Most majors are a one-size-fits-all education plan that gives students a broad knowledge of an industry but lacks the various specific skills required for certain jobs. Tyson Florence, an Innovation Scholar and psychology major at the U, noticed this and created Gradalign, a company that helps students design a customized education plan and matches them […]
Category: Publications & Reports
We produce a variety of publications and reports related to entrepreneurship, innovation and business at the University of Utah and beyond.
Business for Refugees
Before coming to the U to pursue a Ph.D. in social work, Ujal Ibrahim worked with the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate in Bangladesh to help children of Grameen Bank (a bank for the poor with close to 9 million borrowers) borrowers to become entrepreneurs. Now he is bringing social good to Salt Lake City. Ibrahim […]
Mining Ice on Mars
Humans have yet to visit Mars. Partly because it’s 140 million miles away and partly because we don’t have enough resources to sustain human life. The Utah Robotic Mining Project at the U is helping NASA solve this problem. “The Utah Robotic Mining Project is a club on campus with the sole purpose of designing […]
The Future of Bike Tools
Identify, refine, resolve. This design process is followed by Evan DeGray, a Lassonde Studios resident and Multidisciplinary Design major in nearly all of his pursuits, and it has proven worthwhile and effective in both his academic and entrepreneurial ventures. Founder of Rugged Components LLC, a company borne out of a need for better tool placement […]
Voice for Minorities
Ashkan Azmak, a master’s student in the International Affairs and Global Enterprise (MIAGE) program leads the design of a “marketplace plan” to improve dignity and connection to the outside world for Za’atari Camp refugees in Jordan, particularly women. “The idea is to engage and empower the minority at refugee camps,” Ashkan said. An entry in […]
Multi-Disciplinary Design Projects
If you are a student interested in design, look no further than the Multidisciplinary Design program, or MDD, which is part of the College of Architecture and Planning. They teach every aspect of design, and every year, juniors and seniors get to develop real products around a theme. The 2016-17 theme was “adaptive future.” “The […]
Portal Power
When Mica Sloan and Aidan Daoussis moved into the Lassonde Studios in the fall of 2016, they only had one thing in common: a shared loft space. Placed together by chance, the two strangers quickly discovered that they shared a bit more than just a living room and kitchen — these two out-of-staters would stumble […]
Purifying Blood with Nanoparticles
Caleb Johnson is an undergraduate chemical engineering student, focusing on biology. With professor Agnes Ostafin’s help, he tested the production of nanoparticles that purify blood and is developing a pilot-scale device that will perform this for commercial medical use. Using stable nanoparticles made out of gold, Johnson and Ostafin created chemical combinations that have exteriors […]
Cheap Drones
Typical mapping drones cost anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000 to buy. Casey Duncan and David Wheatley, geology grad students at the U, and Sam Chesebrough, a grad student in mechanical engineering, wanted to make one for a fraction of the cost. And they succeeded. The three made one for only $600. Their DIY drone was […]
PlusOne Baby: Infant Breathing Monitor
Every year, more than 3,400 babies in the U.S. die of sudden unexpected infant death syndrome, often referred to as SIDS. While it’s rare, the chance is something that causes parents a lot of worry, and it helps explain why millions of baby monitors are sold every year. Relief might be on the way in […]