Ignite Fellow for New Ventures Info Session 2
2025-12-17 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/ignite-fellow-for-new-ventures-info-session-2-december-17
Ignite Fellows for New Ventures is the flagship PhD & master’s‑level fellowship in Cornell’s Lab‑to‑Market gap‑fund series. Since its 2022 launch, the program has supported entrepreneurial scientists and engineers ready to turn research into high‑impact startups.
We’re now recruiting our 5th annual cohort, open to master’s graduates, doctoral candidates, and PhD holders. Fellows are matched with a Cornell faculty inventor and receive up to $120,000 in funding. They join as full‑time Cornell employees, working in the lab and engaging with our incubator network for business development.
This is your opportunity to build a business, lead as a founder, advance technology commercialization, and enrich Cornell’s venture ecosystem. Whether your ambition is to become CEO, CSO or CTO—or to apply your entrepreneurial mindset to bold new discoveries—Ignite is designed for you.
What we look for:

Big‑vision innovators who take calculated risks

Scientists or engineers ready to lead a venture

Partners who want to work alongside a Cornell faculty inventor

What you’ll get:

Funding up to $120 K to support you and your early‑stage work

Mentorship and training through Cornell’s startup ecosystem

Access to faculty lab resources, the incubator network, and startup infrastructure

Register here.

Lab to Impact: Telling Your Scientific Story for Commercialization Impact
2026-01-22 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/lab-to-impact-telling-your-scientific-story-for-commercialization-impact
Discoveries do not become products or services on their own. Beyond validating the underlying science and its novelty, researchers must communicate their work in language that resonates with audiences outside their field, including industry partners, investors, and potential customers. Effective storytelling helps build understanding and trust, highlight the value of new discoveries, and enable others to see why an innovation matters.
In this session, Telling Your Scientific Story for Commercialization Impact, Julia Felice, Ph.D., will help scientific innovators strengthen their ability to communicate complex ideas in ways that drive engagement and action. Participants will explore how narrative supports the adoption of new technologies and how a clear, compelling story can accelerate partnerships, funding, and early market traction.
Participants will:

Learn how to adapt their scientific story for diverse audiences.
Engage with examples and development of a concise “hook” that conveys the value of their research to non-technical decision makers.
Leave with a Storytelling for Impact Checklist to guide future communication efforts.
Be invited to follow-up office hours with Julia Felice for individualized feedback on their own innovation story (limited spots).

The goal of this workshop is to help innovators understand how to cross the “communication chasm,” an important step on the path from Lab to Impact.
Register here.

Lab to Impact: Social Science at the Frontiers of Innovation
2026-01-27 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/lab-to-impact-social-science-at-the-frontiers-of-innovation
Join Professor Eve DeRosa and social entrepreneur Steve Shapiro for a conversation on translating behavioral science and human-centered research into impactful products, services, and ventures. Explore how social scientists are shaping business models and creating change in communities.
This event has been postponed. New date: January 27, 2026.
Register here.
