●   Stabilux Biosciences is commercializing fluorescent imaging compounds with enhanced and tunable brightness, which enables levels of detection which had been previously unattainable. Applications for this technology include biomedical research and medical diagnostics. Stabilux has raised $4 million in follow-on funding to date.
 
●   ZiTechnologies is commercializing technologies that enable the beneficial utilization of plastic from industrial and post-consumer waste streams. It has recently received a $256,000 grant through NSF’s Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I (SBIR) to continue the commercialization process.

To follow COVID-19 safety protocols, the 2021 Undergraduate Research Symposium was held virtually and asynchronously. While we missed seeing our poster presenters in person, the virtual symposium gave us a chance to keep and display our students’ presentations.

2021 Winners

First Place: Ethan Burghardt, Biochemistry

“Characterization of Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction Systems for Virus Purification” working with Caryn Heldt (ChE)

Play Characterization of Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction Systems for Virus Purification video

Characterization of Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction Systems for Virus Purification

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Second Place (Tie): Ava Miller, Sustainability Science and Society

“Community Response to Renewable Energy Project Siting: A Case Student in L’Anse, MI” working with Richelle Winkler (SS)

Play Community Response to Renewable Energy Project Siting: A Case Study in L’Anse, MI video

Community Response to Renewable Energy Project Siting: A Case Study in L’Anse, MI

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Second Place (Tie): Lauren Spahn, Chemical Engineering

“Optimization of Lignin Precipitation with Functional Group Control for Use in Bio-Based Polyurethane Foams” working with Rebecca Ong (ChE)

Play Optimization of Lignin Precipitation w/Functional Group Control for…Bio-Based Polyurethane Foams video

Optimization of Lignin Precipitation w/Functional Group Control for…Bio-Based Polyurethane Foams

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Four students also received Honorable Mention:

• Justin Henderson, Mechanical Engineering, “Development of Furuta Inverted Pendulum Test Rig for Testing of Motor Dynamics and Capabilities” working with M.K. Park (ME-EM)
• Morgan Kline, Mechanical Engineering, “Optimization of Wave Energy Converters Through Neural Networks” working with Gordon Parker (ME-EM)
• Ellie Sempek, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, “Analyzing the Hydrophobicity of Viruses: A Comparison of Adsorption Isotherms and Chromatography” working with Caryn Heldt (ChE)
• Jordan Zais, Biomedical Engineering, “Fibrin-Based Materials for the Modulation of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Tendon Repair” working with Rupak Rajachar, (BioMed)

Ready to make the jump from in-class labs to learning more deeply? Watch this video to learn more about why you should engage in undergraduate research; how to find a mentor; and resources available to you through Pavlis Honors College, Michigan Tech, and beyond.

The University Innovation Fellows are hosting their 2nd annual Innovation Week to promote innovation and entrepreneurship on the Michigan Tech campus. There are a variety of events being held next week, October 14-20 with the final event being a regional meet-up for students from universities across the midwest with ties to the University Innovation Fellows program. The University Innovation Fellows program empowers students to become agents of change at their schools. The Fellows are a global community of students leading a movement to ensure that all students gain the necessary attitudes, skills, and knowledge required to compete in the economy of the future.

Please share the following public events with faculty, staff, and students of the Michigan Tech entrepreneurial community.

“I have an idea that I think can make some money…now what?” | Oct. 14 | 1pm | Fisher 125

Idea Pitch Practice | Oct. 15 | 5pm | ICE House

Idea Pitch Competition | Oct. 17 | 7pm | M&M U113 | This competition is hosted by the Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship, a collaboration between the School of Business and Economics and the Pavlis Honors College.

Coffee Sprints | Oct. 18 | 6:30pm | Library 244

Teaching Design Thinkers: The Responsibilities of Empowering the Next Generation | Oct. 19 | 1pm | Rekhi G05 | Registration for this event is required, and it is sponsored by the Pavlis Honors College, William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Visiting Professor Lecturer/Scholar Series (VPLSS) which is funded by a grant to the Provost’s Office from the State of Michigan’s King-Chavez-Parks Initiative.