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CCTS I-Corps Teams Gear Up for Customer Discovery

I Corps Quote1On Tuesday, June 6th, CCTS hosted university research teams from across the South at the I-Corps South Regional Training at The Edge of Chaos. The National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program prepares scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory and accelerate the economic and societal benefits on research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization. 

Eleven teams from UAB, Georgia Tech (GA Tech), University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (UA), and University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT) spent the day learning about entrepreneurship, innovation, and customer discovery, with the goal of helping them find successful commercial applications for their research and future grant opportunities through the NSF. The next step for team members is to connect with as many potential “target customers” for their products as possible. CCTS encourages any specialists in the areas listed below to please say “yes” if any I-Corps team member calls and requests a brief interview.

[Editor’s note: I-Corps teams are required to conduct customer discovery outside of their home institution. UAB teams will reach out to specialists at other I-Corps training participating institutions; likewise, GA Tech, UA, and UT teams will likely reach out to UAB specialists]. 


  Team
Name		 First Name Last Name Email Role   Institution   Business
Thesis		   Customer Archetype
  CURENT User Test Facility Lisa Beard This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Business Lead   University of Tennessee, Knoxville   Energy transmission engineers need an accurate way to simulate and test the impact of renewable resources on the power grid   Utility engineers/managers
  ExpAero Narayanan  Komerath This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Technical Lead    Georgia Tech   Aricraft with slung loads are at high risk of divergent oscilations - Aircraft op[erations will be able to use our system to stabilize loads for increased speed and safety   Helicopter pilots
  MRIMATH Hassan Fathallah-Shaykh This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Technical Lead    UAB   Radiation specialists analyzing glioma will use our software solution to analyze tumors and tumor change over time more accurately and rapidly   Radiologists
Radiation Therapists
  IronMan Karim Budhwani This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Technical Lead    UAB   Pharmaceutical development/formulation units will partner with our DDS solution to expand the usage of their drug portfolio to treat solid cancer tumors because it allows for better treatment with lower toxicity   VPs of drug development within Pharmaceutical companies
  Oculogx Charu  Thomas This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Business Lead   Georgia Tech   Warehouse managers will buy an Augmented Reality application in order to save time and improve efficiency and accuracy in order picking   Managers of large warehouses
  PUG Tube Derek  Van Vessem This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Technical Lead   UAB   Physicians will use our PEG Tubes to prevent dislodgement in patients   Physicians and nurses using PEG tubes and their patients
  Slip/Stick David Brown This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Technical Lead    UAB   Custom-fitted shoe insert for stroke survivors recovering walking ability   Physicians treating stroke and their patients
  Biofit Technologies Arnab Chanda  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Technical Lead   University of Alabama   Fast prototyping for biomedical services   Biomedical Organizations, Operations Officers
  Voltron Ferhat Zengul This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Business Lead   UAB   Hospital admissions staff will use our clinical decision support system to detect patients incoming with infections   Patient Safety Officers
  UniverCity Maria Norena This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Technical Lead   UAB   Young moms will use our community services in order to increase their sense of worth and financial security   Teenage/Young single moms

For UAB faculty and students who are interested in I-Corps but were unable to attend this training, there will be a 14-week course in the Fall, ENT 450, that will offer a robust look at the I-Corps program and allow researchers to dive more deeply into the commercial applications of their research. For information about this course, and other upcoming I-Corps South programming, please contact Dr. Molly Wasko at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Mickey Millsap at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


Voltron, a research team from UAB, presents their tech to the I-Corps South cohort.
Georgia Tech team ExpAero brainstorms on their business assumptions.
UAB Associate Professor Dr. Anthony Hood discusses his business thesis with teammate Brandon Pickett.
UAB’s Edge of Chaos was a fitting setting for I-Corps training.
UAB Professor and Rehabilitation Science Doctorate Program Director Dr. David Brown talks with his teammate about their invention, the “Slip/Stick.”