Researchers Receive I-Corps Team Award from NSF

University of South Dakota biomedical engineering professors Etienne Gnimpieba, Ph.D., and Carol Lushbough, M.A., have been awarded a National Science Foundation I-Corps Teams Program grant to help transition technology to the marketplace.

The award funds an innovative technology named the Resource Enhancement and Advanced Discovery System (READS) designed to assist users in locating the most relevant analytic tools and data using natural language capabilities.

The patent-pending technology will allow end-users to discover, reuse, validate, share and exchange knowledge related to data and analytic tools, which will greatly enhance users’ ability to answer challenging questions. The USD team is currently focusing on customizing this tool for geoscientists, financial analysts and biotechnologists.

The I-Corps Teams Program grant is designed to assist the university’s researchers in developing a focus beyond their academic laboratories, and is intended to advance the economic benefits of NSF-funded research by transitioning science to the marketplace.

Assisting Gnimpieba and Lushbough will include a team of two student entrepreneur leads, Riley Paulsen and Tayler Hoekstra, and a business mentor Kevin Hildring. This work is also being supported by the new student organization called the Dakota Research and Consulting Organization or DRACO for management and business development.