University's NSF I-Corps Team and Mentor Garner Awards

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Team Acoustiflux, top from left: Christy Dunlap and Najee Stubbs; and bottom: Mentors Han Hu and Catherine Corley.

The U.S National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps, trademarked as I-Corps, is an immersive, seven-week entrepreneurial training program that prepares scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory. This experiential training program accelerates the economic and societal benefits of NSF-funded and other basic research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization.

At the recent NSF National I-Corps Southwest Winter Cohort 2024, Catherine Corley, a business and innovation consultant for the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, was named 'Star Mentor' for her work with Acoustiflux, the "Spirit of I-Corp" award-winning team.

Team Acoustiflux is composed of Christy Dunlap and Najee Stubbs, pursuing Ph.D. and master's degrees respectively, in mechanical engineering. Working under the supervision of Han Hu, assistant professor at the U of A College of Engineering, Acoustiflux developed technology for the non-intrusive heat flux measurements of thermal systems using acoustic sensing and artificial intelligence.

"It was a pleasure working with Catherine Corley. She played such a large role in our success in finishing the I-Corps program," Dunlap said. "This program is highly stressful, and through her guidance, high energy and motivation, we were able to overcome the challenge of securing and conducting interviews and working together more effectively."

I-Corps mentors have two primary roles. First, by being a third-party resource for the team, the mentor can help the team recognize and reduce confirmation bias during the customer discovery process. Second, the mentor should be someone who has industry contacts and knows the ecosystem of the target market area. "Through the I-Corps program, I was able to grow my network by talking to industry professionals in a related field, and it also provided me with more insight into the motivation behind my research," Dunlap said.

This is Corley's fifth time to serve as an NSF National I-Corps Industry Mentor to teams of faculty and students who are interested in commercializing their technology.

"Team Acoustiflux was chosen for the Spirit of I-Corps award because they showed their passion for the process and were open to pivoting, when necessary," Corley said.

In addition to mentorship, Corley also served as teaching team instructor at the summer 2023 National Science Foundation I-Corps Site program at the U of A.