ccei-accelerate-uconn-logo

ABOUT ACCELERATE UCONN

Accelerate UConn is UConn’s National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Site. Its mission is to catalyze entrepreneurial teams whose technology concepts are likely candidates for commercialization. Participating teams will receive an introduction to the most critical elements of the I-Corps Curriculum and Lean Launchpad methodology. With the support of Accelerate UConn, teams will learn first-hand about entrepreneurship and explore the transition of their ideas, devices, processes, new scientific discoveries or other intellectual activities into the marketplace.

Participants will learn how to:

  • Develop new ways to communicate the value of your product or technology
  • Understand the structure of the market you are entering
  • Develop strategies for generating demand for your product or technology
  • Identify the next steps needed to launch your venture
  • Identify customers most likely to bring you first revenue

    Teams will receive:

    • Training on the Business Model Canvas and Customer Discovery Process
    • Individual team coaching from industry experts
    • Up to $4,000* to support customer discovery and development of minimum viable product
    • Help to identify team members

    UPCOMING COHORTS

    The Accelerate UConn program is broken down into three phases; with the main program and emphasis being on phase 1. Each workshop provides hands-on training in the fundamental components of new venture creation and is delivered by experienced entrepreneurs and faculty members. Participants are provided with personalized coaching and feedback which will help them construct an evidence-based business model and market entry strategy. Participating teams have the ability to receive up to $4,000 in seed funding for their ventures across all three phases. You do not have to take phase 0 to apply to phase 1, but you must complete phase 1 to be considered for phase 2. 

    Application Process

    All applications will be reviewed by a panel of industry experts, who will make admission and grant award selections. Final selections will be made within a week of the application deadline and all teams will be notified of the decision. Final admission decisions will be announced publicly the day of the kickoff event.

    Past Cohorts

    Spring 2023 Cohort

    Durga Joshi, Chandi Witharana PhD (PhD/Doctoral Student, Faculty), CAHNR – Powerline Dashcam Video

    Muhammad Jamil (Undergraduate Student) School of Engineering Data Raptor

    Kia Golzari, Hugo Posada-Quintero PhD, Sarah Reed PhD, Jorge Paricio PhD (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), School of Engineering, CAHNRDevice to monitor stress in horses

    David Wright PhD, Duo Dickinson, Diane Covello (Faculty), School of LawSuper Windows

    Cesar Gouveia, Douglas Adamson (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), The Graduate School, CLASHEPA Filtration improved with Graphene

    Markus Bookland, Megan Anderson, Dana Jungbauer (Faculty), School of MedicineMobile Evaluation of Neonatal Cranial Deformities

    Brenna McAllister, Leslie A. Caromile PhD (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), UConn Health – Think Different – Think in 3D

    Sahana Ganesh, Yuan Kuo (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – SignAssist

    Clara Ramirez, Mohammed Albayati (Ph.D/Doctoral Students), School of Engineering – InfinEnergie

    Audrey Larson, Angel Velasquez, Charlotte Chen, Deepthi Pai Manoor (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – Geomate

    Fall 2022 Cohort

    Sandy Chafouleas Ph.D, Emily Wicks (Faculty, Staff), Neag School of Education, School of Fine Arts – Feel Your Best Self

    Zania Johnson, Shanicka Reynolds (Alumni) CLAS (BA), CAHNR (MA), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Let's Eat!

    Sabrina Uva, Ryan Coles Ph.D, Jorge Paricio Ph.D (Graduate Student, Faculty), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of EngineeringMilieu

    Tarun Kumar (Graduate Student), School of BusinessOrga

    Alexander McLeod, Ethan Wicko (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – Transcend Bicycle LLC

    Douglas Vilaysom, Nicolas Brigada (Alumni), School of Business, School of Engineering – Wayside Wing Roadside Safety Tool

    Lorraine Linkhauer, Ph.D, James Linkhauer (Graduate Student), School of Fine Arts – Whale Steps

    Spring 2022 Cohort

    Mohamed Reaj Uddin, Michael Aisevbonaye (Undergraduate Students), School of Fine Arts, School of Engineering –EnviGreen Recycling

    Lawrence Silbart, Kevin Bouley, Cassandra Speight (Faculty, Research Technician) Allied Health Science Tick Me Off

    Harsha Jain (Undergraduate Student), School of EngineeringPlant Monitor

    Kianjai Huggan, Leila Daneshmandi, Sam Nanayakkara (Graduate Students, Faculty), School of Engineering – Webquity

    Justin Nappi, Tara Watrous, Sudiksha Mallick (Undergraduate Students, Staff), School of Engineering, Head of Entrepreneurial Transformation at UConn Werth Institute, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – SmartCards

    Brian Peng, Shivam Patel (Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – ShadeSnap

    Jasna Jankovic, Sara Pedram, Leonard Bonville, Sean Small (Faculty, PhD Student, Graduate Student), School of Engineering, Research Specialist, Center for Clean Energy Engineering, Center for Clean Energy Engineering, AMES –Novel Tubular Proton Fuel Cell

    Jean Pondugula, Mohan Kocherla (Undergraduate Student), School of Business – DNAG Expansion Project

    Fall 2021 Cohort

    Richard Ruiz (Alumni) – RIOKEE

    Roberto Vazquez-Munoz and Anna Dongari Bagtzoglou (PostDoc, Faculty) School of Dental Medicine/Department of Periodontology, UConn Health Division of Periodontology BionnTek antimicrobial

    Zoey England (Undergraduate Student), CLAS, IISP; UCHC, PUBHPhyMap

    Ethan D'Orio, Thanh Duc Nguyen, Thinh T. Le, Yang Liu (Graduate Student, Faculty, Graduate Assistant, PostDoc), School of Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing for Energy Systems Department, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science Institute – PLLA Nanofiber Face Masks and Additional Applications

    Kazuya Machida, Prem Shrestha, Dr. Bruce Mayer, Dr. Ji Yu (Faculty, PostDoc, Faculty, Faculty), UConn Health – Fluoro-SH2: Multiplexed Phospho-Protein Profiling Tool

    Delaram Ghanbariamin, Ali Tamayol Ph.D (Ph.D/Doctoral Student, Faculty), School of Engineering – Smart Bandage with 3D-Printed Miniaturized Needle Arrays

    Abhishek Dutta, Haseeb Mahmood, Rafael Soliven, Rogenry Munoz, Toni Smakaj (Faculty, Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering – Airborne Virus Extermination Device

    Ellen Quintana, Alexander Candow, Eric Knight (Alumni, Undergraduate Student, Faculty), School of Nursing, School of Business, UConn TIPReduSeal

    Maumita Bhattacharjee, Lakshmi S. Nair (PostDoc, Faculty) Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering, UConn Health – Injectable amnion hydrogel as a stem cell delivery system for osteoarthritis treatment

    Hritish Bhargava, Matt Silverman, Ethan Aoki, Alyssa Nguyen, Sam Nanayaakkara (Undergraduate Students, IM) School of Engineering, School of Letters and Science, Berkeley – Anzen LLC

    Spring 2021 Cohort

    Dr. Ali Tamayol, Dr. Mohamadmahdi Samandari, and Jacob Quint (Faculty, PostDoc and Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering – In Vivo Printing Using Handheld Bioprinter for Regenerative Applications

    Dr. Yupeng Chen, Aaton Beams, and Bridget Loura (Faculty and Undergraduate Students) School of Engineering and School of Business– I2TS technology as an advanced drug delivery solution

    Dr. Sanjeev Nayak, Dr. Vishnu R Khade,  and Sachin Girdhar (Faculty and Industry), School of Engineering and School of Business – Read a Book – An interactive platform

    Dr. Minghu Song, Qinqing Liu and Yibing Zhou (Faculty, Graduate Student and Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering – Knowledge-guided and causal AI for Drug Discovery

    Theresa Chu (Staff), University Information Technology Services – Nutritional Service

    Dr. Hasan Baig, Yusra Maryam Javed, and Sumaiya Hasan (PostDoc and Industry), School of Medicine – Programmable Development Platform for Genetic Circuits inspired from FPGAs

    Jonathan Moore, Hunter Bowden, Hailey Altobelli, Michael Greco, and Michelle Saglimbene (Faculty, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student, Alumni and Industry), School of Business – Clinical Assistant by Appoint

    Dr. Kshitiz and Ashkan Novin (Faculty and Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering – RNA based therapy for metastatic cancer

    Fall 2020 Cohort

    Dr. Sergey Dergunov, Dr. Eugene Pinkhassik, and Kevin Rivera (Faculty and Graduate Student), College of Liberal Arts and Science – Nanoreactors in flow processes for simplified chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing

    Jake Winter, Massyl Mallem, Mitchell Miller, and Khalid Husain (Undergraduate Students and Industry), School of Engineering – PatentPlus

    Robert Samples, Rishabh Kejriwal, and Sara Puckett (Graduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Pharmacy – Agrowell Biosciences

    Dr. Rahul Kanadia, Dr. Stefan Wuchty, and Asha Marie Kanadia (Faculty and Alumni) College of Liberal Arts and Science – Verintas LLC

    Dr. Reid Waldman, Dr. Timothy Durso, and Matthew Fanelli (Medical Resident and Industry), School of Medicine – VeraDermics Inc.

    Dr. Shivam Mehta, Dr. Po-Jung Chen, and Dr. Madhur Upadhyay (Dental Residents and Faculty) School of Dental Medicine – Anchorage Reinforcer

    Dr. Mayur Ostwal and Dr. Jeffery McCutcheon (Faculty), School of Engineering – Mixed Matrix Membranes

    Dr. Dan Fabris and Dr. Will McIntyre (Faculty and Post Doc), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – RiboDynamics LLC

    Cayman Cushing and Mohamad Daeipour (Graduate Students), School of Engineering – Performetal

    Dr. Thanh Nguyen and Vinayak Mishra (Faculty and Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Developing a Biodegradable and antibacterial guided bone regeneration membrane to treat Periodontitis

    Dr. Hugo Posada-Quintero, Dr. Ki Chon, and Youngsun Kong (Faculty and Graduate Student), School of Engineering – Wearable Device for Pain Quantification

    Nancy Marek (Doctoral Student), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources – BirdHabitatBot

    David Mittelman and Nathan Looney (Graduate Student and Industry), School of Engineering – Phoenix Farms

    Spring 2020 Cohort

    John Campanelli, Michael Bobowski, Dr. Michael Fendrich, Ishita Kapoor, and Pamela Mulready (Alumni, Faculty, and Graduate Student), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, School of Social Work, School of Business, and Trinity College – Whirleybird

    Dr. Weiqiang Chen, Dr. Lei Wang, Kevin Chen, and Michal Ciebielski (Faculty, Ph.D. Student, and Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering – CTOP Smart Charging

    Matthew Yang, Nick Huynh, Tyler Lasicki, and Richard Greenbaum (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering, School of Business, and Cornell University – RobinFood

    Benjamin Buchanan, Kathleen Quinn, and Donna Agogliati (Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering – StudEase

    Dr. Madhur Upadhyay, Dr. Kshitz Gupta, and Dr. Yasir Suhail (Faculty and Post Doc), Dental School and School of Engineering – AI Based Decision Making Model

    Dr. Challa Vijaya Kumar and Ankarao Kalluri (Faculty and Graduate Student), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Stable Suspensions of Carbon Nanotubes

    Dr. Kaipei Yang and Robert Smith (Faculty and Graduate Student), School of Engineering – PriorFusion

    Kate Gorman and Cindy Burnett (Alumni), School of Social Work and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Brain hAPPy

    Timothy Krupski and Jeremy Bronen (Graduate Student and Undergraduate Student), School of Business and School of Engineering – Powered Lift Toilet Seat

    Matthew Ternullo (Undergraduate Student), School of Business – SimpliGreen

    Fall 2019 Cohort

    Dr. Georgios Bollas and William Hale (Faculty and Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering – Fault inference in cyber-physical systems

    Dr. Wes Hamrick, Dr. Tom Scheinfeldt, and Brooke Foti Gemmell (Faculty, PostDoc, and Staff), School of Fine Arts & Greenhouse Studios – Sourcery

    Dr. Baikun Li and Nikhil Gupta (Faculty and Industry Partner), School of Engineering – Determinant Materials

    Jason Micalizzi, Brian Gibbs, and Dr. Paul Nahass (Alumni and Faculty), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering – SnakeSkin Basketball

    Kishan Patel and Harsh Patel (Undergraduate Student and Graduate Student), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Lund University – Wrap-up

    Shaleighne Cantner, Richard Forristall, Joshua Salazar, and Raja Sivaramakrishnan (Alumni and Industry), NEAG School of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Industry Partners – Engagement Solutions

    Allyn Sweet, Dylan Nenadal, and Dr. David Noble (Alumni, Undergraduate Student, and Faculty), School of Business – GridLite

    Michael Toomey (Graduate Student/Staff) School of Fine Arts – Traveling Interactive Museums

    Peter Goggins and Daniel Lesh (Undergraduate Students), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Pisces Atlantic

    Christopher Papa and Owen Brown (Undergraduate Student and Industry Partner), School of Business and Industry – Chiron Recovery

    Spring 2019 Cohort

    Dr. Arash Esmaili Zaghi, Alexandra Hain, and Danielle Marzitell (Faculty, Ph.D. Student, Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering, and School of Fine Arts – Arax Engineering: 3D imaging for bridge inspection.

    Dr. Mark Brand, Jonathan Mahoney, Dr. Elaine Choung-Hee Lee, Veronica Vallejo, Keiona Khen (Faculty, Ph.D. Student, Industry Partners, Undergraduate Student), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources- Aroniomics: Aronia for commercial fruit production.

    Nikolas Franceschi-Hofmann, Elizabeth Perry, and Dr. Yu Lei (Undergraduate Students and Faculty), School of Engineering and School of Business- Geyser Remediation: Remove PFAs from drinking water.

    Joseph Rapisarda and Akash Balaji (Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student), School of Business and School of Engineering- FitTrek: data sharing application

    Emily Yale, Anthony Mastrocola, Dr. Mei Wei, and Kevin Waugh (Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student, Faculty, Industry Partner), School of Engineering- Land Maverick: Soil sampling using robotics.

    Christian Heiden, Joseph Bonelli, and Mark Meyering (Undergraduate Student, Faculty, Industry Partner), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources- Levo International: Hydroponic garden installation.

    Dr. Lawrence Silbart, Joseph Carbonaro, and Malu Foley (Faculty, Undergraduate Students),College of Agriculture, Health and Natural resources, and School of Business – Therapeutic Bandage Systems: Bandage used to treat infections

    Michael DaCosta, Brendan Mabey, Ankit Saini, and Sandeep Saini (Undergraduate Students and Industry Partner), School of Business and School of Engineering- Transit2College: College application support

    Dr. Amanda Zaleski, Dr. Beth Taylor, and Dr. Robert Sanchez. (Post Doc, Faculty, Industry Partner) College of Agriculture, Health and Natural resources, SAMS-CI App: Mobile health application for patients and doctors.

    Daniel Ruskin and Jonathan Davis (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering- Secure Election Systems: Secure electronic absentee ballot collection.

    Michael Gaulin and Dr. Lei Wang (Undergraduate Student and Faculty), School of Business and School of Engineering- Smart Charging System: Wireless charging station.

    Fall 2018 Cohort

    Dr. Xiuling Lu, Sterling Glass, Derek Hargrove & Andre Beringhs (Faculty, Ph.D. Students, Graduate Student), School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Science- Doxorubicin Nanoparticles for Leukemic Stem Cell Inhibition

    Dr. Dasha Frias Landa, Ardita Hinkle & Dr. Flavio Uribe (PostDoc, Research Assistant, Faculty), UConn Health, Orthodontics- Triangle Retainers: Prevent the relapse of open bite using nonremovable retainer

    Dr. Jason Henderson, Matthew Deluca & Rober Narciso (Faculty, Undergraduate Students), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Department of Plant Grass Science and Landscape Architecture- Turfgrass Weedbine

    Michael Martin, Nick Myers, & Dr. Thomas Villalon (Graduate Student, Industry partners), School of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department & Institute of Material Sciences- iFrit: Using waste generated through production to develop a sustainable disposal process

    Dr. Linda Pescatello, Yin Wu, Burak Cilhoroz & Robert Maybruch (Faculty, Ph.D. Students, Graduate Student, Industry partner), College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Department of Kinesiology- Team Optimize: Decision support system for a guided approach to ExRx

    Dr. Islam Mosa, Esraa Elsanadidy, & Dr. James Rusling (Post Doc, Graduate Student, Faculty), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry- BioCap-Harvest: New power course or implantable pacemaker

    Dr. Simona Augyte & Daniel Koval (Post Doc, Industry Partner), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department- Kelp Development and processing: Locally and sustainable grown sea vegetables

    Dr. Erik Wallace, Faith Sporbert, Thomas Crosby, Augusto Iversen, & John Bochicchio (Faculty, Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics- Mystika: Software designed for improve safety and speed of all secure communications

    Dr. Krystyna Gielo-Perczak & Alexandros Mathioudakis (Faculty, Ph.D. Student), School of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department- Jointless Lower Extremity Exoskeleton

    Peter Goggins & Patrick Hockings (Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Environmental Science Department & School of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department- Next Generation Multi-Trophic Aquaculture

    Spring 2018 Cohort

    Dr. Xiuchun Tian & Elizabeth Johnson (Faculty & Graduate Student), College of Agriculture, Heath and Natural Resources, Department of Animal Science- “MycoZap” Plant-derived natural compounds to effectively

    Dr. Leslie Shor, Grant Bouchillon, Chris Hawxhurst & Wallis Boyd (Faculty, Graduate Students & Undergraduate Student), School of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering & Department of Environmental Engineering- Living Fertilizer

    Dr. Robert Aseltine, Dr. Riddhi Doshi, Wenjie Wang & Cal Collins (Faculty, PostDoc, Graduate Student & Industry), UConn Health, Division of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health, Center for Public Health and Health Policy- “WellTech” Improving the Collection of Patient Information Using Mobile Health Technologies

    Dr. Bradley Wright, Elisabeth McClure, Lindsey Fecko, Samantha Tracey, Kendall Comstock (Faculty & Undergraduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department Sociology and Department of Communication- “Ackme Research” Testing well-being interventions 

    Dr. Arash Esmali Zaghi & Alexandra Hain (Faculty & Graduate Student), School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering- “Arax Engineering” Hybrid building columns

    Ernesto Ortega-Hernandez, Shemona Singh, Nicole Gauer (Undergraduate Students), School of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Department of Computer Science & School of Business, Finance Department- “Mesa” Bridging the disconnect of social interactions through food sharing

    Dr. Ruth Lucas, Patrick Hocking & Amy Robinson (Faculty & Undergraduate Students- UConn), School of Nursing, School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Electrical Engineering, Dr. Jimi Francis, Sarah Cowan & Shambhavi Adhikari (Faculty & Graduate Students- University of Texas at Tyler), College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Department of Health and Kinesiology- “Dyadic Innovations” Breastfeed diagnostic device

    Dr. Amit Savkar, William Moshella & Matthew Dermody (Faculty, Industry & Graduate Students), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics & School of Business, Masters in Business Administration- “Savkar.ai” Predictive analytics platform for student retention in STEM fields

    Dr. Mu-Ping Nieh, Armin Tahmasbi Rad & Leila Daneshmandi (Faculty & Graduate Students), School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering- “Encapsulate” A tumor-on-a-chip device for individualized treatment

    Dr. Christine Finck, Dr. Liisa Kuhn & Todd Jensen (Faculty & Researcher), UConn Health, School of Medicine & School of Dental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics & Department of Reconstructive Sciences- “Esophadex” A new esophageal device to treat esophageal

    Meet the Accelerate UConn Team

    michelle-cote-headshot

    Michelle Cote
    Instruction Lead

    John-hoffert-headshot

    John Hoffert
    Accelerate UConn Instructor

    alycia-chrosniak-headshot

    Alycia Chrosniak
    Assistant Director of Brand & Venture Development
    alycia.chrosniak@uconn.edu