NSF I-Corps Hub (Track 1): Interior Northeast Region

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this NSF I-Corps Hub project is the development of a regional network that offers a repeatable, tested model of education and workforce training designed for and by innovators. The Interior Northeast Region is representative of large portions of the U.S. that are seeking to restore economic vitality after the decline of manufacturing and extractive industries. The region is rich in natural resources, open space, and strong research universities. The Interior Northeast Region I-Corps Hub seeks to deploy teaching and program development practices to support innovators outside major metro areas in a way that increases participation and represents a rising tide of opportunity from innovation across all regions, rather than one that is concentrated in a few large cities. The I-Corps Interior Northeast Hub institutions will create a “Hub of Hubs” infrastructure to connect regional research laboratories and institutions with a smaller science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research footprint to I-Corps. Learnings from the deployment of programs that support the growth of rural innovation communities will be disseminated throughout the National Innovation Network. This I-Corps Hub project provides I-Corps training, mentoring, and support to STEM researchers across the Interior Northeast Region, to accelerate the translation of basic research discoveries to products and services that benefit society and to reduce the risk of pursing commercialization without insights into industry needs and challenges. In addition, the Hub proposes to provide a program infrastructure that allows innovators outside major metro areas to receive the benefits of learning the I-Corps method of customer discovery while remaining connected to their home institutions. Participants will glean the benefits of being part of a cohort of innovators in a vibrant rural region. To achieve these goals, the Hub proposes to focus on maximizing the reach and reputation of I-Corps with deep tech researchers by engaging STEM faculty who value I-Corps as program ambassadors, thought leaders, and Hub advisors, and providing numerous learning opportunities that support geographically-dispersed participants and are led by experienced instructors who utilize validated teaching practices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.