After growing tired of running a staffing agency for several years, Trevor Darby realized he could pivot in a completely new direction with his work — and use entrepreneurship to make that happen. He is now pursuing this dream with help from the Master of Business Creation program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles […]
Topic: Student Innovation @ the U 2023
Making Adventure Accessible
In a state known for its natural beauty, outdoor adventures are a quintessential part of day-to-day life for people all over Utah. Many students attend the University of Utah because of its proximity to this natural landscape, but it’s not always easy to take advantage of. Thomas Rash, Matthew Lebrecht, and Darin Pinedo, sophomore students […]
Student-Athletes Making a Difference
University of Utah gymnast Abby Paulson is a student-athlete who wants to make a difference. With over 26,000 Instagram followers and a spot on a nationally ranked team, Paulson has a larger platform than most students could imagine. She saw new opportunities when the NCAA approved a policy that allows student-athletes to monetize their name, […]
Cooking Reimagined
University of Utah student startup Savorit is reimagining cooking with help from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. Ever wanted to explore new recipes without hurting your bank account? This company makes it easy. They are working to combine Tinder and HelloFresh to provide a service that makes cooking more engaging and less costly. Users will swipe […]
Innovating in Medical Research
Elaine Wong, in her final semester of her undergraduate degree at the University of Utah, is making major strides in the fields of engineering and medical research. She is an electrical engineering major with minors in cognitive science and biomedical engineering, though she didn’t always know this is what she wanted to do. “I took […]
A Cuffless Blood-Pressure Monitor
Henry Crandall, an electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah, is working to create a blood pressure monitoring technique that is cuffless, convenient, and can measure over an extended period. Blood pressure is an important indicator of overall heart health, and high blood pressure contributes to many serious health issues. Despite […]
Where Innovation Meets Music
Tage Rinehart has been a musician their whole life — and saw a need for accessibility in the world of electronic music. That’s why they came up with abSYNTHe: a virtual software instrument created to ease the many difficulties that exist in electronic music production. abSYNTHe was born out of Rinehart’s senior project in the […]
Reimagining Data Visualization
Youjia Zhou is a computing Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah working to help scientists and mathematicians with their knowledge-discovery process through practical visual analytics systems. Her research focuses on large and complex data, coupling theoretical analysis with interactive visualization to help users quickly gain insights from complex graphs and hypergraphs. Visualization is useful […]
Architecture as Cultural Expression
University of Utah architecture student Samantha Eddy’s admiration for architecture is obvious. Eddy is riding a winning streak following her team’s win at the annual JUMP into STEM final competition, which played off the theme “resilience in the wake of a disaster.” When asked about the win, Eddy said, “It still feels surreal, when I […]
Global Impact Through Charity Validation
Excluding funding, what is the number one challenge facing nonprofits? Validation, according to Angela Holzer, founder of WikiCharities and a recent Master of Business Creation graduate. As a humanitarian volunteer, nonprofit researcher, and student, Holzer realized that a resource was needed to centralize and build trust between funders, users, and nonprofits. Thus, WikiCharities was born. […]