skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: TOS MEETS THE NSF I-CORPS™ PROGRAM
The authors have presented their ideas for developing a powder sampling device in the I-Corps™ program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is an intensive customer discovery program developed to increase the economic impact of the research sponsored by NSF. The I-Corps™ program requires performing at least 100 interviews with potential customers in various industries. These interviews are essential to establish the need for a particular product or solution, and identify potential commercialization partners and competition. The interviews have revealed the absence of TOS principles in many companies. The interviews are designed to identify the difficulties or pain associated with current sampling practices that do not meet TOS principles. The I-Corps™ program is a significant challenge for scientists who often avoid discussing an idea in fear of losing their great research idea. The program teaches how to obtain information without releasing the important intellectual property related to a product development idea. The I-Corps™ methods have been used to discover the prevailing ideas on sampling in various industries. I-Corps™ also teaches how to present ideas to investors; another significant challenge for a scientist. We are currently learning to present sampling and TOS to investors and business development experts, and will share some of these experiences.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1659082 0540855
PAR ID:
10046902
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
8th World Conference on Sampling and Blending, Perth, Australia, Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Perth, Australi
Page Range / eLocation ID:
351-354
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. (, Proc. of the ASEE 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition)
    In this pilot study, we used the Interaction Dynamics Notation (IDN), originally designed for use with engineering design teams, to explore the dynamic interactions of five NSF I-Corps™ teams engaged in a simple design activity. Our aim was to relate these interaction data to selected cognitive characteristics of the team members, as well as team design outcomes and individual perceptions related to the experience. The individual cognitive characteristics we assessed focused on cognitive style, as measured by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation inventory (KAI), while team outcomes included the novelty, usefulness, and feasibility of each team’s design solutions, as well as their success within and beyond the NSF I-Corps™ program. Our findings show that the Interaction Dynamics Notation (IDN) can be readily extended to the study of entrepreneurial teams, with important insights gained from the combined study of interaction dynamics, individual cognitive characteristics as measured by KAI, and team outcomes. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility and value of this approach for investigating the dynamic interactions of NSF I-Corps™ teams, as well as product-focused design teams in general. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; (, Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability)
    Through I-Corps™ customer discovery interviews (NSF Award 1925391), the authors determined that early and mid-career data analysts would be positively benefitted by the development and commercialization of an interactive software tool designed to assist in the selection of statistical tests for their real-world applications. The primary advantage addressed with this innovation is the concomitant reduction in time spent by data analysts in training and/or researching which statistical method to employ for a specific application. This paper details the development of the Stat Tree™ software prototype to accomplish those goals. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; (, Education + Training)
    Purpose This paper addresses the significance of training students in entrepreneurship to enable sustained national and international competitiveness in the knowledge-based global marketplace. Entrepreneurial education is varied, ranging from basic to in-depth courses, including customer-focused programs, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. This program is nationally-renowned with strong academic roots. A full site was launched at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in January 2015 and was the first I-Corps program in the state of Florida. Design/methodology/approach This paper addresses the importance of entrepreneurship education, reviews the available national training programs in entrepreneurship, presents the design methodology of the NSF I-Corps program, and analyzes the results of the teams who have participated in the NSF I-Corps program. Findings The results are categorized into innovative areas and show the percentage of teams who participated in the I-Corps program in each area. It also identifies the percentage of teams who engaged in actual startup activities following I-Corps participation. Practical implications Educators, students, and trainers can use the findings to benchmark the outcomes of training programs in entrepreneurship. Students and innovators interested in participating in I-Corps can use this paper to obtain insights and a broader understanding of what was done in terms of results and implications. Originality/value This paper contributes a unique analysis of the I-Corps program approach and its outcomes since its launch in 2015 and can be used as a reference for any training program in entrepreneurship. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching)
    Wearables are a multi-billion-dollar business with more growth expected. Wearable technology is fully entrenched at multiple levels of athletic competition, especially at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and professional levels where these solutions are used to gain competitive advantages by assessing health and performance of elite athletes. However, through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) training experience, a different story emerged based on pilot interviews from coaches and trainers regarding the lack of trust in wearables, and how the technology falls short of measuring what practitioners need. An NSF I-Corps project was funded to interview over 100 strength and conditioning coaches (S&CCs) and athletic trainers (ATs) regarding the current state of wearables at the NCAA and professional levels. Through 113 unstructured interviews, a conceptual map of relationships amongst themes and sub-themes regarding wearable technology emerged through the grouping of responses into meaning units (MUs). Interview findings revealed that discussions by S&CCs and ATs regarding wearables could be grouped into themes tied to (a) the organizational environment, (b) the athlete, and (c) the analyst or data scientist. Through this project, key findings and lessons learned were aggregated into sub-themes including: the sports ecosystem and organizational structure, brand development, recruiting, compliance and gamification of athletes, baselining movement and injury mitigation, internal and external loads, “return tos,” and quantifying performance. These findings can be used by practitioners to understand general technology practices and where to close the gap between what is available versus what is needed. 
    more » « less
  5. ; (, Techconnect World Innovation Conference and Expo)
    Prior research details the large gap that exists in the technological transfer of innovation between HBCUs and non-HBCUs. This is compounded by HBCUs being under-resourced and having a reduced focus on research and innovation. Several federal and private organizations are funding HBCU innovators aimed at transforming them into revenue-generating entrepreneurs. One of such federally funded programs, the NSF-CREST Center for Nanotechnology Research Excellence in the University of the District of Columbia is promoting innovation and intellectual property generation at HBCUs. Another federally funded program, NSF I-Corps focuses on training HBCUs innovators on the commercialization of innovations. The training aims at identifying key customer segments through interviews. This paper discusses how our innovation, the Pumpless Solar Thermal Air Heater functions and how we are promoting its commercialization using the NSF I-Corps customer discovery strategy. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email