William Colton, an OSU sophomore studying microbiology, is part of Paldara Pharmaceuticals, one of four groups of OSU students, faculty and industry mentors to receive $50,000 grants through the National Science Foundation I-Corps program.

OSU I-Corps teams receive grants of $200,000 from National Science Foundation

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Four groups of Oklahoma State University students, faculty and industry mentors have each been selected to receive $50,000 grants and additional mentoring through the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program.

The OSU I-Corps program, part of the School of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business, is one of only 99 throughout the country, and only one of a handful based in a business college.

“We are incredibly proud of these teams being accepted into the I-Corps National Program where they will explore the commercial potential of their research” said Richard Gajan, director of OSU I-Corps Site Program.

The four OSU teams recognized for qualifying for nationals are:

Ghost Display

The team is working to develop an infrared projection screen, which can offer an extremely large display screen with superior quality at a reasonable price.

Entrepreneurial lead: Gijun Seo, OSU doctoral student majoring in material science and engineering.

Co-entrepreneurial lead: Matthew Bamidele, OSU master’s in chemistry student.

Investigator: Dr. DoYoung Kim, OSU assistant professor of materials science and engineering.

Industry mentor: Hans Cho, United States Naval Research Laboratory.

They are currently participating in a virtual nationals program in Washington, D.C.

Microbe Finder (MiFi)

Microbe Finder is a software platform which utilizes E-Probes to search next generation sequencing tissue sample data files to make fast pathogen diagnoses.

Entrepreneurial lead: Dr. Andres Espindola Camacho, assistant research professor in the OSU National Institute of Microbial Forensics in Food and Agriculture Biosecurity (NIMFFAB).

Investigator: Dr. Kitty F. Cardwell, professor in the OSU Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and director of NIMFFAB.

Industry mentor: Dr. Georgios Vidalakis, professor and extension specialist in plant pathology at the University of California in Riverside.

They are currently trying to schedule participation in nationals in the fall.

The Membrane Team

This team is working on a ceramic membrane to treat produced water.

Entrepreneurial lead: Shailesh Dangwal, OSU doctoral student in the chemical engineering.

Technical lead: Dr. Seok-Jhin Kim, assistant professor of chemical engineering.

Industry mentor: John R. Grizz Deal, who has nearly 30 years of experience in technology commercialization, tech-based startups, fast-growing ventures and product development.

This team is currently participating in a virtual nationals program in Austin, Texas.

Paldara Pharmaceuticals

Paldara Pharmaceuticals is developing an innovative antimicrobial gel coating to be sold to and

used by existing urinary catheter manufacturers.

Entrepreneurial lead: Beau Blanchard, OSU master’s student studying entrepreneurship.

Product expert: William Colton, an OSU sophomore studying microbiology.

Business advisor: David Thomison, OSU clinical assistant professor and George Kaiser Foundation Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship.

Technical advisor: Dr. Matthew Cabeen, OSU assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics.

Industry mentor: Jacob Mahaffey, OSU adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and assistant director of Cowboy Technologies.

This team is in the process of scheduling its nationals program.

MEDIA CONTACT: Richard Gajan | Don R. Brattain Assistant Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship | 405-744-2356 | rgajan@okstate.edu