Konstantinos Oikonomou has always been passionate about promoting environmental consciousness. When he began his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the Utah Smart Energy Laboratory (U-Smart) at the U, he was introduced to gaps in the use of water and energy globally. “The problem that water and power utilities face is that they have been designed […]
Category: Publications & Reports
We produce a variety of publications and reports related to entrepreneurship, innovation and business at the University of Utah and beyond.
Modern Dance & Social Injustice
Aileen Norris is a senior at the University of Utah double majoring in English and modern dance. For her honors thesis, Norris explored how movement can act as an activist role, and in what ways dance can impact the social justice movement. “In the dance community, it’s a very tricky realm to navigate. It can […]
A Futuristic Privacy Garment
Anyone who has squeezed into a crowded airplane knows that travel can be a serious invasion of privacy. The average person reserves a 12-foot radius for social space, and ever-shrinking travel accommodations rarely leave room for a personal bubble. Jackson Kerbs, a junior studying multi-disciplinary design, combined his interests in product design and fashion to […]
Accessible Social Work
When Torle Nenbee was 11 years old, her family came to Utah as refugees. “I started school in the sixth grade,” she said. “People didn’t understand why I couldn’t speak — if you don’t quite know the language, people think you’re stupid.” This barrier didn’t stunt Nenbee — it motivated her. She taught herself English […]
Making Breastfeeding More Comfortable
Started by University of Utah MBA student Nana Ewusi-Emmim two years ago, NipaYe is a breastfeeding-help company focused on assisting mothers to produce milk for their babies. With help from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, she is developing a tool she hopes will be more comfortable and easier to use than what is currently on the […]
Making Diagnoses Simpler
To diagnose patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), an inflammatory disease that disrupts the esophagus, current medical knowledge requires anesthesia and an endoscopy. This time-consuming and invasive process, combined with the low likelihood of a patient having EoE, leads doctors to sidestep testing for it. However, professor Christopher Gregg’s lab at the University of Utah didn’t […]
The Tent Hammock
After a frustrating and nearly treeless camping trip to Goblin Valley in 2016, University of Utah students Daniel Goldfinger (geography) and Nick Bierwolf (mechanical engineering) came up with the idea for a “Tammock” – a device that combines a tent and a freestanding hammock that doesn’t require trees to work. They are now developing the […]
Yellowstone Forever
This year, a group of students studying multi-disciplinary design worked with Yellowstone Forever, the nonprofit arm of Yellowstone National Park. These students traveled to Yellowstone National Park to interview rangers and staff and get inspiration for their own design. They then developed a diverse array of projects designed to enhance the experience of traveling to […]
Fighting Against Overdose
Utah continues to be among the top 20 states in the country that suffers from high levels of opioid overdose. While many are aware of this epidemic, there are few who act. But Katie Barber is not one to just stand by. Barber, a health society and policy and communication student at the U, works […]
Video-Game Development
Students in the University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts Engineering (EAE) program work tirelessly to produce games, art and designs they can use in portfolios and publish online. Making a game is not an easy task and usually cannot be done by just one person; students meet in teams so the work is spread out, and […]