Innovator Day 2024

Date: Friday, February 9th

Location: Prescott 225

Target Audience: Faculty, graduate students, and student researchers

Register here (free): Registration Link

More info: maikens@tntech.edu

Agenda:

Welcome (9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.) 
Join us for the commencement of Innovator Day at Tennessee Tech University with an introduction from Dr. John Liu, Vice President for Research and Dr. Michael Aikens, Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship to set the stage for the collaborative Tennessee Tech Advancement Consortium between LaunchTN and Tennessee Technological University. 

LaunchTN x TN Tech: A Collaborative Partnership to Advance Faculty Research and Commercialization (10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.)
Discover how LaunchTN, the startup support organization for the state, is focusing their efforts to empower faculty researchers at Tennessee Technological University to translate their ideas from lab to market through the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium (TTAC).

Box Lunch/Break (10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.)

Supporting Innovation at Tennessee Technological University (11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.)
Learn more about the innovation ecosystem at Tennessee Technological University and how the university is fueling groundbreaking research, nurturing student ventures, and fostering partnerships to bring faculty and student research ideas to life.

MidSouth i-Corps Hub Info Session (11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Join Mid-South Hub Director, Charleson Bell, to learn more about NSF's National Innovation-Corps, an immersive entrepreneurial training program and $50,000 grant for research commercialization!

Faulty Inventor Office Hours with LaunchTN (1 p.m. - 2 p.m.)

**Afternoon programming continues at The Biz Foundry, 114 N Cedar Ave, Cookeville, TN 38501, starting at 3 p.m.**

Building the University to Startup Pipeline at Tennessee Tech (3:00 PM - 4:00 PM)

Moderator: Lindsey Cox, CEO of LaunchTN

Panelists: Tea Phillips (MetaFlex), Ian Villa (Whisper Aero), Dr. Rory Roberts (TN Tech)

Description: Join us for an exciting conversation exploring how Tennessee can support innovation and technology commercialization from local universities and discover how LaunchTN is building a university network across the state to connect startups and researchers, accelerating breakthroughs and turning ideas into reality. Hear from key players in the ecosystem, including representatives from the Biz Foundry, Tennessee Technological University, and Whisper Aero, a Crossville startup pioneering electric propulsion technology.

Innovator Reception (4 p.m. - 6 p.m.)  
Faculty, students, and innovators can connect with research collaborators, potential industry partners, startups, entrepreneurship support personnel during this networking happy hour event.

So that we can obtain an accurate headcount for lunch, please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/innovator-day-tennessee-tech-university-tickets-795446992367?aff=oddtdtcreator