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Georgia Tech Is Advancing Atlanta’s Tech Ecosystem

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 18:16:40 +0000

Georgia Tech Is Advancing Atlanta’s Tech Ecosystem admin Tue, 06/03/2025 - 14:16

Atlanta’s tech scene is buzzing, and Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization is at the center of the action. In the heart of Tech Square, we’re joining the citywide journey of innovation and connection by curating events for Atlanta Tech Week powered by Render. The Tech Square Tech Hop, happening Wednesday, June 11, from 3 to 5 p.m., will showcase the city’s dynamic startup landscape, bringing together founders, funders, builders, and believers.

Tech Square Tech Hop is a demonstration of Georgia Tech’s pivotal role in coordinated work advancing Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event aligns directly with the Institute’s strategic plan, particularly Big Bet 4, which focuses on developing a vibrant business and entrepreneurial hub anchored in the heart of campus.

By transforming Tech Square into a walkable innovation showcase, Tech Hop brings visibility to the often-unseen relationships and resources that drive the entrepreneurial spirit. This includes collective efforts with the Georgia Tech Food and Beverage Accelerator under EI², which spotlights the growth of food and beverage startups across Atlanta, as well as collaborations with Tech Square Ventures, Engage, ATDC, CREATE-X, and Quadrant-i to elevate the visibility of startup ventures born from Tech Square programs and highlight the support ecosystem available to founders.

The Office of Commercialization is fully mobilized not only to support Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and students but also to substantially grow entrepreneurship programs through powerful partnerships. “Our commitment to building a national hub for innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship is stronger than ever. Through collaborations with the city, state, and other organizations, we are dedicated to making Atlanta a leading example of inclusive progress,” says Raghupathy "Siva" Sivakumar, vice president of Commercialization and chief commercialization officer for Georgia Tech.

The Institute’s leadership extends beyond Atlanta Tech Week. Central to this work is our partnership with the City of Atlanta, where Mayor Andre Dickens is advancing a bold vision to establish Atlanta as a top-five U.S. tech hub. In support of this goal, the city launched two signature initiatives in 2023 that unite Atlanta’s Office of Technology and Innovation with leading academic institutions, including Georgia Tech, Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Georgia State University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College.

One flagship initiative is the Atlanta Collegiate Entrepreneurship Syndicate (ACES), a cross-institutional alliance designed to strengthen Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by leveraging shared talent, resources, and ideas. ACES stands as a model of unified effort within Georgia’s collegiate system, laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth and development.

“Sustaining a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem requires an intentional approach,” says Michael “Dixon” Dixon, senior director of Strategic Initiatives and Operations. “Atlanta possesses tremendous assets — local talent, capital, and market opportunity — but true success hinges on our ability to strategically connect and leverage these strengths, with Georgia Tech serving as both convener and executor. This synergy is already yielding meaningful results.”

The second signature initiative underscores Georgia Tech’s strategic role as the host institution of Avant South, a conference that gives our faculty, students, and alumni a front-row seat to Atlanta’s evolving innovation ecosystem. By championing this effort, we elevate homegrown talent and technologies while opening new pathways for high-impact collaboration, startup visibility, and industry engagement. Last year’s conference spotlighted four sectors: media and entertainment, sports, digital arts, and entrepreneurship, exploring their future through the lens of emerging technologies. This year, Avant South returns Oct. 16 – 17 with a focus on transportation, complemented by key themes in fintech, energy, smart cities, and logistics.

Avant South shows where Atlanta’s innovation ecosystem is headed; Tech Square Tech Hop reveals where it’s already flourishing. Happening during Atlanta Tech Week (June 8 – 13), Tech Hop is a vibrant gathering of startups, innovation programs, and local food and beverage vendors, and a prime opportunity to meet the people driving Atlanta’s entrepreneurial energy.

The Tech Square Tech Hop is free and open to the public. To join the event, register here .

Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization is a cornerstone in turning the Institute’s leading-edge research into real-world applications and championing student entrepreneurial pursuits. It comprises four key units: CREATE-X, VentureLab, Quadrant-i, and Technology Licensing. These units empower students and faculty to launch startups, manage intellectual property, and transform research ideas into positive societal impact. Our mission is to accelerate innovation and improve the human condition, solidifying Georgia Tech’s leadership in technology and entrepreneurship.

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Summary sentence

This summer’s Tech Square Tech Hop, part of Atlanta Tech Week, highlights how the Institute is activating partnerships, talent, and techno

Summary

This summer’s Tech Square Tech Hop, part of Atlanta Tech Week, highlights how the Institute is activating partnerships, talent, and techno

Dateline

Tue, 06/03/2025 - 12:00

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Lacey Cameron
Office of Commercialization

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Tue, 06/03/2025 - 14:15

Researchers Build Stable Solar Panel Without Silicon

admin — Mon, 19 May 2025 13:46:41 +0000

Researchers Build Stable Solar Panel Without Silicon admin Mon, 05/19/2025 - 09:46

Solar power as an electricity source is growing in the United States, with 7% of Americans using it to run their homes. But scientists are still trying to make the solar panel production process more efficient.

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By adding titanium to perovskite crystals, researchers have made solar cells more durable.

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Mon, 02/24/2025 - 12:00

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Thu, 03/13/2025 - 13:12

Four Startup Lab Students Selected for 2025 Immersive Cohort at SXSW

dgivens8 — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 14:10:41 +0000

Four Startup Lab Students Selected for 2025 Immersive Cohort at SXSW dgivens8 Fri, 04/04/2025 - 10:10

Four students from Startup Lab have been selected to join the 2025 immersive cohort at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. Alex Aridgides (mechanical engineering and economics), Shinhai Chen (industrial engineering), Varuni Chopra (industrial engineering), and Christie Peng (computer science) are the first Georgia Tech students to be invited to the program.

The weeklong, all-expenses-paid program offers university-affiliated innovators the chance to refine their innovations, engage in customer discovery, and network with industry leaders and peers at SXSW. The annual festival celebrates technology, film, music, education, and culture. Students participated in a competitive application process, which involved submitting applications, meeting specific evaluation criteria, and being selected by a panel of industry experts, mentors, and SXSW organizers.

Yolanda Payne, the students’ Startup Lab instructor, presented the SXSW opportunity in class.

"My goal is to be their biggest cheerleader,” she explained. “I had great teachers who helped me get to where I am today, and I strive to emulate their support. I’m always willing to guide students toward new opportunities."

She learned about the SXSW immersive cohort from Nakia Melecio, director of the National Science Foundation I-Corps Southeast Hub. The $15 million initiative crosses nine major research universities in the southern U.S. and accelerates the translation of deep tech research into commercial ventures. The hub works closely with entrepreneurial faculty, students, and researchers to equip them with the tools, networks, and support to bring their innovations to market.

Melecio plays a central role in identifying and advancing strategic opportunities for university partners and their entrepreneurial teams. “When the opportunity to participate in SXSW arose, I recognized it as an ideal platform to showcase the talent and innovation coming out of our region.”

Melecio added that Startup Lab is ideal for amplifying NSF I-Corps’ goals because of the course’s proven track record of fostering hands-on learning and commercialization readiness. “Startup Lab helps prepare students not just to think entrepreneurially, but to act on their ideas with confidence and a structured path forward. It was a natural fit for this opportunity.”

Payne says the experience students gained in Startup Lab helped prepare them for the immersive cohort. “The knowledge is being solidified by an experience you’re having in my class and the real world.”

Chopra agrees that Startup Lab teaches essential business development fundamentals and customer discovery principles, skills that are relevant to the SXSW program. She recommends the course to other students and emphasizes the value of combining engineering or technical backgrounds with entrepreneurship skills.

“We take a lot of classes that are directly related to our major, and they're very technical. But when it comes to wanting to start something of your own or even understanding how startups work, it's completely different than the rest of our coursework.”

Startup Lab is a three-credit course that focuses on evidence-based entrepreneurship. This hands-on class covers ideation, teamwork, customer discovery, minimum viable products, the business model canvas, and other topics. Students learn how to launch a startup by integrating in-class lectures with practical, out-of-class activities, including interviewing potential customers and refining their startup ideas based on real-world feedback.

The program provides access to valuable resources, mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs, and a supportive community to help students develop their startups. Startup Lab and NSF I-Corps are also exploring other industry showcases for student entrepreneurs like SXSW.

Chen chose Startup Lab to pursue his entrepreneurial interests. “I knew that Georgia Tech had a really good startup culture, so I researched what they had to offer, and Startup Lab was the first step." He also noted Payne's impact as an instructor. "The best part is how much she cares about the topic. She has a lot of background knowledge and is passionate.”

Startup Lab is unique because it "de-risks the business model,” Payne says. Many entrepreneurs first build their products and then talk to potential customers. However, Startup Lab students perform customer discovery, sharing their ideas with potential end users, listening to their needs and feedback, and then building the product.

Peng recalls a powerful moment of pitching an idea for an app to streamline MARTA operations. “I had a fun time coming up with this idea. We learned a lot about interviewing, coming up with possible solutions, and refining our idea,” she says. "Being surrounded by so many brilliant individuals at Georgia Tech makes it easy to get idea formation or networking connections you need for your idea to succeed."

Aridgides has ambitious post-program goals, envisioning creating change through entrepreneurship. "I want to start a company to change the world for the better and make a big impact. That's my life goal. I think through a company, I can achieve that."

Payne reminds students that they possess something many adults lack: time to explore different ideas. She also says Startup Lab can help students value and see their ideas in new ways.

“They don't recognize that the product they're working on could be pursued through entrepreneurship or think of themselves as entrepreneurs. And even if they don't pursue it, it helps them in all aspects of life because business and capitalism are part of what we do every day.”

If you’re a student interested in adding entrepreneurship to your course schedule, registration for the summer and fall semesters opens on April 15. In addition to Startup Lab, students also have the opportunity to build a prototype with support through Idea to Prototype and CREATE-X Capstone Design.

Summary sentence

Four Georgia Tech students—Alex Aridgides, Shinhai Chen, Varuni Chopra, and Christie Peng—have been selected for the 2025 immersive cohort at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, where they will refine their innovations and network with industry le

Summary

Four Georgia Tech students from Startup Lab—Alex Aridgides, Shinhai Chen, Varuni Chopra, and Christie Peng—have been selected for the 2025 immersive cohort at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. This weeklong, all-expenses-paid program allows university-affiliated innovators to refine their innovations, engage in customer discovery, and network with industry leaders. The students were chosen through a competitive application process and are the first from Georgia Tech to be invited. Their instructor, Yolanda Payne, emphasizes the importance of hands-on learning and entrepreneurial skills gained through Startup Lab.

Dateline

Fri, 04/04/2025 - 12:00

breanna.durham@gatech.edu

Contact

Contact

Article by Alyson Key

CREATE-X Contact:

Breanna Durham

Marketing Strategist

Keywords

go-commercializationnews

startup lab

SXSW

innovators

customer discovery

networking

entrepreneurship

hands-on learning

application

NSF I-Corps

Research

commercialization

entrepreneurial skills

business development

startups

gt-commercialization

Leading the Charge in Additive Manufacturing: Team Convexity

dgivens8 — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 18:02:47 +0000

Leading the Charge in Additive Manufacturing: Team Convexity dgivens8 Mon, 03/03/2025 - 13:02

On April 21 at 5 p.m. in the Marcus Nanotechnology Building Atrium, dozens of teams will present prototypes at the Spring 2025 Idea to Prototype (I2P) Showcase. They will be vying for a chance to get a golden ticket in CREATE-X’s Startup Launch program, which gives participants $5,000 in optional seed funding and $150,000 in in-kind services like accounting and legal services, mentorship, and entrepreneurial education, among other benefits.

The I2P course, where these students develop their prototypes, offers research credit for undergraduate students up to $500 in reimbursement for physical material expenses and faculty mentorship. It’s open three times a year, in the spring, summer, and fall. Both undergraduate and graduate students can take the course, and students can take it up two times.

Convexity Electronics finished in second place at the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase. The company delivers smaller, faster, and more cost-effective circuit boards compared to traditional lithography-based methods. We delved into the team’s journey, challenges, and aspirations in this exclusive Q&A with one of its founders, Calla Scotch.

Q&A with Team Convexity's Calla Scotch

Team Members:

Calla Scotch, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering

Atharva Lele, Sophomore, Engineering

Anuj Pandey, Junior, Mechanical Engineering

Why did you pursue your startup?

It’s so complex. There are so many routes, and it's so new in terms of how many people are working on it. One day I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about it, then I couldn't sleep about it, and then I couldn't stop working on it. It was one of those things where I couldn't stop.

Traditionally, circuit boards — the stuff that's in your phones, computers, cameras, cars, everything — are made entirely subtractively. You have your block of material and cut away the stuff you don't want. It's a well-thought-out manufacturing process, but it's mostly very expensive and very slow. The materials and electronics manufacturing industry hasn't changed in about 30 years because it's been optimized as much as it can be.

What is your goal with Convexity?

To take that subtractive process and, instead of doing that, build the same circuits additively. I'm working on 3D printing the insulative base material, then 3D printing the conductive material, then using an electrical process to take those conductive materials and convert them into copper. And then doing layer after layer after layer to make the same circuits that someone in a subtractive process would do.

If you have traditional manufacturing, it takes about two weeks to ship from China, and it takes about a week to make a lab. My goal would be to make them in about five hours and then courier them over the same day. You don't need a big serial manufacturing facility if someone needs 6,000 boards. You don't have 6,000 printers in one room; all your printers are connected to the cloud. You could even go from 2D electronics to three-dimensional electronics. We just want to make more, smaller, faster, and cheaper than traditional manufacturing.

What surprised you about I2P?
How much time it took out of my day and how much I didn't want to do as much homework anymore. It made me want to focus all of my time on this and on how many different avenues there were to do what I wanted to do. I probably went through 30 different iterations of completely different scientific topics. I think because of how many options there were and how crazy scientifically advanced each of them was, it is what keeps me going.

What was your favorite part about I2P?

I did I2P for two semesters, and the best thing about it is getting to work on your own project and your own research for class credit.

What was challenging about building your prototype over the semester?

Sifting through all the research and development that has gone into this field. Electronics manufacturing has been around for a long time, and there's a lot of research and patents to work through and build on. I feel like I spent half my time coming up with ideas and the other half building the physical printer.

What would you say to students who are interested in entrepreneurship?
I can't tell you how much I've learned just by doing. Outside of that, talk to people. Just go out and talk to people. Ask people questions. Have your problem and get their input and insight on it, because how we make smart decisions and make startups that people want is by asking people what they want.

Cheer on Convexity as they pitch their prototype at the final round of the InVenture Prize, on March 12, at 7:30p.m., in the Ferst Theater of Arts. During this competition, the largest of its kind in the nation, a panel of celebrity judges and experts in science, technology, and venture capital will judge undergraduate teams competing for $35,000, including $5,000 for the People’s Choice award. Through audience voting, you get to advance the projects you support. Request your free InVenture Prize tickets today.

Want to be part of the next wave of technological advancements? Register for the Spring 2025 I2P Showcase to see our latest cohort of I2P inventors and their prototypes. Consider joining I2P for Summer or Fall 2025. For more information, visit the I2P program website.

Summary sentence

Convexity finished second in the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase and will now compete in the InVenture Prize for a chance to win $35,000.

Summary

Convexity Electronics, founded by Georgia Tech students Calla Scotch, Atharva Lele, and Anuj Pandey, aims to revolutionize circuit board manufacturing by using additive processes instead of traditional subtractive methods. Their approach involves 3D printing insulative and conductive materials to create faster, smaller, and more cost-effective circuit boards. The team has faced challenges in research and development but remains driven by their passion for innovation. Convexity finished second in the Fall 2024 I2P Showcase and will compete in the InVenture Prize for a chance to win $35,000.

Dateline

Mon, 03/03/2025 - 12:00

breanna.durham@gatech.edu

Contact

Breanna Durham

Marketing Strategist

Keywords

I2P Showcase

CREATE-X

startup launch

prototypes

entrepreneurial education

research credit

Convexity Electronics

InVenture Prize

innovation

startup

Competition

entrepreneurship

prototype development

go-commercializationnews

InVenture Prize Brings Innovation for 2024

dgivens8 — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 22:04:41 +0000

InVenture Prize Brings Innovation for 2024 dgivens8 Fri, 03/08/2024 - 17:04

In March 2023, Jeff Mao and Tyler Ma won first place in the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize with their web-based platform SellRaze, a solution to simplify the online resale listing process. Read “Where Are They Now? 2023 InVenture Prize Winners on the Past Year, Entrepreneurship, and Iterating” to see what this pair is doing now.

Join Georgia Tech on March 13th, 7:30-9:00 p.m., to watch a new batch of undergraduate students pitch their innovative creations in this year’s InVenture Prize competition. Read “Elevating Ideas, Transforming Futures: Watch the InVenture Prize 2024 Finalists in Action” to hear about the finalists and the competition overall.

For in-state viewers, tune in to Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) from 7:30 pm to 9:00 p.m. on March 13, 2024, to catch the live broadcast of the InVenture Prize.

Online Streaming:
Can't make it to the theater or don't live in Georgia? Stream the entire event online via this streaming link to immerse yourself in the innovative spirit of the InVenture Prize from wherever you are.

Summary sentence

Join Georgia Tech on March 13th, 7:30-9:00 p.m., to watch a new batch of undergraduate students pitch their innovative creations in this year’s InVenture Prize competition.

Summary

Join Georgia Tech on March 13th, 7:30-9:00 p.m., to watch a new batch of undergraduate students pitch their innovative creations in this year’s InVenture Prize competition. For in-state viewers, tune in to Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) from 7:30 pm to 9:00 p.m. on March 13, 2024, to catch the live broadcast of the InVenture Prize. You can also stream the entire event online via this streaming link to immerse yourself in the innovative spirit of the InVenture Prize from wherever you are.

Dateline

Fri, 03/08/2024 - 12:00

rachael.greene@gatech.edu

Contact

Rachael Greene

Assistant Director for Communications

Associated importer

Keywords

startups

entrepreneurship

Business

CREATE-X

InVenture Prize

go-commercializationnews

go-commercializationnews

Georgia Tech Is Advancing Atlanta’s Tech Ecosystem

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Researchers Build Stable Solar Panel Without Silicon

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Four Startup Lab Students Selected for 2025 Immersive Cohort at SXSW

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Leading the Charge in Additive Manufacturing: Team Convexity

Q&A with Team Convexity's Calla Scotch

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InVenture Prize Brings Innovation for 2024

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