ASU science laboratories receive technology from AZ Furnace, Arizona Commerce Authority and BioAccel to encourage faculty and students to commercialize technology in Arizona.ASU is partnering with entrepreneurial program AZ Furnace this fall to turn various patented technologies into start-up companies.
AZ Furnace is a six-month-long start-up program for entrepreneurs to commercialize patented lab technology such as life sciences, hardware and energy innovations that have been developed by state research centers.
Teams of entrepreneurs will develop the various technologies patented by the state, said Gordon McConnell, executive director of Venture Catalyst at ASU Skysong.
He said the program has never been implemented elsewhere, but he hopes if successful, the venture will expand to other states.
“Let’s do something different with the technology that has been protected,” McConnell said.
Instead of developing new technology, AZ Furnace teams will work on already created ideas, he said.
AZ Furnace hosts events for interested applicants to meet one another and begin to form teams, McConnell said.
He said they aren’t sure how many people will apply for the program, but they had close to 150 people at two of its past events. The teams that are chosen are given initial seed funding, office space and mentoring.
Applications close Oct. 15.
NAU and UA have also partnered with AZ Furnace, and the program is open to anyone in the state.
Computer engineering postdoctoral research assistant Troy McDaniel is applying for the AZ Furnace program.
“My motivation for applying for AZ Furnace is to try and eventually get into the business side of (computer engineering),” he said.
McDaniel wants to develop the Cyber-Physical Systems for Stroke Rehabilitation, a wearable sensor for stroke patients that helps monitor survivors and can be used in a clinic or at home. It is one of many technologies that are available through AZ Furnace.
He said he first became interested in advancing his research after participating in the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps over the summer.
The NSF I-Corps trains researchers to be entrepreneurs and talk to their potential customers, McDaniel said.
“The reason that (AZ Furnace) really interested me is that it would take me to the next step forward,” he said.
He said having a broader impact is important to him and winning the AZ Furnace project would help him do that.
McDaniel is working with Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing, who will serve as his adviser, but is still looking for someone with business experience to join his team.
McDaniel said teams applying for AZ Furnace need to be diverse.
Panchanathan said he is pleased to be able to support McDaniel and help him figure out how to take their product from the lab to the marketplace.
He said AZ Furnace would give them the means to create a start-up company and eventually receive other funding from investors and the government.
“(AZ Furnace) is exciting for me, exciting because (McDaniel) is the right person and has the aspiration to be a successful entrepreneur,” Panchanathan said.
Reach the reporter at mncosta1@asu.edu
