2022-2023 NUtech Ventures Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

About NUtech Ventures

NUtech Ventures’ mission is to facilitate the commercialization and practical use of innovations generated through the research activities at the University of Nebraska. We do this by identifying, evaluating, protecting, marketing and licensing UNL intellectual property to promote economic development and improve the quality of life.

NUtech Ventures also connects innovators with the people, coaching and resources they need to start companies, develop products and create jobs. If you’re interested in starting a company, seeing your innovations licensed or securing developmental funding for your leading-edge research, we can help you connect with potential industry partners, entrepreneurs and investors.

Technology Commercialization Process

Submitting a disclosure form is the first step in assessing market potential and options for intellectual property protection. Learn more at nutechventures.org/disclosures.

Cover photo by Craig Chandler/University Communications and Marketing

Brad Roth, Ph.D. Executive Director

It’s been a great year for NUtech Ventures. Our passion is partnering with UNL researchers to take their innovations from the lab through commercialization to disclosure, evaluation and the protection of these breakthroughs. In this year’s report, you’ll learn more about Husker innovators, initiatives designed to attract more diversity to the STEM field, and our enterprise programs designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs. Through our collaborations with the Combine, Innosphere Ventures, and other members of Nebraska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, we help faculty, staff and students establish a strong base for their startups. We’re also proud that for the sixth year in a row, we ranked in the National Academy of Inventors’ top 100 along with other NU campuses, with 45 U.S patents issued in 2022. We appreciate our partners and their sharing in our mission to improve quality of life and promote economic development.

Rodney D. Bennett, Ed.D. Chancellor

I continue to be impressed by the high level of innovation and impact being made by our research enterprise at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Tech transfer is a key element to our university‘s success and growth. It offers us opportunities to recognize discoveries made by our researchers; comply with federal regulations; attract and retain talented faculty; support local economic development; draw corporate research support; and generate licensing revenue to incentivize and support further research and education. I applaud NUtech Ventures for working with our campus innovators and helping bring their groundbreaking research to market.

Sherri Jones, Ph.D.

Interim Vice Chancellor of Research and Economic Development The Office of Research and Economic Development is proud to be part of the ecosystem of innovation surrounding the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nebraska has ample resources to help faculty leverage this network to move research from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Joining the Great Lakes I-Corps Hub, for example, presents new opportunities for faculty to connect with other innovators and learn best industry practices. As the state’s land-grant university and the only Carnegie R1 institution, UNL has a unique role in leveraging its research to stimulate economic opportunity. I encourage Nebraska faculty to explore their options for commercializing their research with NUtech Ventures. The result is greater opportunities for student learning, jobs for graduates and the state’s ability to attract and retain a talented workforce.

U.S. Patents Issued to NUtech Ventures in FY23 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY TITLE

NUMBER

INVENTORS

Animal Detection Based on Detection and Association of Parts

11,393,088

Lance Pérez, Eric Psota, Ty Schmidt, Benny Mote

Robotic Device with Compact Joint Design and Related Systems and Methods

11,406,458

Tom Frederick, Shane Farritor, Dmitry Oleynikov, Eric Markvicka

Strong and Tough Continuous Nanofibers

11,414,790

Yuris Dzenis

Tool Exchange System for a Surgical Robot

11,446,046

Carl Nelson, Raul Gonzalo Garay Romero

Non-Neuroinvasive Viruses and Uses Thereof

11,447,753

Ekaterina Heldwein, Gregory Smith, Patricia Sollars, Gary Pickard

Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

11,478,457

Melanie Simpson, Joseph Barycki

Local Control Robotic Surgical Devices and Related Methods

11,484,374

Tom Frederick, Joe Bartels, Eric Markvicka, Jack Mondry, Shane Farritor

Biological Remediation of Groundwater Using an Algal Photobioreactor System

11,485,657

Paul Black, James Allen, Timothy Nicodemus

Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Method

11,491,718

Michael Sealy, Guru Charan Reddy Madireddy, Haitham Hadidi, Cody Kanger

Single-Arm Robotic Device with Compact Joint Design and Related Systems and Methods

11,504,196

Shane Farritor, Joseph Palmowski

Detecting Faults in Wind Turbines

11,519,821

Wei Qiao, Liyan Qu, Jun Wang

14-3-3 Targeting Peptides for Cancer Treatment

11,518,784

Nicholas Palermo, Laura Hansen, Sandor Lovas

Single Site Robotic Device and Related Systems and Methods

11,529,201

Thomas Frederick, Shane Farritor, Eric Markvicka, Joe Bartels, Jack Mondry

Quick Release End Effectors and Related Systems and Methods

11,576,695

Shane Farritor, Jeff Shasho, Alan Bachman, Kenneth Blier

Ozone-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructures

11,577,956

Chin Li Cheung, Anuja Bhalkikar, Christopher Marin, Tamra Fisher

Robotic Surgical Devices, Systems and Related Methods

11,617,626

Shane Farritor, Dmitry Oleynikov, Ryan McCormick, Tyler Wortman, Eric Markvicka, Amy Lehman, Kyle Strabala

Monolithic Integration of Hybrid Perovskite Single Crystals With Silicon for Highly Sensitive X Ray Detectors

11,607,870

Jinsong Huang, Wei Wei

Robotic Surgical Devices, Systems and Related Methods

11,617,626

Shane Farritor, Jason Dumpert, Yutaka Tsutano, Erik Mumm, Philip Chu, Nishant Kumar

3D Printing of Polymeric Bioceramics for The Treatment of Bone Defects

11,628,069

Nebraska Inventors: Ali Tamayol, Azadeh Mostafavi, Carina Russell

Bioavailable Curcumin Nanoparticles and Methods of Making

11,654,119

Ozan Ciftci

Magnoelectric Invertor

11,658,663

Andrew Marshall, Peter Dowben, Nishtha Sharma Gaul, Dmitri Nikonov

Systems for and Methods for Improving Mechanical Properties of Ceramic Material

11,667,581

Yongfeng Lu, Michael Nastasi, Bai Cui, Fei Wang

Devices and Methods for Eluting and Concentrating Large DNA Molecules

11,668,631

Kristy Kounovsky-Shafer, Cody Masters, Jocelyn Dolphin, April Vonderfect

14-3-3 Targeting Peptides for Cancer Treatment

11,685,766

Nicholas Palermo, Laura Hansen, Sandor Lovas

NUtech Ventures FY23 Metrics License Revenue $7.0M $6.0M $5.0M $4.0M

115

Patents Filed

31

Patents Issued

$4.47M

Royalties Distributed to Inventors, Colleges and UNL

$3.0M $2.0M $1.0M $0.0M

$6.1M

$6.4M

$6.5M

$6.4M

$5.7M

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

License Agreements 50

40

30

20

10

0

30

30

33

45

37

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Invention Disclosures 120 100

In 2023, for the sixth year in a row, the University of Nebraska System ranked in the top 100 academic institutions worldwide for issued U.S. patents.

80 60 40 20 0

112

106

2019

2020 37

92

113

105

2021

2022

2023

Innovator Awards Prem S. Paul Innovator of the Year - Thomas Clemente Tom Clemente is the Eugene W. Price Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. He is director of the state of the art Plant Transformation Core Research facility at the Center for Plant Science Innovation. His research includes developing tools for functional genomics and implementing genetic engineering for introduction of novel biotic and abiotic traits in the major commodity crops that benefit society.

One of his most substantive works involves genetic engineering of soybean plants with a dicamba-resistant gene. This led to development of dicamba-resistant soybean plants. This work was done in collaboration with Donald Weeks, Emeritus Professor in the Biochemistry Department at UNL. The discovery led to an exclusive license and research agreement with a plant biotechnology company, which helped develop other dicamba-resistant crops.

Breakthrough Innovation of the Year - Marc Maguire Marc Maguire, Associate Professor in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, received the Breakthrough Innovation of the Year award. The award recognizes a technology developed in the past year that will likely have a profound effect on industry, business or a field of study. Maguire led a UNL College of Engineering research team that developed a plant-based mixture for concrete masonry blocks. This plant-based mixture is environmentally friendly and sustainable and helps meet the world’s construction demands.

Additionally, the load-bearing capable, hemp-based composite is lighter than traditional cement while meeting the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for loadbearing masonry units regarding strength, water absorption and weight. Maguire noted that this new product has the potential to significantly change the construction industry.

Emerging Innovator of the Year - Brittany Duncan Brittany Duncan is this year’s Emerging Innovator of the Year. The award recognizes an individual, often a junior faculty member, for recent innovation contributions. Duncan is the Ross McCollum Associate Professor in the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a co-director of the NIMBUS (Nebraska Intelligent MoBile Unmanned Systems) Lab, where she and her team study unmanned systems (with a focus on aerial robotics). In 2018, Duncan was awarded a nearly $550,000 NSF Early Faculty Career Award to continue studying foundational interactions between novice users and small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs). The NSF grant supports pre-tenure faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research. Duncan’s long-term research goal is to advance the state-of-the-art in human-drone interaction so that sUAVs can comfortably and safely interact in proximity to a variety of people and communicate with them in a natural and efficient way across varying contexts.

Innovator Awards Startup Company of the Year - Thyreos The Startup Company of the Year is awarded to Thyreos Inc., co-founded by Nebraska’s Gary Pickard, Northwestern University’s Gregory Smith and Tufts University’s Ekaterina Heldwein.

This award recognizes a startup company that has made significant progress in becoming a sustainable business. Thyreos has developed a novel vaccine that protects against a range of neuroinvasive herpes viruses in animals and people. The vaccine is based on a patented recombinant herpesvirus platform that elicits robust immune response against herpesvirus without infecting the nervous system. In May 2022, Thyreos closed a $1 million series Seed B round of financing and was awarded a $1.6 million Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Fast-Track grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for preclinical development and study of an HSV-2 non-neuroinvasive live-attenuated vaccine based on Thyreos R2 technology. By selectively removing the herpes virus’s hallmark neuroinvasive potential, Thyreos R2 herpesvirus vaccines are designed to provide protection against infection.

Creative Work of the Year - Global Yield Gap Atlas The Global Yield Gap Atlas has been named the Creative Work of the Year. This award recognizes an individual or group who have developed a creative innovation, which is typically protected under copyright. UNL and Wageningen University in the Netherlands are the project’s coordinating partners. Patricio Grassini, the Sunkist Distinguished Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture, Kenneth Cassman, Emeritus Professor and Haishun Yang, Associate Professor in the Department of Agronomy, are key players on the UNL team.

GYGA is an online platform that estimates water productivity, crop nutrient requirements and yield gaps — the difference between current and potential yields — for major crops in 70 countries. NUtech Ventures has worked with the team to develop a licensing strategy for the platform’s data, which has been downloaded by more than 40,000 people worldwide.

Companies pay to use the data for commercial purposes, but government users and nonprofits can access it for free. The sponsorship program was implemented in 2021 and is already helping the project become financially self-sustaining.

Innovation Champion of the Year - Invest Nebraska Invest Nebraska builds a better future for the state of Nebraska by providing financial and operational assistance to high-growth companies, advancing the entrepreneurial economy, and attracting out-of-state capital to Nebraska. Their funds include the Nebraska Seed Investment Fund, in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development; a Venture Debt Fund, and the Invest Nebraska Loan Fund. Several thriving UNL startups have been supported by Invest Nebraska’s funding options, including Drone Amplified and Sentinel Fertigation. A key Invest Nebraska program that has found great synergy with UNL and NUtech Ventures is The Combine, a statewide initiative supporting high growth entrepreneurs in food and agriculture.

Empowering Emerging Inventors Business Model Canvas Offered to Faculty, Graduate Students and Others Every business needs a well-reasoned and thoroughly researched plan to succeed and the University of Nebraska — and its technology affiliate, NUtech Ventures — nurture aspiring entrepreneurs from business plan to startup.

To aid aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs, Dr. Sam Nelson, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, and Brad Roth taught valuable skills in person and via Zoom with their Business Model Canvas (BMC) workshop.

Workshop participants included grad students, faculty, post-doc researchers, undergraduates, and community members. Nelson and Roth helped participants understand critical components for success, including value propositions, competitive advantages, distinctive competencies, core competencies, customer segments and relationships, channels, revenue streams, and key resources and activities.

“The BMC workshop was fun, informative, interactive, and energizing for my entrepreneurship journey,” said Aria Tarudji, a post-doc researcher in UNL biological systems engineering. “I learned how to recognize the real customers of the business and how to fulfill their needs regardless of the business field. I think this workshop is a great stepping-stone for those starting their entrepreneurship journey."

NUtech Ventures’ Brad Roth with workshop participants.

“These workshops provide valuable opportunities for scientists to learn more about how to convert research concepts into business ideas.

—Bai Cui, Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Chemistry graduate student Temban Acha Billy, who hopes to provide affordable electricity to rural areas in Cameroon through off-grid solar panels to solve electricity poverty, called the seminar “a thrilling adventure.”

“I learned how to narrow my thoughts and fit them onto a business model canvas throughout the course,” he said. “I also discovered that the business model canvas is a simple approach to convey our business concepts to potential investors. I created my first business model canvas with the assistance of coaches in this workshop.”

Billy noted that about 50 percent of Cameroonians live in rural areas.

“The off-grid solar panels will rescue this community from this travesty by developing large-scale solar farm projects in rural areas council by council,” he said. “In addition, when they become my clients, they will gain knowledge that will allow them to purchase additional solar panels for use in other economic pursuits.”

Dr. Bai Cui, the R. Vernon McBroom Associate Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at UNL and co-founder of PromeMaterials LLC, also praised the course. “I really appreciate that NUtech Ventures organizes training workshops, including this one,” said Cui. “These workshops provide valuable opportunities for scientists such as me to learn more about how to convert research concepts into business ideas. The lectures in this workshop shared the most critical knowledge for beginners, and the class discussions helped me to refine business plans. Also, the NUtech Ventures team has been supporting and encouraging me in the journey to commercializing some new material and manufacturing technologies developed from my lab, including 3D printing.”

Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship Inclusiveness — equal treatment and a welcoming environment for all, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status — isn’t just a nice idea in the tech space. It’s a necessity for businesses, inventors and academics who want to stay relevant.

At a packed panel moderated by Cheryl Horst, associate director and IP counsel for NUtech Ventures at the City Campus Union, Latane E. Brackett III, former principal manager of innovation programs at GEM Fellowship; Molly Kocialski, regional director for the Rocky Mountain office of United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); and Morgan Scheurs, policy director for Invent Together, discussed how to ensure that diverse inventors are seen and heard in the technology transfer field. According to Invent Together’s statistics, women comprise 50 percent of the U.S. population, but only 13 percent of inventors listed on patents are women. At the current rate of progress, women won’t reach parity in patenting until 2092. Only about two percent of venture capital goes to women.

Scheurs promoted a valuable and free training program online for aspiring inventors, The Inventor’s Patent Academy. This free, one-of-a-kind, e-learning course aims to help people understand the patenting process and get them ready to apply for their own patent. It also explores challenges inventors may face along the way—particularly those that typically affect women, people of color, veterans, low-income individuals, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented inventors—and provides advice to overcome them. “Startups with patents employ an average of 16 more employees after five years than those without patents,” Scheurs said. “We’re committed to teaching the process so everyone can succeed.”

Cheryl Horst, Latane E. Brackett III and Molly Kocialski

“Startups with patents employ an average of 16 more employees after five years than those without patents.

—Morgan Scheurs, policy director for Invent Together

Molly Kocialski (center) with participants at the SIPLA panel.

Later in the day, two additional related events were held. A networking reception at the Mill on Nebraska Innovation Campus allowed the speakers to continue the conversations begun during the panel and meet with local businesses with the aim of recruiting company partners for the GEM Fellowship. A second event was held at East Campus, as USPTO’s Kocialski sat down with members of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA). SIPLA and NUtech Ventures co-hosted the event, held at McCollum Hall.

Kocialski noted that the USPTO furthers effective IP protection for U.S. innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide by working with other agencies to secure strong IP provisions in free trade and other international agreements. The agency advises the president of the United States, the secretary of commerce, and U.S. government agencies on intellectual property. It also provides training, education, and capacity building programs designed to foster respect for IP and encourage the development of strong IP enforcement regimes by U.S. trading partners.

Women in STEM: A Place at the Table

Dr. Elaine Hebets with Dr. Bob Wilhelm at the Women in STEM event.

NUtech Ventures’ Joy Eakin speaks at the Women in STEM event.

According to a report by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), women make up only 34 percent of the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Although this seems to be improving — according to the National Science Foundation, the share of academic doctoral positions held by women with science, engineering, and health doctoral degrees increased from 26.4 percent in 1999 to 38.5 percent in 2019 — there is still room to grow.

Nebraska’s STEM workforce is reflective of national trends, according to Nebraska Women in STEM’s latest study. In 2019, about 27 percent of Nebraska women 25 years or older worked in a core STEM occupation, estimated to be about 15,300 women. Data demonstrates that 85 percent of women in a STEM occupation in Nebraska are non-Hispanic white. Latinas account for 4 percent of women working in STEM occupations in Nebraska, Black women account for approximately 3 percent, Asian women account for 6 percent, and Native American women account for less than 1 percent of the STEM workforce.

In an effort to raise awareness for and provide opportunities for women, NUtech Ventures co-sponsored Nebraska Women in STEM’s first, and sold out, conference in Lincoln in March 2023. One of the awards honored Dr. Eileen Hebets, the George Holmes Professor of Biological Sciences at UNL. Dr. Hebets specializes in the evolution and function of animal communication, sensory systems and mating systems. Research in Hebets’ laboratory uses various arachnid groups to ask questions relating to the evolution and function of animal signals.

Dr. Shudipto Dishari, the Ross McCollum Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UNL, encourages women aspiring to a STEM career to “stay focused, get ready, never stop learning, and don’t be afraid to push boundaries.” Dishari also advises women at all levels in STEM fields to seek out mentors. “I wish I’d had more female mentors when I started in the field,” she said, adding that mentoring other women in the field is a commitment she takes seriously. It’s also a role for which she’s been recognized nationally. Dishari was honored by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and its Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division as one of its 2023 Early Stage Investigator Award winners. The award is given to people advancing scientific knowledge; engaging with and service to the nominee’s institution, national organization and community; mentorship and STEM workforce development.

Spotlight on Brittany Duncan

“Through NUtech Ventures’ programs, we’ve been able to learn about customer discovery and everything you need to know about starting a small business that academics never think about.

—Brittany Duncan, Associate Professor

Dr. Brittany Duncan is the Ross McCollum Associate Professor in the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as a co-director of the NIMBUS (Nebraska Intelligent MoBile Unmanned Systems) Lab. Her research involves the study of unmanned systems with a focus on aerial vehicles to improve their interaction with people and the environment. Much of what she’s doing now is observing how drones can help researchers understand the environment and climate in relation to migration activity in the face of Arctic warming, a collaboration with the University of Alaska – Fairbanks.

Duncan’s research highlights the interface of burgeoning fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and human behavior. She takes interest in people’s perception of robots, specifically small unmanned aerial vehicles, as they become more prevalent in our everyday lives. Her long-term research goal is to continually advance the study and application of drones so that they may comfortably and safely interact and communicate in close proximity to people. Duncan has long explored human-drone interactions through extensive fieldwork with the NIMBUS Lab in her current work at UNL and with the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue in her Ph.D. work. NUtech works closely with Duncan to assess the technology advancements in drone applications coming out of the NIMBUS lab and her work on campus.

Duncan praised NUtech Ventures for their partnership. “NUtech Ventures has been fabulous,” she said. “We’ve been able to work with them to protect our intellectual property, preemptively disclose and protect our products, and file provisional patents. Through their programs, we’ve been able to explore the possibility of a startup business and learn about customer discovery — everything you need to know about starting a small business that academics never think about.”

Been There, Herd That Successful vaccine startup and Innovator Award winner Thyreos aims to mitigate the effects of herpes viruses in cattle and people.

Researching viruses — particularly herpes viruses — is a longtime pursuit for Gary Pickard, Ph.D.,Professor of Neuroscience in UNL’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. So when he decided to dip his toe into the entrepreneurial world, he teamed up with Gregory Smith, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Ekaterina Heldwein, Ph.D., an American Cancer Society (Massachusetts Division) professor of molecular biology and HHMI Faculty Scholar in the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at the Tufts University School of Medicine to form Thyreos Inc., which develops herpesvirus vaccines and vaccine vectors for the animal health and human health markets.

Thyreos vaccines are based on a recombinant herpesvirus platform that elicits robust immune responses without infecting the nervous system. Herpes simplex viruses, known for causing cold sores and genital sores, are members of the herpesvirus family. This virus family also includes varicella zoster virus, the causative agent of chickenpox and shingles, and many veterinary pathogens that share a unique property — the ability to robustly invade the nervous system and quietly reside there lifelong. Periodic reactivation of the latent infection results in the contagious shedding of infectious virus, which is often associated with mild or sometimes severe disease.

Herpes viruses vary by species of mammals — cats, horses, cows and humans all have slightly different variants.

“However, whether you’re a cow or a cat or a horse or a person, the viruses do the same thing,” he said. “They infect epithelial cells and then jump into the nervous system.”

Thyreos’ proprietary technology selectively removes neuroinvasive potential by eliminating a viral component that is responsible for the transmission of these viruses into the nervous system. The component, R2, is named for region 2 of the pUL37 tegument protein. The neutered vaccines keep the nervous system pristine and free of virus while fortifying the immune system with remarkable efficacy. No adjuvants or repeat vaccinations are necessary. Thyreos is currently testing the efficacy of their bovine herpes virus R2 vaccine in cows.

In May 2023, Thyreos closed a $1 million series Seed B round of financing and also announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $1.6 million Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to develop a new vaccine to protect against herpes simplex virus type 2, which causes human genital herpes. To date, Thyreos has raised about $4 million in equity investments and grants.

“Whether you’re a cow or a cat or a horse or a person, the viruses do the same thing,” he said.

“They infect epithelial cells and then jump into the nervous system.” — Gary Pickard

Pitching Solutions, Solving Problems Entrepreneurship is alive and thriving at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as a number of undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Engineering proved at the 2023 Engineering Pitch Competition cosponsored by NUtech Ventures and UNL’s College of Engineering.

The competition, inaugurated in 2018, requires that teams of one to five UNL students solve an engineering problem. The judging was based on participants' ability to identify an important problem, formulate a value proposition related to solving that problem, estimate market size and describe their business model.

Participants had seven minutes to pitch their problems and solutions to the competition’s judges: John Wirtz, co-founder and chief product officer for Hudl; Brad Roth, president and executive director for NUtech Ventures, and Kathy Andersen, director of innovation and entrepreneurship for Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. Judges had time to ask follow-up questions of each team.

The competition featured awards for the top three teams, with the requirement to use the award money to further develop the business idea (travel, materials for prototypes, etc.)

First place, with a $3,000 prize, went to Beacon, a startup aiming to use American-made drones to perform safety inspections on bridges. The company was represented by co-founder Maci Wilson, a junior undergraduate computer science major at the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management.

First Place Beacon

Wilson noted that U.S. bridges are mandated to be inspected at least once every two years, typically by an inspector in a harness or an inspector in a snooper vehicle. Beacon’s model uses an autonomous, non-GPS reliant, U.S.-built drone system to perform routine bridge inspections, a market that Wilson expects to grow to $6.3 billion by 2029.

Second place, with a $1,500 prize, went to PartShopAI, a computeraided design (CAD) team represented by Paul Owens, a junior mechanical engineering and computer science student at the Raikes School.

The 3D CAD market was $9.95 billion in 2021, and Owens estimates that makers and hobbyists without design proficiency can boost the category by an additional $2.5 billion.

Second Place PartShopAl

Third place, with a $1,000 prize, went to Wearasense, which intends to offer a healthcare wearable. The team was represented by Patrick McManigal, a graduate research assistant of smart materials and robotics and Ph.D. student in computer engineering at UNL, and Spencer Pak, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student.

McManigal and Pak noted that the lightweight device detects clostridioides difficile bacteria, which is the most common health care associated infection. The bacteria were responsible for more than $1 billion in healthcare costs in 2017.

Third Place Wearasense

Prior to the competition, event organizers Joy Eakin, entrepreneurship program manager for NUtech Ventures; Jessica Minnick, technology manager for NUtech Ventures; Eric Markvicka, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and Traci Williams Hancock, business operations and customer success director for the Scott Data Center — offered coaching to all of the contestants.

Welcome to the Great Lakes I-Corps Hub! During the fall of 2022, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln joined a prestigious regional National Science Foundation initiative that helps get university scientists’ research into the real world.

Membership in NSF’s Great Lakes Innovation Corps Hub is building on and expanding Nebraska’s entrepreneurial efforts.

NSF established the Great Lakes I-Corps Hub in 2021. With Nebraska’s membership, the hub now includes 16 universities in nine states and is one of 10 regional hubs across the country. I-Corps engages academic scientists and engineers in innovation by providing world-class educational programs designed to train them to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and accelerate the transfer of cutting-edge research into commercial success.

Widely recognized as an effective training program in the U.S. and internationally, I-Corps addresses three urgent national needs: 1. Training an entrepreneurial workforce 2. Bringing cutting-edge technologies to market and enabling positive economic impact 3. Nurturing an innovation ecosystem Nebraska’s membership gives it expanded opportunities for entrepreneurship programs through the hub and its member institutions. The university has additional training opportunities to support its faculty, staff and student entrepreneurs, as well as access to a robust regional mentor and investor network.

Agriculture With a New Perspective Sentinel Fertigation helps farmers maximize yields and improve the environment

Stansell’s technology is a profit opportunity for farmers: yields to date have exceeded expectations by 10 percent, on average, and allowed growers to achieve an average of $166.59 more profit per acre in 2022.

Jackson Stansell in the field

Increasing farm profit while bettering the environment may sound impossible – but it is precisely what Jackson Stansell, founder and chief executive officer of Sentinel Fertigation, is doing with his N-Time system.

Sentinel Fertigation turns aerial imagery of crops into data-driven fertigation recommendations that increase crop yield per unit of nitrogen fertilizer applied. The N-Time fertigation management system sources satellite imagery for every enrolled field, analyzes it and advises farmers of the optimal times, amounts, and areas for the field to proceed with fertigation. The web application was built for agronomic advisors and their farmer clients and provides fertigation recommendations electronically. Stansell also signed a deal in April 2023 with John Deere to feature the N-Time system on Deere’s Operations Center, an online farm management system. In June 2023, Sentinel Fertigation released a smartphone app, which gives farmers the flexibility to remotely view data. In September 2023, Sentinel announced the closing of a $2.5 million series seed funding round co-led by Homegrown Capital, Grit Road Partners and Invest Nebraska.

Stansell’s data shows that users’ yields exceeded expectations by 10 percent, on average, and allowed growers to achieve an average of $166.59 more profit per acre in 2022. With this technology, farmers are also able to maximize their dollars, due to the fact that fertilizer prices are at an all-time high. Also, it’s important to mitigate the effects that nitrogen fertilizer has on the ecosystem; these recommendations can save as many as 42 pounds of nitrogen per acre. When nitrogen fertilizer is applied faster than crops can use it, soil bacteria converts it to nitrate, which, during runoff, pollutes groundwater. The nitrates also acidify the soil, and emissions of nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas) contribute to global warming.

Building Blocks for the Future Hemp might just be the new concrete — if Marc Maguire, an associate professor in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, has anything to say about it.

Maguire and his team set out to create a building material that has a lower carbon footprint than concrete, allowing builders to use more environmentally friendly and sustainable materials.

“This is the first truly weight-bearing masonry block made of hemp-based composite, and it can be used for residential or industrial settings,” said Maguire. “Ultimately, we hope to replace or augment traditional concrete masonry units.”

Marc Maguire

Maguire and his team use the woody core of the hemp plant, which has been shown to sequester carbon over its lifetime and during its growing period, as its central ingredient. The mixture’s binder also absorbs carbon over its lifetime. Testing revealed it removed 102 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents per square, about four times more than standard concrete mixes.

“The concrete industry has taken a lot of heat over the years about its carbon footprint,” said Maguire. “The industry has been looking for materials like this. Usually there are tradeoffs with this type of material — you want sustainability, but you trade off strength, or you trade off durability. But our hope with this is that there are no tradeoffs.”

Standard blocks on the market today have a minimum compression strength of about 2,000 PSI, Maguire explained. “Our blocks exceed that,” he said. “Our goal from the very beginning was to create a masonry composite that could replace a concrete masonry unit. Our blocks have the same mechanical and engineering properties as concrete masonry units. Our goal is to make sure this block does everything concrete masonry can, and that an architect or an engineer or an owner can say ‘I want that in my building’ and not have to jump through a lot of hoops.”

Maguire’s research has been supported by Global Fiber Processing, a Nebraska-based hemp processing company, and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. NUtech has worked with the Nebraska researcher and the industry sponsor to manage the patent and license processes. This partnership has led to the licensing of the hemp-based concrete composition by Global Fiber Processing for further commercial development, where there are plans to commercially license the blocks to concrete masonry unit manufacturers.

Maguire praised his involvement with NUtech Ventures. “NUtech’s done a great job of helping me get licensees and helping me with non-disclosure agreements so I can go out and market this idea and others,” said Maguire. “They’ve been great to work with.”

Partners in Entrepreneurship Nebraska’s startup ecosystem is vibrant — thanks to partnerships across the state from government, higher education, industry and community leaders. And it all starts on the Nebraska Innovation Campus, where NUtech Ventures is headquartered. NIC is also home to two important players in the Nebraska startup ecosystem: the Biotech Connector, which provides incubation and acceleration services to bioscience startups and high-growth biotech and research-based businesses, and the Combine, a statewide initiative supporting high-growth entrepreneurs in food and agriculture. Both are supported by another key player, Invest Nebraska.

Before embarking on the road to entrepreneurship, budding inventors need to determine if their concept supports an unmet market need. One smart way to examine that is by participating in the Nebraska I-Corps: Introduction to Customer Discovery program, open to Nebraska faculty, postdoctoral scholars, students and staff. The Nebraska ICorps program teaches aspiring entrepreneurs about value propositions, stakeholder ecosystems, interviewing prospective customers, and more. Participants interview people in their fields and learn which problems are important to them — and then consider what that means for potential business ideas.

Prior to forming a startup or before any enabling public disclosure is made, an invention should be formally disclosed to NUtech Ventures. Teams begin by licensing intellectual property, typically patents, from NUtech Ventures, before further developing the technology for commercial use. Typically, following the evaluation of the potential invention, NUtech Ventures will file an initial patent application that subsequently may be exclusively licensed by the startup.

Further, the licensee may provide input for the prosecution of the patent(s). This process results in the startup being able to pursue a path to develop the technology for commercial use.

Once an idea has been validated and patented, it’s time for further development — and there are a wealth of supporting programs and partners available to prospective entrepreneurs. Invest Nebraska plays a critical role in the statewide infrastructure of entrepreneurship and small business creation. With its location at Nebraska Innovation Campus, it offers the opportunity for startup founders to learn business basics while growing their networks.

The Nebraska Business Development Center, a cooperative program between the University of Nebraska system and the U.S. Small Business Administration, can provide business guidance and help entrepreneurs apply for financial support, including applying for SBIR/STTR loans and contacting relevant venture capitalists.

Another key player is Innosphere Ventures, which through its University Partner Program, works directly with tech transfer offices at leading research universities and supports founders who are building high-growth science and technology companies. Innosphere Ventures helps budding entrepreneurs determine if their invention supports an unmet market need.

CAPTION

TheCombine is a key player in the Nebraska startup ecosystem.

NUtech Ventures Interns 2023-2024 NUtech Ventures offers internships for undergraduate, graduate and professional students enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Interns come from diverse academic backgrounds, including law, science, business and communications. As alumni, they go on to pursue equally diverse careers in academia, industry, law and non-profits.

Students in these roles gain experience assisting with legal contracts, developing stakeholder reports and creating content. The program includes commercialization analyst internships, which are available to graduate students in chemistry, biology, engineering, food science and other technical fields. These students work closely with NUtech’s technology managers to evaluate newly disclosed technologies and conduct research on intellectual properties, market potential and commercialization readiness.

Jessie Sadlon

Tyrell Howsden

Commercialization Analyst Intern College of Law

Commercialization Analyst Intern College of Law

I really like the idea of exploring the crossover between law and biomedical research, so intellectual property is neat in the way that you can protect your time and effort into creating interesting work.

I was excited to find an opportunity that allowed me to work with and begin learning IP concepts. I also enjoy that it is connected to the University of Nebraska, which is a plus for me.

Luke Lacy

Taylor Durbin

Contracts Analyst Intern College of Law

Entrepreneurship Intern College of Business

I chose my current career field because of my interest in the intersection of technology and law.

Additionally, the role presented a great opportunity to learn more about contract law and what goes into licensing technologies.

I realized my passion for entrepreneurship as I created my first startup, and it has only grown. I love the field because I continue to learn so much every day. I enjoy the impact my work makes on the startup community.

Joseph Nieto

Lauren Eurich

Commercialization Analyst Intern College of Law

I chose my career field because I wanted to get into the space industry. I wanted to work with cool technology that was going to go up into the solar system and beyond. This is that bridge between my graduate and undergraduate career.

Communications Intern College of Journalism & Mass Communications

I want a job that allows me to be in a creative work environment that will challenge my design and creativity skills. This is a opportunity to apply myself into a real world setting and expand my skills as an Advertising/Public Relations & Graphic Design major.

Where Are They Now? Intern Alumni Updates Jessica Minnick Technology Manager, NUtech Ventures, Lincoln, NE B.S., Georgia College and State University, Chemistry Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Analytical Chemistry Commercialization Analyst Intern, 2019-2021

During my internship with NUtech, I most enjoyed being surrounded by people who love learning new things every day and who did everything to support me and my career as a scientist. After my internship, I joined the NUtech team full-time.

Heidi Roth Monoclonal Antibody Team Lead, Zoetis Inc., Lincoln, NE B.S.,Wayne State University, Chemical Health Sciences Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chemistry Commercialization Analyst Intern, 2020-2021

My internship gave me a strong foundation in understanding patent law and how prior art and infringement can impact freedom to operate. It made it much easier to understand why we could or could not do certain things on a project. I also found it much easier to communicate with external collaborators as I had a solid understanding of what material could be shared that wouldn't risk disclosure of company IP. Kathryn Zieno Design Patent Examiner, USPTO, Lincoln, NE Master of Architecture, Kansas State University J.D., University of Nebraska College of Law Contracts Analyst Intern, 2020-2022

My internship with NUtech gave me a strong foundation for my career. By learning the basics of patent prosecution, I was able to begin my job with the USPTO with a sense of confidence in my understanding of patent prosecution and the existing framework for patent protection.

Nataliia Vorobeva R&D Scientist and Fabrication Engineer, GrapheneDx, Boston, MA Bachelor’s degree, Kutafin Moscow State Law University Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chemistry Commercialization Analyst Intern, 2018-2020

During my time at NUtech, one of the skills that I sharpened was my ability to efficiently and effectively scour preexisting documents and literature to establish the “prior art,” or the information needed to help establish whether a technology was novel enough to be patented.

Consequently, I also sharpened my ability to process and condense this information to make important, data-driven decisions.

NUtech Ventures Team Joy Eakin Entrepreneurship Program Manager

Casey Lundberg Operations Manager

Aaron Funk Senior Contracts Negotiator

Jessica Minnick Technology Manager

Karen Gokie Operations Support Associate

Julie Naughton Marketing and Communications Manager

Courtney Grate Senior Intellectual Property Manager

Alisson Rios Intellectual Property Specialist

Cheryl Horst Associate Director and IP Counsel

Brad Roth Executive Director

Jeewan Jyot Director of Licensing

Scott Shaver Technology Manager

Nathan Hatch Technology Commercialization Fellow

Nathan Sheldon Contracts Manager

Michael Loes Technology Commercialization Fellow

Kelsey Sloup Financial Accountant

Board of Directors

Corporate Officers

Rodney D. Bennett University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Marc LeBaron Chairman

Michael Boehm University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Brad Roth President

Connie Edmonds E&L Associates

Mike Zeleny Treasurer

Marc LeBaron Lincoln Industries Natasha Plooster Bridgeport Investment Banking

Lacey Rohe Assistant Treasurer

Jay Wilkinson Firespring

Becky Zavala Secretary

2021 Transformation Drive, Suite 2220, Lincoln, NE 68508 (402) 472-1783 nutechventures.org