A Hub of Invention

UCI Beall Applied Innovation evolves to better serve academics and alumni alike

By Alison Van Houten

In 2020, Beall Applied Innovation moved into a sparkling new home at UCI Research Park. The 31,000-square-foot Cove, a state-of-the-art hub in which innovators can work and connect, was a portent of even more exciting things to come.

Since 2014, BAI has been an on-campus unit that strives to increase the influence of UC Irvine’s research.“We do that primarily by helping teams commercialize the research that’s coming out of the campus,” says Errol Arkilic, chief innovation officer at UC Irvine and executive director of BAI.

About two years ago, BAI decided to zero in on four primary industries: therapeutics, medical devices, sustainability and artificial intelligence for storytelling. These days, 40 people oversee industry-sponsored research, new-venture creation, a skunkworks branch called Enterprise Collaborations and, most importantly, technology licensing in the Research Translation Group.

“We made an intentional shift to really focus on the ideas that are coming out of the labs that are backed by federal funding and industry and come with deep intellectual property,” says Arkilic, who joined BAI in 2021.

He established one of BAI’s key initiatives, I-Corps, earlier in his career while working for the National Science Foundation. The federal grant program helps academics learn how to pursue a business model analysis to determine the value of their intellectual property.

“When I was at NSF, I found that an enormous number of academic researchers didn’t have any experience in assessing business opportunities enabled by their discoveries,” Arkilic says. “We developed this program to ensure that there’s a disciplined approach to identifying whether or not a company should be formed.”

BAI’s flagship program is Proof of Product, which offers $25,000 to $100,000 grants to researchers with promising discoveries. The funds aid in a range of activities, including prototyping and feasibility studies, as well as the customer-discovery process. But BAI doesn’t just help would-be entrepreneurs.

Arkilic encourages alumni who are confronting obstacles in their professional fields to consider UC Irvine a place to turn for assistance. “Research challenges aren’t just scientific,” he says. “They’re also economic. They’re also HR-related. They’re also marketing-related. They’re psychology-related. We have a very powerful research organization that can help alumni with the issues they’re faced with in their day-to-day jobs through applied research.”

BAI serves a larger purpose as well: burnishing the university’s reputation. Says Arkilic: “The stature of the university is a function of its impact on society, and the impact on society is a direct result of turning research into products and services.”

Research challenges aren’t just scientific. They’re also economic. They’re also HR-related. They’re also marketing-related. They’re psychology-related. We have a very powerful research organization that can help alumni with the issues they’re faced with in their day-to-day jobs through applied research.

The Blue Box

Judit Giró Benet, M.S. ’00, embedded and cyber-physical systems

Existing breast cancer detection technology is expensive, and it requires machinery and expertise that not everyone can access. Enter: The Blue Box, a portable, affordable and more easily used alternative. Created by Spanish biomedical engineer Judit Giró Benet, this urine reader has a proprietary electronic nose that senses breast cancer biomarkers that become volatile when a sample is heated. The data is then analyzed by an AI model developed at Beall Applied Innovation that recognizes patterns predicting cancer with 88 percent sensitivity. Her company plans to run clinical trials in 2025 and hopes to launch in gynecology clinics by 2026.

FirstElement Fuel

Tim Brown, Ph.D. ’08, mechanical engineeringShane Stephens, Ph.D. ’11, engineering

Transportation and sustainability researcher Tim Brown was frustrated by the world’s sluggish embrace of hydrogen, a zero-emissions fuel that produces only water vapor, to power fuel-cell electric vehicles. In 2013, he and fellow UC Irvine engineering alum Shane Stephens helped co-found Irvine-based FirstElement Fuel, which is developing the infrastructure necessary for more widespread adoption of this green technology. The company’s True Zero network of refueling stations in California is now the world’s most extensive.

Birdies

Bianca Gates ’20, international studies

Bianca Gates just wanted chic slippers for entertaining guests at home. But the company she co-founded in 2015 exploded in popularity, becoming a cushy going-out staple for celebs like Meghan Markle and Katie Holmes. Gates rode the wave with savvy, and these days, the shoe range even includes boots – with the signature comfort that made Birdies so beloved in the first place.

Mind Brain Emotion

Jenny Woo, Ph.D. ’22, education

When human development researcher Jenny Woo realized how influential emotional intelligence is in people’s lives, she set out to assist kids and adults in developing it. Nurtured at BAI, Woo’s award-winning Mind Brain Emotion card decks cover a range of themes, from social situations and relationships to critical thinking and workplace challenges. Each card features prompts and exercises to help users consider hypothetical scenarios and apply researchbacked techniques to navigate them.