Faculty Innovation Fellows

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Application Deadline:  November 29, 2020, 11:59 pm 
Pitches/Interviews:  scheduled between December 7 - 11, 2020
Notification of Acceptance:   December 18, 2020
Program begins: January 13, 2021
Pitch Showcase:  May 2021 (date TBD)

UCLA's Faculty Innovation Fellows (FIF) is a campus-wide program aimed at advancing entrepreneurial excellence and startup culture among faculty.  Due to COVID-19, the program has transitioned to a virtual experience for the 2021 cohort.

Open to all UCLA faculty, 8-10 faculty-led teams will be invited to participate during winter and spring quarters 2021. The program is designed to advance innovative faculty projects into new startups, centers, or non-profits through a series of workshops and 1:1 venture consulting meetings.  Postdocs and project scientists may apply for program with a letter of support from their faculty supervisor.

The program culminates in a virtual public Pitch Showcase to the UCLA community and a network of local entrepreneurs and investors.

DEADLINE is NOVEMBER 29, 2020

APPLY HERE

Meet our past 2019 Fellows

 

ARIANA ANDERSON

Assistant professor-in-residence, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior: ChatterBaby – a new technology tool that deciphers the meaning of infant cries.

KARIDA BROWN

Assistant professor, Department of Sociology, UCLA School of Letters and Sciences – Division of Social Sciences: Du Boisian Scholar Network: W.E.B. Du Bois – an online social change platform that connects and empowers sociologists and grassroots social activists to collaborate on today’s most pressing social justice issues.

JEFF BURKE

Professor-in-residence and associate dean, Department of Theatre – Center for Research in Engineering, Media and Performance, of Theater, Film and Television, School of Theatre, Film and Television: XRA IV – a platform that brings live theatre and augmented reality together to create a next-generation entertainment experience.

LI CAI

Professor, co-director, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies: BESSTT (Building Educational Solutions for Students, Teachers and Trainers) – research-based educational assessment tools that improve student learning outcomes.

DANIEL LEVI

Professor, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine: Pediatric Covered Stents – stents designed specifically to meet the needs of pediatric heart patients.

HIRSCH PERLMAN

Professor, Department of Art, School of Arts and Architecture : Desktop Sculptures and Archeology – a web platform for artist and archeol- ogist providing modestly priced and modestly sized art objects, enabling cultural preservation, education and activism.

DAVID SHORTER

Professor, Department of World Arts and Culture, School of Arts and Architecture: Archive of Healing, Ritual, and Transformation – a searchable database of world-wide approaches to healing.

MITCHELL SPEARRIN

Assistant professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Henry Sam- ueli School of Engineering and Applied Science: Rocket Project – a four-year program that teaches university students how to build rockets and become the space engineers of the future.

ALEXANDER YOUNG

Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior: mWellness – an app that monitors patient mental health, allowing for early intervention and prevention of mental health crises.

JASMINE ZHOU

Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine: EarlyDiagnostics, Inc. – an accurate, affordable and non-invasive tool for early cancer detection.