Propelling Research Commercialization
Read more about it in this news story announcing the NSF Art grant.
Introduction
In 2024, the University of Central Florida (UCF) was awarded the National Science Foundation Accelerating Research Translation (ART) grant. The ART initiative aims at enhancing translational research—turning academic discoveries into practical solutions. The ART program is well-aligned with UCF’s Strategic Plan, which emphasizes Discovery and Exploration, focusing on increasing patents, licenses, startup companies, and research expenditures.
UCF is collaborating with Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Florida, both of which have a strong track record in research and innovation, ensuring UCF’s long-term growth and success in research translation.
Through the ART program, UCF’s innovators will advance research into real-world applications and provide economic and societal impact. Read more about the ART program in this news story announcing the NSF Art grant.
What Are We Going to Do and How, Alignment with ART.
UCF’s NSF ART (titled: ART: From Research to Impact, Building the Translational Capacity of UCF’s Innovation Ecosystem) has five objectives, which constitute ART’s long-term vision. The activities, correlated with the objectives, will be implemented and continually evaluated and optimized.
UCF NSF ART Objectives
- Infrastructure Creation and Expansion
- Education and Training
- Seed Translational Research Projects (STRPs)
- Ambassador Network
- Diversity and Inclusion
Cohesive and Experienced Team
UCF’s ART team has been assembled to ensure not only instructional commitment to this effort but also institutional commitment to its sustainability and scalability, and to its diversity. The team includes (PI Garibay) Director of the Complex Systems Laboratory and founding director of the UCF I-Corps Sites program; interim Vice-President for Research and Innovation (Co-PI Schoenfeld); Director of the Office of Technology Transfer (Co-PI Shtrom), Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (Co-PI, Ford); Director of the VARLAB, NAE member (Co-PI Cruz-Neira), Vice President for Access and Community Engagement (Sr. Personnel Guzmán) and other research translation leaders.
Key Person
Title
Expertise
Dr. Ivan Garibay
Principal Investigator (UCF); Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering & Management Systems
I-CorpsTM Founding Director and I-CorpsTM Site Co-PI; Large Complex Grant Experience, Innovation Ecosystem Researcher
Dr. Winston Schoenfeld
Co-Investigator; Vice President of Research and Innovation
UCF Research Clusters
Dr. Svetlana Shtrom
Co-Investigator; Director of the Office of Technology Transfer
Commercialization
Dr. Cameron Ford
Co-Investigator; Director of Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Blackstone Launchpad
Entrepreneurship
Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira
Co-Investigator; Agere Chair Professor
Multi-Sector Partnerships
Dr. Cecily McCoy-Fisher
Program Manager; Assistant Director of Technology Transfer & Entrepreneurship
Program Management in Research Translation
Carol-Ann Dykes Logue
Senior Personnel; Director of Business Incubation Program
Startups & Business Incubation Programs
Dr. Andrea Guzmán
Senior Personnel; Vice President for Access and Community Engagement
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Kelli Murray
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Coaching
Dr. Michael Georgiopoulos
Senior Personnel; Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Leadership, Innovation, Research, and Education
Dr. Thomas O’Neal
Senior Personnel; Professor, Industrial Engineering & Management Systems
I-CorpsTM, Business Incubation Program, Commercialization
Dr. Michael Lynch
Senior Personnel; Instructor, Blackstone Launchpad
Experienced Founder
Cassandra Willard, Esq.
Senior Personnel; Instructor and Program Director, Blackstone Launchpad
Entrepreneur Mentor; Intellectual Property Law
Dr. Mark Heinrich
Senior Personnel; Associate Professor and Undergrad Coordinator, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Startups
Oscar Rodriguez
Senior Personnel; Founders Academy, Engineering Leadership Institute, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Inventions
Dr. Daniel Eilen
Senior Personnel; Associate Director of the Master of Science in Data Analytics
Innovation Education and Recruitment
Dr. Jeff Gish
Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship; Director of Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship & Innovation Education
Dr. John Weishampel
Dean of the College of Graduate Studies
Graduate Education
Dr. Jade Laderwarg
Assistant Director of Postdoctoral Affairs
Postdoctoral Research Translation
Tyler Campbell
Assistant Director of the College of Graduate Studies
Graduate Studies
Dr. Guifang Li
University of Florida; Venture Lab expertise, organizational integration, evaluation
Seed Translational Research Project Principal Investigator
Dr. Yogesh Singh Rawat
Senior Personnel; Assistant Professor, Center for Research in Computer Vision
Seed Translational Research Project Principal Investigator
Dr. Keith McGreggor
Principal Investigator (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Venture Lab Expertise, Organizational Integration, Evaluation
Jim O’Connell
University of Florida
Venture Lab Expertise, Organizational Integration, Evaluation
Dr. Jim Woodell & Arthur Smith
Evaluators
Experienced External Evaluation Expertise for Program Impact, Developmental Evaluation, University Engagement
Partnerships
Community partners will support the project through participation as ART Ambassadors, potential roles on the Advisory Board, and STRP project identification and participation. One example of community partnership to spotlight is the Florida High Tech Corridor, a non-profit economic development initiative with the mission to align opportunities and resources to grow high-tech industries and workforce. The Corridor will support the proposed ART Program by aiding STRP selection and rallying broader innovation ecosystem support for projects.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
An important aspect of UCF’s ART program is to ensure that the leadership and the cohorts of faculty, post-doctoral and student trainees are broad, diverse, and inclusive. In addition, we aim at cultivating a climate of inclusion where all members of UCF’s ART program feel welcomed, valued, and respected. As one of the largest and most diverse institutions in the nation, UCF has the potential to do more than build capacity and infrastructure for translational research. With this award UCF has the ability to drive innovation, support evolving industry needs, and yield broader social and economic impact by diversifying translational research and preparing researchers for a wider range of career options. As such, we have assembled a project team that is diverse in demographic makeup and expertise.
Equity Response Team
The purpose of this survey is to collect feedback on activities related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Your feedback can be anonymous and will be used only to help us improve future activities.
To leave anynomous feedback please fill out this Qualtrics Survey linked here.
Contact Us
For inquiries regarding the UCF NSF ART Program, please reach out to Dr. Cecily McCoy-Fisher at cecily.mccoyfisher@ucf.edu.
Dr. McCoy-Fisher, the Program Manager, is available to provide detailed information about program goals, application procedures, and any other questions you may have.
