Syracuse Sun

Upstate New York is quickly gaining recognition as a national center for semiconductor research and manufacturing, thanks to Micron's announced investment exceeding $100 billion. In light of this development, Syracuse University is offering a free virtual U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) regional course aimed at the semiconductor industry. The course, which runs from Monday, June 17 through Wednesday, July 17, targets university and community-based researchers and early-stage startup founders keen on exploring their work's market potential and honing entrepreneurial skills.

The selected cohort members—comprising researchers, faculty, graduate students, and semiconductor innovators—will be invited to attend SEMICON West from July 9-11 under the NSF I-Corp program. Depending on team size, accepted teams can receive up to $5,000 in travel reimbursement.

The month-long virtual course will be delivered by NSF-trained instructors from Syracuse University in collaboration with the University of Rochester. This initiative is part of the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps), funded by the NSF and led by Cornell University with several collaborators including Dartmouth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of Vermont and West Virginia University. The Hub forms part of the National Innovation Network that links researchers with entrepreneurial communities and federal agencies to facilitate research commercialization.

The NSF I-Corps course presents an unparalleled opportunity to join a national program focused on stimulating innovation and commercialization within the semiconductor sector. The application criteria include:

- Applicants should have an early-stage technology innovation backed by either a prototype or some form of scientific validation.

- Teams consisting of one to three people may apply; all team members must fully participate in every course session and complete all coursework for consideration for NSF lineage and nomination for the national I-Corps Team.

- While applications are open to all, preference is given to those with university-affiliated technology and postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students commercializing research. Applications from researchers and early-stage founders associated with other campuses as well as community incubators and accelerator programs are also encouraged.

The application deadline is Wednesday, May 22, with limited spaces available. Interested parties can learn more and register online.

The NSF I-Corps course at Syracuse University is co-led by Linda Dickerson Hartsock, strategic initiatives advisor for Syracuse University Libraries and founding director of the Blackstone LaunchPad, and Jeff Fuchsberg, director of the Syracuse Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering. Both Hartsock and Fuchsberg previously led the Syracuse Tech Garden before joining the University. Fuchsberg will also co-instruct the semiconductor course.

For more information about the upcoming NSF I-Corps course, please contact Linda Dickerson Hartsock (ldhart01@syr.edu) or Jeff Fuchsberg (jrfuchsb@syr.edu).