Faculty members from the Tickle College of Engineering don’t need to leave the college and join a start-up to see a technological innovation become a success in the marketplace. They have the resources, support, and funding opportunities to make it happen within the UT ecosystem.
Three TCE faculty entrepreneurs recently received validation for their attempts to turn intellectual curiosity into projects that have value to society. They were each selected as winners of the inaugural Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, which is aimed at bolstering East Tennessee’s entrepreneurship pipeline, and providing a pathway to commercialize technology for faculty. The faculty members each received $50,000 and the support they need to help commercialize their technology.
The Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, which is administered by the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development, selected five total faculty member throughout the university to bestow the financial award. The three from TCE were:
- Uday Vaidya, UT-ORNL governor’s chair for advanced composites manufacturing, professor Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering
- Jian Huang, Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) professor
- Ahmedullah Aziz, EECS assistant professor
“This says that engineering is not necessarily only academic learning. We can apply what we learned into actual products that benefit society as a whole,” Vaidya said. “It makes our department much more valuable to be able to integrate education with innovation. Ideas will not stay on the shelf; they will get directly applied and benefit people. That is a huge statement.”
The award recipients were chosen through a rigorous process that included a pitch competition. Evaluations were based on their ability to address an unmet market need, the current state of technology, the proposed technology development plan, and the funding’s impact on commercialization.
“Translating the discoveries our faculty make into technology that works for people is one of the most visible ways we carry out our mission as a land-grant research university,” said UT Chancellor Donde Plowman. “I am proud of this initiative and the gaps it helps bridge. Without this kind of seed money, many high-tech ideas like these would never make it to the people who need them.”
Aligned Nonwoven Composites Using Carding Technology
Vaidya is working with MABE researcher Pritesh Yeole and research assistant Vinit Chaudhary on a project that creates value-added material forms of carbon, glass, and natural fibers. The process can be compared to combing out a ball of tangled hair. By aligning the fibers in a specific direction, the fibers can be refurbished and repurposed rather than heading to the landfill as waste.
The aligned nonwoven composites can make secondary parts for a broad range of sectors, including automotive, mass transit industry groups, sporting goods, and architecture.
“It would basically expand the thinking of using materials in these applications,” Vaidya said. “There is a general tendency to use traditional materials, but this really opens a lot of options for designers, architects, and consumers to extend their thinking to start looking at sustainable materials, which would have an impact on the global economy and the greenhouse gas emissions. It has broad implications.”
The value-added materials have already been used in small applications like bike seats and motorcycle parts. The group plans to escalate the size, scale, and volume to use in different applications in the next few years.
“It is obviously very humbling to receive this award for our project and it means a lot because it comes from the Chancellor. There is a certain prestige associated with it,” Vaidya said. “It just goes to show UT really cares about investing in innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)