A new innovation incubator will amplify existing collaborations among researchers and soldiers, building on Vanderbilt’s partnership agreement with Army Futures Command.
The project, Soldier-Inspired Innovation Incubator for Discovering Research-Based Solutions, is one of six cross-disciplinary programs to be funded by Vanderbilt’s Trans-Institutional Programs (TIPs) initiative, a hallmark of the university’s Academic Strategic Plan.
The university announced the 2020 TIPs awards and individual faculty Discovery Grants this week.
TIPs support will augment the Army’s investment by fueling off-campus exploration with new shared and mobile instrumentation for rapid prototyping. The 2019 agreement positions Vanderbilt to become a national model for soldier-integrated research innovation, and the additional Vanderbilt funding will enable an expansion of scope and work to attract industry partners.
Daniel F. Flowers Professor Douglas Adams will lead the effort. Adams chairs the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Joining him are three engineering professors: Vanderbilt Director of Making Kevin Galloway, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; E. Bronson Ingram Distinguished Professor of Engineering Janos Sztipanovits, professor of computer science, electrical engineering and computer engineering; Karl Zelik, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, as well as faculty from the College of Arts and Science, the School of Medicine, Peabody, Owen School of Management and VUMC.