April Lovelady, Ph. D., Associate Department Head, Mechanical Engineering
PRAIRIE VIEW, TEXAS (December 21, 2021). With her most recent award of $90,000 to bring awareness of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, April Lovelady, Ph.D., will ensure that research projects include investigation to reach new conclusions, innovation, and a path to the marketplace.
Lovelady, associate department head in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Co-Principal Investigators Bobby Melvin, J.D., L.L.M., executive director for Innovation, Commercialization, Entrepreneurship, Economic-Development (ICEED), and Lealon Martin, J.D., Ph.D., Associate Dean of the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering are the latest team to lead a unique research and innovation project, I-Corps Node (Track 2): Southwest Innovation Corps NODE (SWICORPS). With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) award, the team will identify potential I-Corps champions at HBCU campuses in the Southwest regions of the United States, and nationwide using virtual platforms.
I-Corps™ Nodes support regional education, infrastructure, and research around innovation. The Nodes work together and with I-Corps™ Sites to build, draw upon and sustain a national innovation ecosystem that further enhances the creation of technologies that benefit society.
The PVAMU Node, SWICORPS, will use its HBCU network to assist potential national I-Corps teams in identifying a mentor from their community. They will host in-person outreach workshops once it is deemed safe to do so, and some activities will be conducted virtually, requiring only a computer and internet access.
“In joining the Southwest I-Corps, Prairie View A&M be among five leading research institutions in Texas. This hub is about engaging academic researchers, scientists, and faculty in innovation efforts that will impact the greater business community,” said Vice President Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA. “This membership and undertakings align with my goal of elevating the research and innovation platforms of PVAMU and raising the university’s profile as an emerging research institution.
Bobby Melvin, J.D., L.L.M. Executive Director of ICEED
Their goal will be to identify common barriers and find ways to remove them. Identifying these barriers and highlighting solutions to remove them will open up many other opportunities for our students to compete in similar entrepreneurial events nationwide.
PVAMU aims to recruit a total of 20 faculty and students for its two pilot programs from HBCUs nationwide, with particular emphasis on the 19 HBCUs within the Southwest region.
The team has an internal connection to seamlessly encourage movement from the research laboratory to the marketplace in ICEED Director Melvin. The primary objective of ICEED is to build and foster an entrepreneurial culture for PVAMU.
“This grant will allow us to build on that objective. The I-CORPS program is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs to learn about market analysis and customer needs when considering a start-up company. We are excited to be part of this research effort to identify barriers to HBCU participation in the NSF’s I-CORPS Program and appreciate the opportunity provided by the University of Texas and Texas A&M to work with them on this project,” states Melvin.
Students participating in this project will have access to opportunities in similar entrepreneurial events nationwide. The team will recruit two student interns from the Entrepreneur minor program at PVAMU College of Business to help with research coordination and outreach to other HBCUs.
The NSF is a premier grant organization for STEM-related research – an area of focus for PVAMU. Successful commercialization of NSF-sponsored research will position the university to larger research grants and elevate its national research profile in the process.
Karen B. Cotton