grants

University of Miami, College of Engineering E-Team

University of Virginia-Main Campus - $14000.00

An E-Team course for juniors and seniors within the College of Engineering, the initial area of focus for this program is biomedical innovations that build on existing coursework. The course runs for two semesters, and successful E-Teams are encouraged to apply for Advanced E-Team funding in the second semester. Teams are supported to design and patent projects.

During the first semester the teams develop a business plan and attend weekly lectures on topics such as intellectual property, market analysis, budget development, and manufacturing. In the second semester, the teams meet biweekly to report progress and solve problems found during independent work. At the end of the second semester, they present a prototype and marketing plan. Support is available for teams that decide to continue their projects

Simple Anastomosis Device Team

Stanford University, 1999 - $20,000

The standard method surgeons use to join grafted blood vessels to host vessels in cardiac bypass surgery is called hand suturing. This procedure creates a tight seal but is time-consuming and subject to a "purse-string effect," a common cause of bypass surgery failure. In most cases, the heart must be arrested during the procedure, leading to poor recovery and multiple complications. This E-Team received funding to develop and prototype a device that joins grafted blood vessels to host vessels in cardiac bypass surgery. The technology joins the vessels together without the complicated maneuvers that are difficult to perform on a beating heart. The procedure requires only fifteen seconds to implant the device and establishes the required "intima to intima contact" (the inside of one vessel to the inside of another vessel) between the anastomosed vessels.

The device is low cost and straightforward to manufacture. Due to its simplicity, surgeons can easily adopt the device and method since it does not require extensive training. The device that the team designed allows for minimally invasive surgery and would have fewer complications than other options.

A Venture Capital Fund to Encourage Rapid Product Development in the Junior and Senior Clinic

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater - $30000.00

A renewal and extension of Rowan University funded Junior Engineering Clinic I and Junior Engineering Clinic II, this program supports a joint Rowan/NCIIA Venture Capital Fund. The Venture Capital Fund provides the opportunity for multidisciplinary E-Teams to propose, plan, and implement an original, semester-long product development enterprise. Student E-Teams involved in the program create a corporate structure to develop a prototype and write a business plan in one semester. Teams must form early, have an original idea, and be interdisciplinary in order to receive funding. Teams who do not receive NCIIA funding in the course join other teams or work with an industry or faculty sponsored project

ME 446 - Integrated Design II: Drag Reduction of Tractor-Trailers

Hampton University - $15500.00

Lessening the pressure drag on trailers can increase fuel efficiency in long haul semi-trucks. Clarkson University and Composite Factory, Inc., are jointly developing a drag reduction device that could cut fuel consumption by 5%, potentially saving US truckers about $2 billion per year.

Update: This project has spawned several graduate degrees, undergraduate research projects and received a grant from NYSERDA for over $300k. The team also made the news:

The Why Files

YubaNet.com

FleetOwner.com

BUS 100 - Business Perspectives

Clark Atlanta University - $6000.00

This course in technological entrepreneurship is part of a new program in technology entrepreneurship within the school of business. The course reaches over 200 freshmen and involves mentoring by senior students, seminars and visits to J&J plants. Business plans and presentations are the main deliverables. The course is well-supported by faculty and the administration, with plans proposed to fully fund it after its second year.

MME 498,499 Senior Design

Clarkson University - $2000.00

UAB's current senior design curriculum is based on mechanical engineering design teams solving industrial-based problems. The problems are formulated by industrial clients who must be satisfied with the final product offered by the design team. This NCIIA-funded program keeps the current client/team format of the design process while adding to selected teams a business component comprised of a marketing team member from the MBA program or Engineering Management program at the UAB School of Business and a patent attorney mentor from the local community.

Projects selected for E-Team design must develop a business plan, conduct market research, and perform a patent search. The design team incorporates the business plan and results from the market analysis and patent research into product design. The team submits the written reports on the business plan, market analysis, and patent research, demonstrates how these plans and studies were incorporated into the product design, and explains how the design was affected by these inputs. The team also builds a prototype of the product and provides test information demonstrating its effectiveness in meeting the design goals

Stanford Medical Device Course & Prototype

Stanford University - $45000.00

This E-Team program supports the development of early stage commercialization of products formed within the Medical Device Network at Stanford University. The program draws on the Medical Device Design Program in the medical school and the Product Realization Lab in the engineering school. The program combines three elements. The first is the twice yearly Medical Device Invention Challenge, where students design solutions around a medical problem ripe for innovation. The program also offers a new course sequence in medical device design that is open to undergraduate and graduate students and will be a combination of lectures and team projects. The last development supports medical device ideas that occur outside the sequence of courses, called Medical Device Prototyping Pathways. Typically, this part of the program requires student independent study where the faculty develops pathways and student-driven E-Teams with mentors

Integrated Principles of Business II - BUAD 302

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo - $10009.00

This program is the continuation and expansion of a course sequence in entrepreneurship and product development. The courses are taught by faculty in management, marketing, operations, and law. Faculty and students communicate using Blackboard.com, a site that allows the faculty to place course materials online and where students may post and share information. Eight E-Teams are formed and charged with developing product ideas and initial marketing plans during the first semester. In the second semester, students further develop their concepts, define production and service requirements, and create a business plan. Each team has its own online space for discussion, a whiteboard, and a drop box for file sharing. A network of graduate students and mentors support the student teams formed in the course

A Novel Digital Bathroom Scale

University Nevada-Reno - $17,000

Unlike most scales that sit on the floor, this scale replaces the seat of a toilet, thus combining the function of the scale with the form of a toilet seat. The team researched, invented, designed, constructed a prototype of the scale, and demonstrated both the functionality and the appeal of the product. The scale is designed to function and mount, via hinges, onto a commode just as a standard toilet seat.

The Toilet Scale may be sold as a novelty gift, home improvement item, or as a health care device.

MedScan3D: The Development of an Affordable Three-Dimensional Ultrasonic Scanner for Medical Applications

Ramapo College of New Jersey - $19720.00

This team is developing an ultrasonic scanning system that scans and creates an image of the exterior of human body parts in three dimensions. The initial uses for the device will be medical applications such as the development of orthodic devices. Using new ultrasonic transducer technology, the team is funded to assemble, develop, and test a scanning helmet or barrel that will provide a CAD compatible output of the exterior surface of the scanned person or object.

The team plans to patent and license the technology. The technology should be of comparable quality to laser-based scanners, easy-to-use, portable, and less expensive than existing products.

The faculty advisor has assembled a group of advisors from the medical industry, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical and aeronautical engineering, as well as an expert in business and entrepreneurship. The students working on the project are recruited from a design course that he instructs.