Three Indiana University faculty members have each received $25,000 grants from the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office’s Gap Fund to support the commercialization of their research projects. The Gap Fund is designed to help researchers at IU overcome barriers in bringing early-stage technologies to market by making them more attractive for investment, licensing, and partnerships.
Nick Hammond, IU associate vice president for innovation and commercialization, said, “Our grant recipients are poised to drive transformative change in education, chemistry and public health. Through the Gap Fund, we’re empowering their research, delivering practical solutions and shaping the future of innovation across the state.”
This year’s grant recipients include Alan Dennis from the Kelley School of Business in Bloomington. Dennis has developed a platform that generates videos from PowerPoint presentations using digital humans as presenters. These digital presenters can be customized by language, speaking style, age, race, and ethnicity through artificial intelligence translation tools. Dennis explained the next steps: “Our goal is to beta test the platform with faculty members and academic organizations in an effort to learn more about user preferences and to determine pricing for the service. This funding will help us begin video production.”
Amar Flood from IU Bloomington’s College of Arts and Sciences was also awarded a grant for his work on anti-corrosion technology. Flood is developing macrocycles that bind chloride ions—substances known to accelerate corrosion—thereby immobilizing them and preventing damage. Flood stated: “I am thankful for this award, as my team and I will be able to test out this new idea. If successful, we hope to add value to the large anti-corrosion industry through the development of this new technology.” He added: “I am also excited for my graduate students, as they will see firsthand how following up on research curiosity can lead to real-world impacts for industries and the economy of the U.S.”
The third recipient is Shahir Rizk from IU South Bend’s biochemistry department. Rizk is working on an affordable device capable of detecting glyphosate—a common herbicide linked with cancer risks—in water or soil samples within 30 seconds. Rizk said: “I am grateful for this funding because it will help turn our device from a prototype into a field-deployable, easy-to-use device that is market ready.” He credited his students’ contributions: “My goal is for everyday individuals who are curious about the safety of their water and soil to use this device, as well as for environmental monitoring or research purposes. The award will help us expand our work in the future where we can use our device to detect other molecules of importance in the environmental or medical fields.”
The Innovation and Commercialization Office collaborates with researchers at Indiana University along with local entrepreneurs in Indiana to move innovations toward commercial applications that benefit society and boost economic growth throughout Indiana.
Applications for the next round of ICO Gap Fund grants open August 15 with a deadline set for October 15.
