The Office of Economic Development is hosting a series of informational sessions about the newly created Commercialization Fund and Gap Fund in February, March and April. Stacy Leeds, vice chancellor for economic development, and David Hinton, associate director of Technology Ventures, will meet with faculty from various disciplines to share details and answer questions.

The first meeting is scheduled for from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, for faculty from the College of Engineering and natural science disciplines in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The meeting will be in Gearhart Hall, Room 130. Lunch will be provided.

The Commercialization and Gap funds are subsets of the Chancellors Fund and provide resources for work that has applicability to the marketplace. The Commercialization Fund will award $1 million each year to help propel technologies with strong market potential to commercial readiness. The spring 2019 application period is March 1-31. The Gap Fund will award up to $100,000 to teams that have completed the National I-Corps program and are launching a startup company. Applications for the Gap Fund are accepted on a rolling basis.

Two additional information sessions are planned in the coming months. On March 7, Leeds and Hinton will meet with faculty from the Sam M. Walton College and Business and the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. The two will meet with faculty from School of Art and social science disciplines in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences on April 8.