Many of the technologies that have revolutionized our modern world originated from academic research. However, navigating the process of bringing a new technology to the commercial market can be challenging for academic researchers. The new Western Innovation Training Fellowship program at Western Washington University (WWU), made possible through a $200,000 programmatic grant from Washington Research Foundation (WRF), hopes to equip promising students and professors with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate this complex transition.
The Western Innovation Training Fellowship, which accepted its inaugural cohort in February, is designed to cultivate a community of entrepreneurial researchers at WWU. The fellowship supports student-faculty partnerships across STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) departments. The inaugural cohort comprises the following five student-faculty teams, each pursuing research projects with notable potential for commercialization.
Professor Gregory O’Neil is working with undergraduate chemistry student Kaden Hekker to design a device that enables chemists to access air- and moisture-sensitive chemicals while protecting the chemicals from the environment.
Professor David Wallin and Associate Professor John Lund are working with undergraduate computer science student Ian Cambridge to develop long range RFID location-tracking technology for land use and wildlife tracking.
Professor Jim Cooper is working with marine and coastal sciences graduate student Abi Lee to develop techniques for improving the hatching success and survival of farmed surf smelt.
