The Ignite Fellow for New Ventures program is a transformative power of innovation that converges with the spirit of entrepreneurship. This dynamic initiative brings together an exceptional group of Fellows, each selected for their remarkable expertise and passion in diverse disciplines. The fellows have been paired with Cornell faculty inventors, forming dynamic collaborations that merge cutting-edge research with practical implementation. Through this pairing, a bridge is built between academia and industry, fostering a fertile ground for ideas to flourish.
Introducing the Bright Minds Shaping the Future of Cornell Innovation
2024-25 Cohort
Steven Yang
Startup: Neural Solids, Inc.
Status: Active Fellow
Conor Loy
Startup: Romix Inc.
Status: Graduated Fellow
2023 Cohort
Amir Mokhtare
New Venture Project: Ultrasound-assisted Reproductive Technology
Startup: IVSonance, Inc.
Faculty-inventor: Alireza Abbasspourrad, Ph.D.
Incubator: Center for Life Science Venture
Status: Active Fellows
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Devansh Agarwal
New Venture Project: Augmented Reality Face Tracking
Faculty-inventor: Cheng Zhang, Ph.D.
Incubator: Praxis Center for Venture Development
Status: Non-Graduated Alumni
College: Information Science
Jonathan McCandless
New Venture Project: Gallium Oxide Vertical Transistors
Startup: Gallox Semiconductors, Inc.
Faculty-inventor: Debdeep Jena, Ph.D
Incubator: Praxis Center for Venture Development
Status: Graduated Fellow
College: Engineering
Marshall Colville
New Venture Project: Lubricin for Osteoarthritis applications
Startup: Calyxsis, Inc.
Faculty-inventor: Matthew Paszek, Ph.D
Incubator: Center for Life Science Venture
Status: Active Fellow
College: Veterinary Medicine
Olalekan Afuye
New Venture Project: Tunable Wireless Radio
Faculty-inventor: Alyssa Apsel, Ph.D
Incubator: Praxis Center for Venture Development
Status: Graduated Fellow
Startup: EchoIC, Inc.
College: Engineering
Yang Yang
New Venture Project: Urban Design Software
Faculty-inventor: Timur Dogan, Ph.D
Incubator: Runway Startup Postdocs
Status: Active Fellow
College: Architecture Art and Planning
2022 cohort
Anthony D’Amato
New Venture Project: The next generation of synthetic vascular grafts
Faculty-inventor: Yadong Wang, Ph.D.
Incubator: Center for Life Science Venture
Status: Graduated Fellow
Startup: Anova Biomedical, Inc.
College: Engineering
Brandon Regensburger
New Venture Project: Battery charging for mobile robots with in-motion wireless charging
Faculty-inventor: Khurram Khan Afridi, Ph.D.
Incubator: Praxis Center for Venture Development
Status: Graduated Fellow
Startup: ExoPower, Inc.
College: Engineering
David Buchholz
New Venture Project: Next generation, broad-spectrum, distribution-enabled vaccines
Faculty-inventor: Hector Aguilar-Carreno, Ph.D.
Incubator: Center for Life Science Venture
Status: Graduated Fellow
Startup: VIVA Viral Vaccines, Inc.
College: Veterinary Medicine
Hassnain Asgar
New Venture Project: Adaptive Methods for CO2 Capture and H2 Production
Faculty-inventor: Greeshma Gadikota, Ph.D.
Incubator: Praxis Center for Venture Development
Status: Graduated Fellow
Startup: Carbon to Stone, Inc.
College: Engineering
June Hwang
New Venture Project: Meta-Materials for optical and infrared lenses
Faculty-inventor: Amit Lal, Ph.D.
Incubator: Praxis Center for Venture Development
Status: Non-Graduated Fellow
College: Engineering
Carbon to Stone
Description: Carbon mineralization is a natural process. Carbon to Stone perfected a reactive crystallization process that matches the scale and speed of climate crisis demands.
Cohort: 2022
Industry: Cleantech
Fellow: Hassnain Asgar
ExoPower, Inc.
Description: ExoPower uses novel wireless power transfer technologies to charge electric vehicles in the materials handling industry. They focus on vehicles in warehouses, airports, and seaports to eliminate excessive downtime currently experienced while batteries are recharged or swapped.
Cohort: 2022
Industry: Hardware & Instrumentation
Fellow: Brandon Regensburger
