NJIT Joins NSF Research Hub With Princeton, Rutgers, Delaware

New Jersey Institute of Technology today joined other area universities as part of a new regional research hub, funded by a $15 million National Science Foundation grant and led by Princeton University, to help faculty and students convert federally sponsored research into successful businesses.

Starting in January 2022, Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Northeast Hub members will provide entrepreneurial training, mentoring and resources, which enable researchers to form startup companies that rapidly translate laboratory discoveries into breakthrough products. Participants will build skills and generate opportunities among researchers from all backgrounds including those historically underrepresented in entrepreneurship, where NJIT excels.

The hub is one of five announced nationwide. It simplifies the federal government's previous structure for academic technology transfer, as compelled by the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act. NJIT has long been part of such transfer in the greater Newark area — as one of hundreds of standalone NSF I-Corps sites nationwide, and through the NJIT VentureLink startup incubation arm — and now brings its expertise to the hub at the affiliate level under principal institution Princeton and partner institutions Rutgers University and the University of Delaware. Other affiliates are Delaware State University, Lehigh University, Rowan University and Temple University.

Hub advocates noted that fields such as artificial intelligence, computing, energy, healthcare, material science and robotics, among others, are all open for further exploration and that the Northeast region is a prime location for these. The hub will build on robust industrial and government relationships of its member institutions to develop partnerships across industries that can leverage university-led federal research, they explained.

Translating research and innovation that will benefit society into market successes through the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems has been a long-term priority in NJIT’s strategic planning ... I look forward to the expanding opportunities to come as an integral part of this prestigious group.

“Translating research and innovation that will benefit society into market successes through the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems has been a long-term priority in NJIT’s strategic planning,” said NJIT's Atam Dhawan, senior vice provost for research and executive director of Undergraduate Research and Innovation (URI). “NJIT’s well-established participation in NSF vehicles such as I-Corps and Research Experiences for Undergraduates, as well as the creation of our own intensive innovation programs, such as the URI seed grant and undergraduate summer research programs, among many others, will make NJIT a vital partner in this hub. I look forward to the expanding opportunities to come as an integral part of this prestigious group.”

Specifically, "What it means is the investment that we've been making for the last decade is being recognized by the other schools," said entrepreneurship expert Michael Ehrlich, associate professor of finance in NJIT's Martin Tuchman School of Management. NJIT has been an NSF I-Corps site since 2014, hosting 240 faculty-student teams, a quarter of which gained additional funding to support commercialization. Diversity, equity and inclusion are equal priorities, with more than 75% of the teams in the last three years led by women or underrepresented minorities.

Under the NSF's previous arrangement, NJIT had approximately $100,000 per year available for Highlander-trained startup companies, but now that figure can substantially increase, Ehrlich said. NJIT will also be able to attract companies from a wider area, and can do even more if the university moves to the partner level in a few years, he said.

Compared to the previous sites-and-nodes model, hubs will be required to perform additional tracking and assessment; put more emphasis on expanding and developing the National Innovation Network; publish their plans for diversity and inclusion; fund teams that haven't yet identified industry mentors; and allow increased technical detail to be provided in each team's application.

“The convergence of different disciplines combined with the diversity of participants will lead to unbound possibilities in U.S. innovation and entrepreneurship,” added Princeton's Rodney Priestley, vice dean for innovation. “Furthermore, the U.S. will only maintain its global competitiveness by harnessing contributions from all members of society.”