On the Fly: Faculty make sales pitch for their research

Six faculty members from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are going to ask whether their research has the potential to raise investment money from the world of business.

At the inaugural Fly for Researchers Pitch Competition, the six will present their ideas to judges across Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial and corporate worlds. Pitches will be five minutes long followed by Q&A.

The competition takes place on April 12 during the annual ReSearch Dialogues, which will include similar pitches by UTC students the following day. Both competitions and ReSearch Dialogues are free and open to the public.

“The focus behind this competition was getting faculty—and we had several new ones—to come out and realize, ‘OK, I have been working on this,'” said Jennifer Skjellum, commercialization counselor in the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UTC. “I’m very excited about the diversity of entries.”

The top three winners will be announced that day with prizes of $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000.

To be considered for the Fly competition, participants had to provide a rundown of the research’s viability in the commercial market.

“The application described: What problem are you solving? What’s the need? How is what you’re doing innovative?”

The prize money comes through a grant from UTC, and winners have a variety of options for using it, Skjellum said.

“They can use that toward advancing their idea. So that might be supplies. It might be to hire a student. It just can’t be to pay themselves,” Skjellum said. “The goal is that they’ll be able to make some substantial progress to get it to the next stage.”

“The next stage for some of them might be building prototypes, might be partnering with the University of Tennessee Research foundation.”

All six faculty members in the Fly Pitch still will continue to receive help from the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Skjellum said.

“The commercialization journey will continue for these six finalists.”

 

Faculty Presenters

David Giles, associate professor in biology: Synergistic Treatment of Bacterial Infections

Development of a treatment regimen that decreases the number of antibiotic/small-molecule combinations that can increase bacterial vulnerability and lead to infection.

 

Zibin Guo, professor in medical anthropology: Zibin Guo’s Applied Tai Chi

Program of tai chi that can be used by people of all physical abilities, improving physical, emotional and social well-being.

 

Hamdy Ibrahim, assistant professor in mechanical engineering: Dissolving and patient-specific magnesium-based implants for broken bones

Development of implants that are absorbed into the body when used to heal bone fractures, preventing future surgeries to remove non-degrading implants now used.

 

Farah Kandah, associate professor in computer science and engineering: A System and Method for Trust as a Service in Smart Cities and other Large-Scale IoT Deployments

System that monitors devices linked to smart city software and provides better security against device failure, being hacked or both.

 

Erkan Kaplanoglu, associate professor in engineering management  and technology: Developing Active and Passive Force Controlled Wearable Device for Upper Extremity Essential Tremor

A wearable device for patients with essential tremor disorder, which causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking, and also investigates the efficiency of the device.

 

Nagwan Zahry, assistant professor in communication: FoodConnect App: A User Centered Healthy Eating App

An app that helps college students make healthy food choices, providing them with motivational, informational and social support.