Spark Fund announces awards to 4 UA innovation teams

The Spark Fund, an initiative of The University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF), has announced four $25,000 awards to support prototyping and testing for UA innovation teams. Spark Fund aims to help UA faculty generate the proof needed for their technology to be licensed to a scalable startup company. 
 
The funded projects are: 

• “Auxilium” chronic wound treatment + monitoring device, developed by BF Goodrich Professor of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering Sadhan Jana, polymer engineering Ph.D. candidate Aparna Agrawal and mechanical engineering Ph.D. candidate Isaiah Kaiser 
• “Hypogenica" carbon-negative CaCO3 production, developed by Professor of Biology and Geoscience Hazel Barton, technician Reilly Blackwell, technical lead George Breley, and student assistants Jaden Waddell and Isabella Manning 
• “OPI Wipe” fentanyl detecting wet wipe, developed by Professor of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering Abraham Joy and biomedical engineering student Caitlin Zolinger 
• “PIU” synthetic heart valve material, developed by Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Polymer Science and Chemistry Joseph Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering James Eagan and Ph.D. candidates Arsalaan Nisar Pathan, Chinnapatch Tantisuwanno and Yuliana Ospina-Yepes  

 
“The Spark Fund takes research to the next level. It moves promising innovations one step closer to solving real-world problems and filling documented needs,” UA Vice President for Research and Business Engagement Suzanne Bausch said. “These projects represent a small sample of the amazing innovations UA faculty and students are working on in our labs.” 

Dr. Bausch added that she looks forward to seeing more innovations funded by Spark Fund throughout 2023. 
To qualify for Spark Fund, applicants needed to have a patent application or provisional patent application filed through UA's Office of Technology Transfer, show proof of principle or proof of concept work that indicates the technology is likely to work, and demonstrate an understanding of the potential market for the technology based on conversations with real customers completed through an I-Corps program. 
 
Spark Fund is supported by the State of Ohio, Ohio Department of Development and Ohio Third Frontier.