University City Science Center, an organization central to the region’s burgeoning life sciences sector, announced Wednesday the creation of its fourth “strategic pillar” — a venture capital arm that will deploy funds to startups addressing health inequities for underserved populations. This addition of a capital arm adds to the nonprofit’s existing work, which it describes [...]
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the past year, State College-based Phospholutions has grown from seven to 20 employees, and recently raised $10.3 million in venture capital funding to support the development and growth of its RhizoSorb soil-enhancement technology across market segments and expand to global markets. Phospholutions CEO Hunter Swisher began developing RhizoSorb as an undergraduate in the plant [...]
The top six Penn State student startup teams from the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP)’s 2021 Inc.U Competition will compete on WPSU’s Shark Tank-style TV show “The Investment” for a chance at a share of up to $30,000 in funding for their startup. The show will air on WPSU-TV and can be streamed at live.wpsu.org at 8 p.m. May 13. For the [...]
Eight of Penn State’s most disruptive and promising early-stage technologies will compete for $150,000 in the Invent Penn State Tech Tournament, a signature event of the Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference, at 2:45 p.m. on April 15. The companies and technologies showcased include therapeutics for COVID-19, printable concrete, and a lab-on-a-chip drug-screening platform. Registration for the [...]
Our goal at the Big Idea Center is to provide students with the opportunity to take their ideas from concept to reality. We are thrilled to be able to take this mission one step further by introducing the Big Idea Advantage Fund! This new investment opportunity is the first of its kind and geared towards [...]
Two faculty members have been selected to receive Lab Bench to Commercialization (LB2C) grants from the Eberly College of Science in 2021. The competitive program provides funding for researchers in the college, enabling them to enhance the commercial potential of ongoing research and prepare them to translate their intellectual property to the marketplace. This year's [...]
For Jeanette Debek, the problem-solving nature of entrepreneurship sparks a special type of excitement. To foster this excitement and learn more about the entrepreneurial mindset, the junior studying advertising in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications enrolled in Penn State’s intercollege minor in entrepreneurship and innovation (ENTI). Debek’s ENTI courses educated her on entrepreneurship concepts, and [...]
The Raynier Institute & Foundation, a Seattle-based philanthropic organization with Philadelphia roots, has partnered with Drexel University and the University City Science Center to improve access to capital for minority entrepreneurs in the area. The institutions will collaboratively manage a seed fund created by a $500,000 grant from the Foundation, which was founded by an heir of Philadelphia [...]
The Raynier Institute & Foundation, a Seattle-based philanthropic organization with Philadelphia roots, has partnered with Drexel University and the University City Science Center to improve access to capital for minority entrepreneurs in the area. The institutions will collaboratively manage a seed fund created by a $500,000 grant from the Foundation, which was founded by an heir of Philadelphia [...]
Pitt students who want to explore innovation and entrepreneurship now have a new resource to help them bridge the critical period between the initial idea and having a prototype or beta version of their product or service. The Big Idea Advantage Fund, a new resource by the Big Idea Center, part of the University of Pittsburgh’s Innovation [...]