Wildcatalyst Insider

The Latest News and Information from UNHInnovation (UNHI)

Meet our Graduate Licensing Assistant - Jess Flarity

Shaw Innovation Explorers Hosted Successful Event:
An Evening with Emmy Award Winner Brian Skerry

UNH Small Business Program Helps Portsmouth Company Secure Grant

The UNH-IOL Expands
Wi-Fi Performance Testing

Ordering UNH-branded goods?
Club Colors is now part of UShop!

Upcoming Programs and Events

• Winter I-Corps Cohort

• FOSTER SBIR/STTR Workshops

• UNH Blue Economy Sandpit

Greetings—my name is Jess Flarity and I am the new Graduate Licensing Assistant at UNHInnovation. My role at UNHI is to facilitate and recruit for UNH’s I-Corps Site program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation to help innovations generated by the university evolve from being research ideas into marketable products. You might see me at campus events speaking with prospective students or holding information sessions in T-Hall and the MUB. If you sign up to participate in I-Corps, which is now held virtually, you’ll see me on Zoom as we discuss the basics of entrepreneurship and determine the goals of your team’s innovation. Our cohorts consist of 3-5 teams of innovators—the next one will run in February—but we will also have additional opportunities later in the spring and summer semester as we expand the program.

I am a former middle school science teacher from the Seattle region and a third year Ph.D. candidate in Literature at UNH specializing in science fiction criticism. Sci-fi writers have a long history of generating futuristic ideas in their imaginations that end up becoming real-life inventions. Early examples of this include Jules Verne’s submarines, airships and tanks in his novels throughout the 1870’s; the notoriously accurate short story “Deadline” by Cleve Cartmill in 1944 that predicted the atom bomb (and promptly got the publisher a visit from the FBI); and more recently with Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, the 1992 cyberpunk novel that inspired Google Earth and the controversial rebranding of Facebook into a company simply called Meta. My research experience as a sci-fi expert (aka nerd) is beneficial in my role as an I-Corps instructor because it allows me to make broad connections across multiple disciplines concerning prospective innovations, as well as forecast potential trends and future patterns in various market segments.
...
Read the full story

A UNH program that helps New Hampshire small businesses grow by accessing federal grant funding has notched its first major success. Portsmouth-based Nearview, a participant in UNH’s FOSTER program, has received $150,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop an artificial intelligence model for its aerial drone environmental services.

“The staff and consultants of the FOSTER program were really instrumental in helping Nearview win this award,” says Stefan Claesson ’08G, principal scientist and owner of Nearview. “From review of proposal narratives to hammering out budget details, they helped us to navigate a complex application process. We are grateful for the support we received and look forward to working with the FOSTER program on future SBIR proposal opportunities.”

FOSTER — Focused SBIR/STTR Teaching, Equity and Results — is an initiative led by UNHInnovation that seeks to increase the number of Granite State small businesses, particularly those in under-served communities, that successfully compete for research and development funding from the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Historically, only a handful of New Hampshire small businesses, which employ nearly half of all state workers, have received these grants.
...
Read the full story

This year, the UNH InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) expanded its Wi-Fi performance testing services to include the new TR-398 Standard (Issue 2) developed by the Broadband Forum, an industry consortium dedicated to developing broadband network specifications. This testing adds new requirements around Wi-Fi 6 defined in the standard (802.11ac) set by the IEEE, a professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering.  

The UNH-IOL has been offering Wi-Fi testing services since the early days of the technology when the first IEEE standards came out (802.11a and 802.11b). At the UNH-IOL, device manufacturers can verify the performance and conformance of their devices against these industry standards. Over the years, the lab has continued to develop and expand on testing for Wi-Fi, with the TR-398 being the one of the latest developments in that area. 

What is the Broadband Forum TR-398 Standard?
Wi-Fi has become a critical technology when it comes to internet connectivity, but until recently, there was no industry standard that set a common, agreed-upon definition for the minimum “good” performance of a Wi-Fi device that a service provider like Verizon would provide to their subscribers, such as an access point device. Before TR-398, Wi-Fi device manufacturers like Netgear, D-Link and Linksys had to define their own testing, leading to inconsistent performance reports and claims. Service calls associated with Wi-Fi performance issues have emerged as one of the biggest pain points to service providers, and common Wi-Fi issues like poor signal and insufficient coverage have been exacerbated over the past two years with the pandemic and the switch to remote working and schooling. 

To address these issues, the Broadband Forum, together with manufacturers and laboratories, developed the TR-398 Standard to provide a set of test cases and framework to verify the performance between an access point and one or more stations (e.g., personal computer or mobile phone.)
...
Read the full story

UNHInnovation and USNH Procurement are happy to announce that one of UNH’s longtime branded-goods partners, Club Colors, has become part of UShop! 

When staff order UNH-branded goods — everything from uniforms to items for team building, student engagement and other events – the process can be complex. You need a partner that understands both product value and UNH brand standards. Club Colors is our first partner to integrate directly into our UShop platform, a change that will make it easier to order branded goods, without a need for separate systems or procedures. UShop provides staff access to Club Colors via an easy-to-navigate online store. 

To access Club Colors, just log into your UshopNH eProcurement system account. You can also view the Club Colors UNH product catalog online.

For staff who would like to know more about our branded-goods partners, branded-goods ordering and the steps UNH takes to ensure that goods bearing the UNH name meet our community values and principles, contact licensing manager Beth Sheckler Ph.D. at beth.sheckler@unh.edu.

UNHI is accepting applications for the upcoming winter Virtual I-Corps Program

The University of New Hampshire, through UNHInnovation, received National Science Foundation funding to create the UNH I-Corps™ program, which works to bring new innovations developed at the university to the marketplace faster. UNHI offers an accelerated virtual version of our highly successful UNH I-Corps training. Faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergrads are welcome to apply.

For questions or additional information, please contact unh.icorps@unh.edu 

Check out the upcoming January 2022 lunch series 

Discusses how these two programs can provide a source of R&D funding between the initial idea development and proof of market potential. Covers eligibility requirements, participating agencies, the differences between SBIR and STTR, and more. Learn more
REGISTER

Success in the SBIR/STTR programs requires more than just an innovative technology. Learn how to prepare your company and team for the hurdles ahead. You’ll learn how to build a creditable team that supports your technology, What SBIR/STTR programs are looking for in your commercialization plan and how to format your proposal to showcases your technology. Learn more
REGISTER

This session describes how writing and formatting enhances readability by reviewers and showcases your technology to its best advantage. Improve the competitiveness of your proposal with tips and best practices for making it look good and read well. Learn more
REGISTER

Covers important considerations in budget development, including what costs need to be included, how to write a budget justification, what indirect rate should be used and more. Learn more
REGISTER

UNH Blue Economy Sandpit
Virtual  | January 19, 2022  | 1:00 PM-4:00 PM

This event is designed to provide you with an opportunity to network and collaborate with UNH researchers who cover a wide range of expertise. The goal for these industry-focused events is to create opportunities for new partnerships between the university and the business community, ultimately to encourage economic development. This event will be held on the virtual platform Remo.

• Ocean Renewable Energy (Wave, Tidal, and Offshore Wind)
• Marine Sensing
• Ocean Mapping
• Aquaculture
• Coastal & Estuarine Resilience
• Arctic Studies
• and more

• Open Ocean Technology Site
• Tidal Energy Test Site at Memorial Bridge (Living Bridge Project)
• Flow Physics Facility
• R/V Gulf Challenger Vessel
• Jackson Estuarine Laboratory
• Shoals Marine Laboratory
• Wave/Tow Tank, Engineering Tank, & Environmental
• Flows Water Tunnel