Technological advances made through engineering research can improve many aspects of people’s lives. To make a real impact, however, researchers need to expand their work beyond the lab, such as through entrepreneurship.
The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University provides many opportunities for faculty members and students to create startups based on their research, and supports them through programs including the Fulton Entrepreneurial Professorship Program.
This competitive two-year professorship program provides tenured or tenure-track faculty members with time and $200,000 in resources to accelerate their ASU ventures and increase their impact. The professors can defer teaching and lab responsibilities to focus on their entrepreneurial activities, which include working with patent attorneys, attending Small Business Innovation Research workshops and meeting with investors and commercialization experts.
Yezhou “YZ” Yang, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering, and Hamid Marvi, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, were selected among nine pitch competition finalists to be named the 2022 Fulton Entrepreneurial Professors.