Transforming budding business ideas into viable startup businesses can be intimidating, even for the most ambitious students, faculty and community members.

NUtech Ventures aims to make that process easier and recently hosted From Idea to Startup: a two-day workshop designed to move ideas out of the lab and into the mainstream. The event, held at the Nebraska Innovation Campus, was co-hosted by NUtech Ventures, the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, the Nebraska Public Power District and Innosphere Ventures.

“We designed this workshop not only to train our university entrepreneurs on topics they need to learn in order to create a startup; we also wanted to immerse them in the incredibly supportive entrepreneurship ecosystem that we have here in Nebraska and the broader Midwest. I think we accomplished that,” said Joy Eakin, entrepreneurship program manager for NUtech Ventures.

Others wholeheartedly agree. “This excellent workshop had an engaging set of activities that helped individuals learn the key steps in evolving their cutting-edge research into a business entity,” said Mark Riley, associate dean for research for UNL’s College of Engineering and Associate Director of the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research. “Most faculty have minimal business experience, but Nebraska offers quite a number of support structures and facilitation which provide a great opportunity to explore entrepreneurship with guidance and safety nets. Now is a great time for researchers to tap into these resources available in Nebraska. And there are a lot of people willing and able to help give entrepreneurs a leg up.” 

Before they get that leg up, though, it’s imperative to validate the idea, define its value and interview potential clients to ensure there’s a viable market. “Any company should ask themselves ‘does my solution solve a compelling problem? How big can it be? Does the business model work and scale? Is it innovative and defensible? Why us and why now?’” said Ben Williamson, investment lead for Invest Nebraska and managing director of Grit Road Partners, who also explained various funding models, including venture capital, angel investors, and self-funding.

Those interested in a deeper dive into customer discovery may wish to sign up for the next cohort of Nebraska I-Corps, a free six-week entrepreneurship training program led by NUtech Ventures. To learn more, visit NUtech Ventures’ website here and the Great Lakes I-Corps website here.

Student participants also praised the workshop. “As a researcher interested in entrepreneurship, workshops like From Idea to Startup are invaluable for understanding how to commercialize research and bring it out of the laboratory,” said Patrick McManigal, a Ph.D student in the School of Computing at UNL’s College of Engineering. McManigal won first place in the 2024 Engineering Pitch Competition for Midwest Biometrics, a startup featuring eNose, a wearable device designed to non-invasively screen users for colorectal cancer.

“Going into the workshop, I was looking to learn more about managing intellectual property, creating a business model, and the ins and outs of forming a corporation, all of which were answered,” McManigal continued. “It was also a fantastic networking event where I was able to meet members of the local entrepreneurship community and make valuable connections. I learned about some weekly networking events hosted by the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) that I’m also looking forward to attending.”

LPED’s Kathy Andersen, Aidan Larsen from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Josh DeMers from the Combine and Invest Nebraska, Josh Nicholl-Caddy from NBDC and Innosphere Ventures’ Tim Jones introduced attendees to the region’s robust startup ecosystem.

 “Clearly, the Combine has become a thriving resource for new startup development right in our backyard,” said the College of Engineering’s Riley. “Innosphere has been a great partner over these past years, and I appreciate hearing their wisdom and an outside perspective on all the phases of startup development shared with faculty. I believe that especially the discussions on financing and the various options for working with investors open the eyes of our researchers to how to build those relationships and what to keep in mind when making commitments. And having the perspective of entrepreneurs  currently in the development process really helps our researchers to see what efforts to take and how to  translate the support into practice.”

In addition, attendees were guided to a wealth of additional resources available to those who aim to start a business. They included NUtech Ventures’ new startup guide; the Combine, which offers commercialization support; the Nebraska Innovation Studio, a maker space that includes 3-D printers; the Biotech Connector, which offers 7,700 square feet of well-equipped wet lab space; the Suite Spot, office space in the Food Innovation Center; and the Innovation Advancement Suites, with shared office space, all located on the Nebraska Innovation Campus.

UNL Summer Research Symposium

Seven undergraduate summer interns presented posters at the UNL Summer Research Symposium on August 6, 2024. The posters presented all the hard work completed since their research projects started in May. Their research continued until the end of August. It was a new experience for some interns, who did an excellent job developing and presenting their posters. Roman Estrada, NPPD Generation Research Sr. Program Manager and NCESR Liaison and Mark Riley, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering and NCESR Associate Director, enjoyed viewing the posters and learning about their research during the presentations.

Internship Wrap Up

August 30 concluded the 2024 internships. Each student prepared a Thank you letter to their faculty sponsor, NCESR and NPPD; a summary report describing their summer work experience in energy sciences research, their accomplishments and lessons learned; and a testimonial to promote the excellent experience to other UNL students encouraging them to apply for the opportunity for summer 2025. NCESR is offering for the first time to all the 2024 summer interns the opportunity to request a $1,000 travel fund to present the research conducted during their summer internship at a relevant conference before 5/10/2025. They will submit a brief report about the experience.

The Energy Center is proud to be a part of these bright young individuals’ learning journey and wishes them well in their future endeavors!

These internships are made possible through NCESR with support from the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). The NCESR summer internship program is named after Mr. Darrell J. Nelson, who served 41 years on the Custer County Public Power District and NPPD Boards. He was an advocate of lifelong learning. In 2005, Mr. Nelson proposed a partnership between NPPD and UNL to engage in energy sciences research. The following year, NCESR was created with NPPD’s financial support.

This free Startup Workshop, taking place over two days, will provide training and networking opportunities to help you think through a range of topics related to starting a company. We’ll cover the practical side, including idea validation and startup funding. We’ll also examine the startup journey from a personal perspective as we hear from university researcher-founders about their journeys, lessons they’ve learned and mistakes they’ve made.

Guest speakers and panelists will share their expertise and resources, and you’ll have plenty of time to ask questions and network with our ecosystem resource experts.

Because content will vary widely from Day 1 to Day 2, attendance is strongly encouraged for the entirety of the workshop. The agenda is provided on the registration page.

Audience: This workshop is open to all university of Nebraska faculty, staff, postdocs, students, and community partners as well. The workshop will be especially helpful for startups based on university intellectual property (IP). However, you do not need to have a current startup idea or IP to attend.

Register at https://go.unl.edu/idea2startup to reserve your seat. We hope you can join us!

For the eleventh year, the NCESR offered a summer internship opportunity to undergraduate students in energy sciences research. To be eligible to apply, the student must pursue any major at UNL, be in academic good standing, and either be entering  their junior or senior year in the 2024 fall semester, which is determined by the total semester hours successfully completed (Seniors in the 2023-2024 academic year are not eligible, unless they are starting graduate school at UNL in the fall of 2024); and have a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0 or above.

As part of the application process, the undergraduate student is required to contact and secure a firm commitment from a UNL faculty member to sponsor the application and supervise the energy sciences research work the student proposed to conduct if selected.

The 2024 summer interns will meet with NCESR staff and NPPD liaisons in a meet-and-greet session on June 7. They will have the opportunity to tour Cooper Nuclear Station this summer and each intern will present a poster at the UNL Summer Research Symposium on August 6. At the end of the paid internship, each student will prepare a summary report that describes their accomplishments and/or results of their work experience in energy sciences research.

Each award recipient will receive up to $6,000 for their research work during the summer of 2024. The faculty sponsor can request an additional $1,000 travel fund to assist the intern in covering travel expenses to present the research conducted during the summer internship at a relevant conference.

The 2024 interns and their faculty sponsors are:

Julia Baron
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Mona Bavarian, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Truman Koehler
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Joseph Turner, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Samuel Peterson
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Siamak Nejati, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Joiner Pfister
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Ravi Saraf, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Jagger Spiering
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Limei Zhang, Department of Biochemistry

Truman Stoller
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. George Gogos, Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, and Dr. Craig Zuhlke, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Grace Van Cott
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Nicole Buan, Department of Biochemistry

The NCESR summer internship program is named after Mr. Darrell J. Nelson, who served 41 years on the Custer County Public Power District and NPPD Boards from 1970-2011 and advocated lifelong learning. In 2005, Mr. Nelson proposed a partnership between NPPD and UNL to engage in energy sciences research. The following year, NCESR was created with NPPD’s support.

The UNL offices of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, Graduate Studies, and Research and Economic Development hosted poster sessions on March 26-27, 2024, at the Student Research Days. More than 120 graduate and 200 undergraduate students participated.

The poster sessions give students the opportunity to showcase their research or creative work,  communicate their results, master their presentation skills, and to learn about other areas of research and creative activities. Among the twenty posters, five were presented by undergraduate students and fifteen by graduate students, representing research projects funded by the NCESR. The competition involved nearly 100 faculty, postdoc and graduate student volunteer judges who evaluated presentations based on their research content and presentation skills.

Congratulations to the Poster Winners relating to NCESR!

Hailey Anderson, an undergraduate student working with Dr. Xia Hong, Dr. Takashi Komesu, and Dr. Xiaoshan Xu in Physics and Astronomy, presented a poster titled, “Integrating 2D Ferroelectric CuInP2S6 with MoS2 Field Effect Transistor.” Hailey received a $250 award from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Laura Kirshenbaum, an undergraduate student working with Dr. Nicole Buan in Biochemistry, presented a poster titled, “Expanding the Dynamic Range of Methanosarcina acetivorans through Recombinant Expression of the T7 Promoter System.” Laura received a $250 award from the College of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, Laura received a $250 award from the University Honors Program for Best Communication. This award recognizes an honors student researcher with the best communication skills in sharing their research.

Matthew Boeding, a graduate student working with Dr. Hamid Sharif and Dr. Michael Hempel in Electrical and Computer Engineering, presented a poster titled, “A Novel Framework for OT Protocol Vulnerability Discovery: Leveraging Insights from Formal Modeling, Network Simulation and On-Device Testing.” Matthew received $400 for travel grants to present the research at a regional or national conference or to support other research costs.

Bibek Tiwari, a graduate student working with Dr. Xia Hong, Dr. Takashi Komesu, and Dr. Xiaoshan Xu in Physics and Astronomy, presented a poster titled, “Spherulite Enhanced Macroscopic In-Plane Polarization in DC-MBI.” Bibek received $400 for travel grants to present the research at a regional or national conference or to support other research costs.

Alan Dostal of Nebraska Public Power District  delivered the  welcome and introductions to the approximately 40  participants which included representatives from academia, business, government as well as other interested parties. Dr. Brown opened the session with his presentation titled “State of the Art in Thermochemically Based Carbon Removal,” which focused on his work related to biochar at Iowa State University. He also acknowledged his research team was the recipient of a  $1.0 million research grant from the XPRIZE organization for his work on carbon removal.

Mr. Chuck Hassebrook followed with his discussion of the key government policy and permitting needs for shaping the future of biochar. Dr. Jiong Hu then provided an overview of six UNL-based biochar projects.  He noted that four of the six research projects were funded by the Energy Center. Dr. Sandeep Kumar from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided an overview of research funding opportunities in the USDA’s Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment (BNRE) Programs.

Following lunch, hosted by the Energy Center, Dr. George Gogos moderated a group discussion on the challenges of biochar implementation and identified opportunities for future collaborations on this important topic.

Following the discussions, the workshop concluded with attendees touring laboratories  on UNL’s east campus hosted by faculty researchers Dr. Michael Kaiser and Dr. Humberto Blanco.  Energy Center management was grateful for the level of interest and enthusiasm of workshop participants associated with this developing research and application topic.

The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) is seeking innovative energy sciences research and collaboration ideas from University of Nebraska faculty. The Request for Proposals (RFP) was released March 19, 2024. This is the nineteenth annual cycle in which UNL faculty can compete in this internal competition for energy research grants. These are major grants that are considered seed funding to help UNL faculty develop energy-related research capacity and improve their competitiveness for major external funding. Funding for this opportunity is made possible through an investment in energy sciences research by the Nebraska Public Power District.

Preproposals are due May 15, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. CDT. Full proposals will be by invitation. 

• For the projects selected to be awarded, the intent is for the year one effective start date to be January 1, 2025.
• For a one-year (12 month) research project, the maximum budget is $85,000.
• For a two-year (24 month) research project, the maximum total budget is $170,000: $85,000 maximum for Year 1 and $85,000 maximum for Year 2. However, Year 2 funding is provisional and contingent on the PI’s demonstration of adequate project and financial performance.

Applications for internal funding must be submitted via the Internal Competitions module in NuRamp. Sign in to NuRamp using your institutional credentials. Click on IC Application. Then from the drop down, select Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) – Cycle 19 Preproposal Submission.

Details can be found at: NCESR Cycle 19 RFP

If you have any questions concerning this RFP, please contact Brenda Coufal at brenda.coufal@unl.edu or Sue Wesely at swesely4@unl.edu.

Nine new research projects selected for funding by the Energy Center in its eighteenth annual grant competition started on January 1, 2024. The overall goal of NCESR is to foster research and education in energy sciences by providing funding to support innovative research and collaboration among UNL faculty and with other public- and private-sector organizations and businesses. Cycle 18 awards are listed by project title, principal investigator, and department or college:

• Low Cost and Clean Energy Storage Based on Molecular Ferroelectrics and Antiferroelectrics – Dr. Xiaoshan Xu, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, College of Art and Sciences.

• Cure-in-Place Phase Change Thermal Interface Material for Superior Thermal Management in High-Power Energy Systems – Dr. Eric Markvicka, Assistant Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, College of Engineering.

• Discovery of Multiple Element Alloys for Preventing Hydrogen Embrittlement – Dr. Jian Wang, Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering.

• Electrocatalysts for Green Hydrogen: Tailored 2D Materials based on Metal Carbide – Dr. Siamak Nejati, Associate Professor of Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering.

• Next Generation Embedded Wireless Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring of Wind Turbines – Dr. Joseph Turner, Robert W. Brightfelt Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering.

• An Intelligent Adaptive Modular Battery Energy Storage System for the Built Environment – Dr. Moe Alahmad, Associate Professor of Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, College of Engineering.

• Microgrid Mastermind:  The Quest for Reliable Electricity – Francis John Hay, Extension Educator (Energy) of Biological Systems Engineering, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and College of Engineering.

• Subsurface Hydrogen Migration and Reactions for Geological Hydrogen Production and Engineered Storage – Dr. Seunghee Kim, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering.

• Systems Metabolic Engineering of Pseudomonas Putida for the Bioproduction of C6 Chemicals from Lignin-derived Aromatics – Dr. Wei Niu, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering.

To learn more go to 2024/2025 Energy Research Grants (Cycle 18)

The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) is taking applications for the Energy Sciences Research – Summer Internships for Undergraduates. The eight internships are made possible through NCESR with support from the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). The Darrell J. Nelson Summer Undergraduate Internship in Energy Sciences Research is being offered for the eleventh year in the amount up to $6,000 per recipient for the summer of 2024. The application deadline is Friday, February 16, 2024 at 5:00 p.m., CT.

For additional information about the 2024 application requirements, click on the instructions link below.

2024 NCESR Summer Internship Instructions

For a copy of the application form, click on the link below. It is a DocuSign form so you will need to sign in with your UNL ID and password.

NCESR 2024 Summer Undergraduate Internship Application Form

Application Requirements:

The applicant is responsible to submit all required information in one package in the above DocuSign link.  An application that does not follow the requirements will not be considered.  The application requirements are as follows:

1.  Application Form.  Complete this form in DocuSign and attach required information, sign and date.

2. Applicant Letter.  Attach a one-page letter that:  (a)  describes you, your major and your interest in energy issues and energy sciences research;  (b) specifically identifies the start and end dates of the energy research project; and (3) describes the research project and the tasks you will complete as part of the energy sciences research summer internship.

3.  Faculty Letter. Attach a one-page letter from the faculty who agreed to sponsor your application and energy sciences research summer internship, if selected.

4.  Transcript.  Attach an unofficial transcript.

To learn more about previous NCESR summer undergraduate internship projects, go to Undergraduate Summer Internship Posters

If you have any questions, please contact Sue Wesely at swesely4@unl.edu.

STEM researchers are experts in their respective fields of inquiry, but it’s not always obvious how to transform groundbreaking research into a thriving startup. To make the process more apparent, the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR), in partnership with NUtech Ventures, Innosphere Ventures and the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), held a day-long workshop devoted to the subject on September 6.

Dr. George Gogos, NCESR director gave a welcome to kick off the workshop. He said, “we are all here because the leadership of NPPD and UNL came together in 2006 and established NCESR. In addition to research on renewable and other clean forms of energy, energy efficiency and carbon capture, the center supports many other activities. Today, we are here to deliver, with great help from our partners, a workshop that will expand UNL STEM researchers’ entrepreneurship knowledge.” Roman Estrada, NPPD generation research sr. program manager and NCESR liaison presented an overview of NPPD’s role in Nebraska, collaboration with NCESR, NPPD’s areas of interest for future entrepreneurship opportunities and how NPPD supports entrepreneurship development.

“An early-stage startup’s customer value proposition is the most important of the four opportunity elements,” said Mike Freeman, chief executive officer of Innosphere Ventures, which supports founders who are building high-growth science and technology companies. “Needs must be strong, and market differentiation is essential. To survive, a startup must be able to fulfill its value promise, which includes inventing the product, building it, physically delivering it, and servicing after it is sold. Poor execution on any of these tasks can kill a venture.”

Only a small percentage of startup companies ever make it to $1M revenue, noted Tim Jones, chief operating officer of Innosphere Ventures. “The single biggest root cause is lack of product/market fit,” he added. “More startups fail from a lack of customers than from a product development failure.”

Prior to forming a startup or before any enabling public disclosure is made, an invention should be formally disclosed to NUtech Ventures, noted Jeewan Jyot, director of licensing for NUtech Ventures.  Typically, following the evaluation of the potential invention, NUtech Ventures will file an initial patent application that subsequently may be exclusively licensed by the startup.  Further, the licensee may provide input for the prosecution of the patent(s). This process results in the startup being able to pursue a path to develop the technology for commercial use.

“We’re highly motivated to partner with our talented researchers move their innovations from the lab to the marketplace,” said Brad Roth, executive director of NUtech Ventures. “We encourage faculty, staff and students to get in touch early with NUtech Ventures, work with us to protect intellectual property, and take advantage of entrepreneurship programs like our Nebraska I-Corps: Introduction to Customer Discovery program. If a startup company is a logical next step, NUtech will work with the researchers to facilitate the process.”

The Nebraska I-Corps program teaches aspiring entrepreneurs about value propositions, stakeholder ecosystems, interviewing prospective customers, and more. Participants interview people in their fields and learn which problems are important to them — and then consider what that means for potential business ideas. The next six-week session begins Monday, September 25.

The workshop speakers also discussed different sources of business funding, including venture capital, professionally managed funds invested for a high rate of return; angel investors, who are accredited investors who invest in the early stages of the business, and family office investors, private wealth management advisory firms that serve high net worth investors.

The day was capped with a networking session including a number of organizations within the Nebraska startup community and several university founders.