Gainesville, Fla., September 5, 2025— The eighth annual Standing InnOvation celebration will kick off with a high-impact keynote session, From Founder to Funder with Melissa Medina, at Santa Fe College’s Blount Center.

Returning for a second consecutive year, this entrepreneurial-focused session offers attendees an opportunity to collaborate and network.

Gator alum Melissa Medina, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, community leader, and investor brings 20+ years of experience to the stage. As the co-founder, CEO, and president of eMerge Americas, Medina has helped transform South Florida into a thriving global tech hub.

Under Medina’s leadership, the eMerge Americas signature event—a global tech conference and expo that launched in 2014—attracts over 20,000 attendees from around the world, positioning the region as a leading destination for innovation and investment.

“Mel Medina is a powerhouse of the Miami startup community,” said Melissa Kuchma, assistant director of corporate engagement and tech licensing at UF Innovate. “She has worked to build an ecosystem to support startups with technologies across all sectors… and she is an important part of accelerating innovation in Florida.”

 During the keynote, Medina will share insights from her own journey, her role in shaping South Florida’s tech ecosystem, and advice for entrepreneurs navigating the startup landscape.

Following the keynote, Jackson Streeter, director of UF Innovate | Ventures, will host a fireside chat with Medina, followed by a Q&A session with attendees.

“Melissa Medina’s…passion for fostering innovation and successful business experience make her an inspiring keynote speaker. It is very exciting to have Melissa return to her alma mater for UF Innovate | Tech Licensing’s Standing InnOvation event,” said Streeter.

This opportunity is free and open to the public, provided by UF Innovate, and sponsored by Wolf Greenfield. It is the only way non-invited guests can gain access to the full Standing InnOvation celebration, honoring the outstanding contributions of UF innovators across disciplines.

Register now to attend From Founder to Funder with Melissa Medina here.

Contact

For more information, please contact:

Sara Dagen

UF Innovate, Assistant Director, Communications

marketing@research.ufl.edu

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Knowlify receives the Student Startup “Panelists’ Choice” award at GatorPitch Miami on May 8.

Miami, FL – Six University of Florida startups pitched their business plan to more than 100 attendees from Miami’s investor and entrepreneurial community at UF Innovate’s second GatorPitch Miami event on May 8.

This year’s spring pitch competition featured three student-led startups and three established companies. The six finalists, who received tailored mentorship from Mana Tech’s Etienne Gillard, an international entrepreneur, investor, and mentor, are pushing the boundaries of healthcare, manufacturing, business, and AI.

“GatorPitch is where the University of Florida brings down its best and brightest to pitch in front of Miami investors,” said Melissa Kuchma, assistant director of corporate engagement and tech licensing at UF Innovate, which co-hosts the event with international startup hub Mana Tech.

The panel of experts—DeepWork Capital‘s TJ Fleming, Backswing Ventures‘ Kyle Asman, and eMerge America‘s TJ Villamil—awarded student company Knowlify and established company Oboro Labs, Inc. the “Panelists’ Choice” awards.

Knowlify uses AI to convert natural language, PDFs, and textbooks into dynamic, Khan Academy-style lecture videos in seconds. Licensed by institutions via API, the technology extracts key concepts and generates videos with voiceovers, visualizations, and animations. With just the click of a button, Knowlify enhances comprehension and engagement, making education more effective, accessible, and entertaining at scale.

Oboro Labs receives the “Panelists’ Choice” award at GatorPitch Miami on May 8.

Oboro Labs, Inc., is a catalyst and cyclic polymer manufacturing company based on University of Florida technology. Imagine drug therapies with fewer side effects, water bottles without toxic nanoplastics or additives, or vehicles made more energy efficient because surfaces have less friction.

Currently, industries use linear polymers in their products, which at the molecular level have chain ends. These chain ends break down, which is why nanoparticles pollute water bottles, or the oil in our cars must be changed periodically.

Oboro Labs delivers polymers with no chain ends, resulting in lower surface friction, higher melt temperatures, conductivity, and leaching prevention. As the only company globally capable of producing cyclic polyolefins at scale, this revolutionary technology could change the way international manufacturers produce and deliver some of the products used worldwide, benefiting the environment and humankind.

In addition to Knowlify and Oboro Labs, Inc., the presenters included student-led companies AKIO and Vetra and established companies Moxie-HANDSFreeNurse and Rahm Sensor Development.

• AKIO is a platform using artificial intelligence to identify and treat speech and language disorders. Through its immersive video game, children play with a customizable digital “best friend,” choosing who provides care without sacrificing the quality.

• Vetra is building the future of targeted search and contextual windows for large language models (LLMs). By tackling the complexities of patent search—a domain rich in nuanced, technical language—the company is developing a robust framework adaptable to other text-intensive industries such as defense, healthcare, and academic research.

• Moxie-HANDSFreeNurse uses voice-to-text and AI to enable hands-free electronic health record (EHR) interaction anytime and anywhere. It is vendor-agnostic, hardware-free, and designed around nurses’ workflow. Moxie is not a patch. It is a reinvention that brings nurses back to the bedside, delivering quality patient care.

• Rahm Sensor Development, Inc. is an advanced technology company specializing in AI-powered, non-contact sensor systems for vital sign monitoring, fall detection, and safety alerts. Rahm’s solutions integrate radar, thermal, and computer vision technologies into compact, cloud-enabled, and offline-capable platforms.

Miami is a key startup hub, with the city’s dynamic business environment drawing top talent and investors worldwide. In the first half of 2024, South Florida alone attracted $1.37 billion in investments. It also claims 65% of Florida’s total venture capital dollars.

“More capital has moved here than any other city in the country,” said TJ Villamil, the president of business development for eMerge Americas, the premier global tech event held annually in Miami, shaping the future of tech and innovation.. “[It] is not only a city of the present, but a city of the future.”

Miami continues to be a top choice for UF Innovate’s GatorPitch events. Bilzin Sumberg; 35 Mules, powered by Florida Power & Light; and DeepWork Capital sponsored this spring edition of GatorPitch Miami.

“UF is very important; we need more of UF’s presence in Miami. And [GatorPitch] is one part of this initiative to build that bridge between Gainesville and Miami,” said Etienne Gillard, Mana Tech’s Head of Ventures.

UF Innovate will host a fall edition of GatorPitch Miami with Mana Tech on Thursday, November 6. 

About UF Innovate:

UF Innovate supports an innovation ecosystem at UF that moves research discoveries from

the laboratory to the market, fostering a resilient economy and making the world a better

place. Based at one of the nation’s leading research institutions, UF Innovate comprises four

organizations: Tech Licensing, Ventures, Pathways, and Accelerate, which includes two

business incubators, the Hub and Sid Martin Biotech. Organized under the UF Research

umbrella, this quartet forms a comprehensive commercialization system that brings

together six critical elements: facilities, capital management, training, talent, intellectual

property, and technology-transfer expertise. Visit https://innovate.research.ufl.edu/about/

About Mana Tech:

Mana Tech is part of billionaire Moishe Mana’s project to turn Downtown Miami into the startup hub of the Americas. We provide the programs, events, workspace, and funding to support this. Previously Mana revitalized Wynwood in Miami and has already acquired 80 properties in Downtown. Learn more at https://www.manatech.com/

By Andrea Dautant, Marketing and Communications Manager, UF Innovate

GAINESVILLE, FL — Chiller Body, founded by Peter Bowman, and inventor of the Cooling Hat Insert, designed to combat heat stress in work, sports, and outdoor recreation, has officially been accepted into the UF Innovate | Accelerate at The Hub, a world-class entrepreneurial ecosystem housed at the University of Florida, home of Gatorade’s legendary innovation legacy.

With its proven cooling solution, Chiller Body joins a thriving community of forward-thinking startups at UF Innovate. The UF Innovate | Accelerate program is renowned for accelerating industry-defining innovations and driving those ventures toward global growth.

“Chiller Body exemplifies the kind of innovation we are proud to support at UF Innovate,” said Jennifer Harrell, assistant director of UF Innovate | Accelerate at The Hub. “With patented technology designed to combat heat stress—a challenge faced by outdoor workers, athletes, and everyday consumers worldwide—it embodies the spirit of problem-solving that drives our ecosystem. We are excited to welcome Chiller Body into our dynamic community of entrepreneurs, innovators, and business builders, where this venture can collaborate with like-minded peers and leverage UF Innovate’s resources to accelerate their growth as they scale and position themselves for a successful exit.”

UF Innovate’s accelerator program offers access to deep R&D resources, top-tier mentorship, and investor readiness programming—all designed to accelerate commercialization and scale viable business ventures.

“The opportunity to expand this venture within the UF Innovate ecosystem is a significant milestone for our product and the Chiller Body brand,” said Bowman. “As a Florida-based business, we are fortunate to work with UF Innovate and continue our US and international market expansion where people are being increasingly affected by rising temperatures.”

Read more about Chiller Body Accepted into UF Innovate | Accelerate at The Hub to Drive Global Expansion of its Patented Cooling Hat Inserts.

Miami, FL- UF Innovate hosted its inaugural GatorPitch event on Thursday, November 7, at Miami’s Mana Tech, showcasing six of the University of Florida’s best startups to more than 150 attendees from South Florida’s dynamic investor and entrepreneurial community.

“The response to GatorPitch Miami was better than we imagined,” said Melissa Kuchma, assistant director of corporate engagement and tech licensing at UF Innovate. “UF has amazing entrepreneurial talent and startups, and this event demonstrates UF’s innovative capabilities to Miami’s burgeoning investment and startup ecosystem.”

During GatorPitch Miami, a panel of experts – A.R.I.’s Zack Ellison, eMerge America’s Tony Jimenez, and OneSixOne Venture’s Pablo Casilimas – judged each pitch and provided the presenters with valuable feedback. Clockout received the “Panelists’ Choice” award.

“Being awarded the ‘Panelists’ Choice’ is not only a great honor but also a testament to the potential of our earned wage access solution,” said Juan Jurado-Blanco, co-founder and CEO of Clockout. “The exposure we gained [at GatorPitch Miami] to top-tier VCs and potential angel investors was invaluable, and we’ve already sparked significant interest from investors eager to help us scale.”

Clockout is an embedded earned wage access (EWA) solution for financial institutions, allowing employees to access their earned wages on demand, improving financial stability, and reducing reliance on predatory loans.

“Events like GatorPitch are important to foster collaboration and encourage talent and resources to remain in the state of Florida,” said Kuchma.

UF Innovate selected Miami as the host site of its first startup pitch event because the city is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country, with a significant flow of capital. In 2023, venture capitalists invested $2.41 billion in the Greater Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, 69 percent of Florida’s venture funding.

Twenty startups applied for an opportunity to pitch in Miami but six stood out as having the potential to disrupt their markets.

In addition to Clockout, those finalists included Anekabio, Biomine, Fire Bird Drone, Hadrona, and Jex. Each company received one-on-one, tailored mentoring from Etienne Gillard, Mana Tech’s Head of Ventures, receiving feedback on their pitch decks and presentations.

• Founded by Vijayendran Chandran, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UF’s College of Medicine, Anekabio is a therapeutic company introducing a safer and more effective therapy for Friedreich’s Ataxia.
• Biomine, co-founded by UF researcher Matias Kirst, aims to create a U.S.-based, sustainable, reliable source of high-value metals critical to supporting the world’s transition to clean energy, using bioengineered crops.
• Fire Bird Drone, led by UF graduate Istvan Kereszy, operates as a centralized command center using autonomous fixed-wing “drone-in-a-box” units for rapid, data-driven aerial reconnaissance in disaster scenarios.
• Hadrona, Inc. is dedicated to bringing the clinical benefit of proton therapy to more cancer patients in an economically viable way for clinics. Hadrona is led by Mark Artz, a clinical assistant professor at the UF Proton Health Therapy Institute.
• Jex, co-founded by UF alum Sebastian Galindo and Saul Vargas, uses AI to streamline hiring, from talent discovery to global payroll.

This inaugural event was sponsored by DeepWork Capital, Bilzin Sumberg, Memorial Healthcare System, One Park Financial, and J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

“DeepWork is committed to fostering innovation from academic institutions and supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Florida,” said Kathy Chiu, managing partner at DeepWork Capital. “This event showcased several companies with significant potential, and we were thrilled to support it.”

UF Innovate plans to host other GatorPitch events across Florida, including Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, to connect UF’s talent pipeline with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs across the state.

About UF Innovate

UF Innovate supports an innovation ecosystem at UF that moves research discoveries from

the laboratory to the market, fostering a resilient economy and making the world a better

place. Based at one of the nation’s leading research institutions, UF Innovate comprises four

organizations: Tech Licensing, Ventures, Pathways, and Accelerate, which includes two

business incubators, the Hub and Sid Martin Biotech.Organized under the UF Research

umbrella, this quartet forms a comprehensive commercialization system that brings

together six critical elements: facilities, capital management, training, talent, intellectual

property, and technology-transfer expertise. Visit https://innovate.research.ufl.edu/about/

About Mana Tech:

Mana Tech is part of billionaire Moishe Mana’s project to turn Downtown Miami into the startup hub of the Americas. We provide the programs, events, workspace, and funding to support this. Previously Mana revitalized Wynwood in Miami and has already acquired 80 properties in Downtown. Learn more at https://www.manatech.com/

By Andrea Dautant, Marketing and Communications Manager

UF Innovate | Tech Licensing’s annual celebration grew to record numbers, becoming a full-day affair, in which it honored nearly 700 current University of Florida researchers who disclosed, optioned, or licensed technologies or received an issued patent in the fiscal year. One Innovator of the Year and six Inventions of the Year received special recognition.

Gainesville, FL – UF Innovate | Tech Licensing hosted its seventh annual Standing InnOvation event on Wednesday, October 30, to acknowledge and celebrate research discoveries by University of Florida innovators in fiscal year 2024.

Standing InnOvation gives innovators a well-deserved “standing ovation” for disclosing, optioning, or licensing their innovations during the fiscal year. The number of disclosures, options, and licenses coming through the UF Innovate | Tech Licensing office continues to grow annually. In the 2024 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, innovators disclosed 372 new technologies, licensed 121, and started 9 startup companies.

This year’s celebration was a full-day affair. The morning featured two keynotes and a book signing at Insights and Innovation with David S. Rose at Santa Fe College’s Blount Center. Rose is a serial entrepreneur and investor who’s known as an industry guru on the two topics he covered in his talks: Finances 101 and How to Pitch Your Startup. 

Rose separately met with nearly 20 UF faculty for lunch to respond to questions they posed on starting a business. Six “speed dating” slots gave companies an opportunity to get personal feedback as they pitched their company and sought Rose’s advice.

In addition, the second InnOvation Showcase occurred concurrently with the Standing InnOvation reception. It featured 14 of the 16 University of Florida colleges and the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, all showcasing the latest innovations from their researchers.

The 2024 Innovator of the Year

What if we could live in an era in which vaccines could not only treat cancer but potentially prevent it?

This is the research focus of the 2024 Innovator of the Year — Dr. Elias Sayour.

When selecting the Innovator of the Year, UF considers the researcher’s body of work over time, choosing one who has made significant scientific contributions that have been licensed or taken to the marketplace.

Dr. Elias Sayour, an associate professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics, and the Stop Children’s Cancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research, is a bold, pioneering, and widely recognized researcher for his work in cancer immunotherapy. Sayour’s development of unique mRNA vaccines could be the key to a universal cancer vaccine treatment.

Available treatment options for cancer patients involve local treatment, such as surgery and radiation, and a systemic approach such as chemotherapy, as the disease often has microscopic tentacles elsewhere in the human body. While chemotherapy can kill the tentacles, it can have debilitating side effects.

Sayour’s technology uses mRNA to educate the human immune system. RNA is the human body’s information highway. Leveraging this “human highway” could allow researchers to reprogram the immune system against cancer. Not only would the immune system be able to fight cancer, but remember it as foreign, fighting it for the rest of someone’s life. 

“It is very important for patients… to have an ally like the immune system constantly working on their behalf,” says Sayour.

Sayour’s work combines cutting-edge gene therapy and immunology techniques to create personalized, targeted treatments for patients with tumors. His leadership in translational medicine enables him to bridge the gap between laboratory discoveries and clinical applications, improving outcomes for cancer patients globally.

“Dr. Elias Sayour is a tireless and driven clinician-scientist and one of the premier faculty of the University of Florida. It was my honor to nominate him for the Innovator of the Year award,” said Dr. Jackson Streeter, director of UF Innovate | Ventures.

The 2024 Inventions of the Year

Each of the six licensing teams chooses one Invention of the Year from its portfolio. Each winning technology stood out as one with great potential from the pool of 372 new ideas disclosed in fiscal year 2024.

A Revolutionary Approach to Treating Brain Disorders with a Fungal Drug Delivery Platform

Dr. Jamal Lewis, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, and his research team, including graduate student Clinton Smith, are leading a project that could transform how we treat brain disorders. These conditions affect a large portion of the US population, but existing drugs often fail due to delivery challenges.

Lewis’ lab leverages the natural abilities of the fungus Cryptococcus to navigate the body and cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing for targeted drug delivery directly to the brain.

“Our goal is to create small biomaterial particles loaded with therapeutic drugs, which can be attached to these fungi,” said Lewis. “Once injected into the body, we aim for the fungi to travel to the brain and release the drugs where they are most needed.”

A Transformative Tool for Cancer Detection Using Saliva-Based Biosensors

At the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, Dr. Fan Ren, a distinguished professor in chemical engineering, is leading a project using saliva to detect diseases, such as breast and oral cancers.

“Saliva contains numerous proteins known as biomarkers that can indicate disease presence,” said Dr. Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw of the College of Dentistry.

Esquivel-Upshaw and Ren have collaborated to advance their biosensor technology, which has evolved from using basic glucose strips to detecting multiple biomarkers simultaneously with an approach that “enhances sensitivity by 100 to 1000 times,” Esquivel-Upshaw said.

The goal is to create a multi-channel strip capable of detecting six biomarkers from a single saliva sample, potentially prompting further testing such as mammograms.

“We are not trying to eliminate mammograms or imaging,” Dr. Esquivel-Upshaw emphasizes. “The biosensor is intended to complement current diagnostic techniques rather than replace them.”

Design-Manufacturing Digitalization Software for Multi-Functional Robotic Stations for Industrialized Construction

The UF College of Design, Construction, and Planning’s Dr. Aladdin Alwisy is working to make construction faster and better.

Every construction design is unique, making mass production difficult. Builders face inconsistencies with a project’s quality and costs. Alwisy, an associate professor in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, has identified a simple solution: robots.

The robotic system standardizes the construction process, ensuring consistent performance regardless of the complexity of the task. However, Dr. Alwisy takes this robotic system further and integrates software.

Early adopters of robotics have faced the challenge of modifying the design and manufacturing strategy to achieve customized building. This software links the design and transfers the manufacturing strategy to the robot, showing them how to build and design each component. This entire robotic system is flexible and multifunctional, enabling the manufacturing industry to become more automated and efficient.

“Could we call this the ‘Golden Goose’ of construction manufacturing? I would say yes,” Alwisy said.

Advancing Quantum Computing and Cybersecurity with Quantum Error Correction Codes and Quantum Circuit Modeling

Dr. Prabhat Mishra, a distinguished professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at UF, has a technology with the potential to revolutionize quantum computing and cybersecurity. His current research emphasizes the development of quantum error correction codes and quantum circuit modeling, both critical for protecting quantum information from errors caused by noise and decoherence.

Mishra’s invention includes understanding weaknesses and designing systems that effectively mitigate the associated risks. As cybersecurity threats become increasingly sophisticated, this work is crucial and emphasizes the growing need for protective measures.

Dr. Rick Croley, the licensing officer managing the technology, highlights the challenges in quantum electronics, particularly the need for low temperatures to minimize thermal noise.

“Noise can negatively impact the performance and reliability of quantum computations,” said Croley.

Mishra’s research includes methods for correcting thermal errors, which has already been tested on IBM quantum computers.

Additionally, this invention focuses on improved benchmarking of quantum computers, suggesting that future evaluations should include factors like initialization and measurement. By addressing thermal noise and circuit stability, Dr. Mishra’s contributions aim to significantly advance quantum computing technology, opening new possibilities for faster and more efficient computing solutions.

Natural Product ERR Ligands as Potential Exercise Mimetics

Exercise in a pill? Close, but not quite.

Dr. Thomas Burris, the director of the UF Genetics Institute and the associate chair of the Department of Pharmacodynamics in the UF College of Pharmacy, has developed an exercise memetic derived from a natural product source. These small molecule ligands target two receptor classes, ERRs and REVERBs, to facilitate many of the same physiological pathways involved in exercise metabolism.

Those living with obesity or metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, may not be able to exercise to the degree they want to or need. By mimicking the physiological adaptations our bodies experience when exercising, these naturally found molecules can be used simultaneously with existing drugs and improve health.

“I think this is going to have a really great impact on [people’s] health and wellness,” said Dr. Melissa Kuchma, who manages Dr. Burris’ portfolio of technologies.

Use of Puragel (RADA16) to Reduce Mucosal Inflammation

Sometimes the newest innovations emerge from a fortunate stroke of serendipity. The simplest observation leads to the development of a major and beneficial breakthrough in a field.

Dr. Jennifer Mulligan, a mucosal immunologist in the Department of Otolaryngology at the UF College of Medicine, and Dr. Carl Atkinson developed RADA16, a hydrogel made of amino acids to help better treat patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), an inflammatory condition affecting the sinuses and nasal passages.

Patients with CRS experience symptoms, such as having a runny nose or cold, persistently for months, if not years. This often leads to a loss of sense of smell and a poor quality of life. Common treatments are steroids, which have long-term negative consequences.

But, with RADA16, it may be possible to control inflammation by applying it directly to the mucosal site of injury or inflammation.

Initially, Mulligan was tasked with looking at RADA16’s wound-healing capabilities. To better understand these properties, she began to take a deeper dive to see if it would also be anti-inflammatory — which has never been described, despite the compound being around since the ‘90s.

Mulligan and her lab quickly found that when RADA16 combines with a mucosal surface, such as the nose, lungs, and gut, it takes on anti-inflammatory properties and becomes absorbent. It broadens its potential to serve as an anti-inflammatory agent for treating anything in the mucosal lining.

“Our goal with this is that we’ll be able to use it in reducing postoperative inflammation… and hopefully, help patients improve their odds of getting their sense of smell back,” said Mulligan.

InnOvation Showcase

This year featured the second InnOvation Showcase. The exhibition had 14 of the 16 University of Florida colleges, including the College of Veterinary Medicine, UF | IFAS, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Journalism and Communications, and more, as well as the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology.

The colleges showcased their latest innovations, ranging from AI-enabled digital imaging to a tool for managing climate risk in agriculture to machine learning-powered language bias. Guests had the opportunity to visit each kiosk and interact with each invention while networking during the reception. 

In Conclusion

Standing InnOvation is an opportunity to give UF innovators a “standing ovation” for the work they’ve accomplished in the fiscal year and the innovations they’ll continue to develop.

The Innovator of the Year and the six recipient teams of Invention of the Year received special recognition during the Standing InnOvation program.

In addition, UF Innovate | Tech Licensing honored all other inventors who hit important milestones during the fiscal year. Special awards were developed for those who disclosed new technologies and had their technologies patented, optioned, or licensed.

Inventors picked up gift bags with their awards – which might have included a commemorative pint glass for disclosing, a certificate for optioning, a license plate for licensing, or personalized patent mugs for each patient issued in the fiscal year.

The Standing InnOvation program was also an opportunity to honor the three teams who received funding through the UF Innovate | Pathway’s inaugural Innovation fund. The three teams who received funding are:

• Drs. Peter Ifju and Imre Bartos: Developing a suspended autonomous fire extinguisher
• Dr. Thomas Burris: Developing exercise mimetics
• Drs. Jiangeng Xue and David Wei: Developing photovoltaic windows

Each team received a large $50,000 check from UF Innovate | Pathways program director, Anita Rao.

Standing InnOvation is also a “standing invitation” for inventors to disclose and license with the UF Innovate | Tech Licensing office, dedicated to protecting and licensing research discoveries.

By Andrea Dautant, Marketing and Communications Manager, and Kaibry Staggs, Social Media Producer, at UF Innovate

Fire Neural Network (FNN) announced that their team, GatorX, is advancing to the semi-final round of the XPRIZE Track B Autonomous Wildfire Challenge. The announcement was made at the Safety and Security Summit, during the  Esri User Conference (Esri UC) in San Deigo, California on July 15-19, 2024.

GatorX is a well-rounded partnership between Fire Neural Network, the University of Florida, NVIDIA, SATLANTIS, SwissDrones, Archer Aviation, SWIR Vision Systems, and N5 Sensors. Fire Neural Network and SATLANTIS LLC are resident clients of UF Innovate | Accelerate.

The fully autonomous GatorX solution removes first responders from harm’s way and displays the use of advanced AI for good, in accessible and responsible real-world applications. Using SATLANTIS satellite imaging, Fire Neural Network High-Risk-Lightning sensors, N5 smoke sensors, FireBird drones, and UF’s NVIDIA HiPerGator AI supercomputer, GatorX can quickly detect the location of hotspots, verify the hotspots, and autonomously eliminate fires.

The XPRIZE Wildfire is a 4-year, $11 million competition incentivizing the innovation of firefighting technologies to end destructive wildfires so humanity and beneficial wildfire can safely co-exist. The prize aims to transform current wildfire management approaches by developing new technologies that can rapidly and accurately detect, characterize, and respond to wildfires before they become destructive.

The $5 million Autonomous Wildfire Response Track (Track B) will transform how fires are managed and fought by rapidly and autonomously detecting and completely suppressing a destructive, high-risk fire in an environmentally challenging area with greater speed, accuracy, and precision than current best-in-class solutions.

Read more about GatorX Advances to Semi-Final Round of XPRIZE Track B Autonomous Wildfire Challenge.

Access Pediatric, an affiliate client of UF Innovate | Accelerate, was founded in 2023. Based in Gainesville, Florida, specialty pediatric physicians can connect patients nationwide with high-quality healthcare from the comfort of their homes through a virtual-first model.

Access Pediatric is a virtual-first, pediatric telehealth platform that connects patients with specialty pediatric physicians, allowing them to receive expert care in their own homes, saving time and money. Access Pediatric improves access to specialty care by delivering cutting-edge technology to patients so they can receive modern and innovative healthcare solutions through a virtual hospital.

“There is a huge scarcity in pediatric specialty care, which is often only found in large cities, leaving those in rural areas with limited options. At Access Pediatric, we have technologies that improve accessibility to specialty care to more patients in a very efficient way,” said Dr. Satyanarayan Hedge, founder and chief medical officer at Access Pediatric. “We are thrilled to join the other members of the ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub in improving health outcomes.”

More than 150 emergency, law enforcement, technology, and retail corporate executives, including some who have firsthand experience in handling mass shooting situations, reviewed a pre-recorded, highly realistic armed assailant exercise staged just weeks earlier in a UF building. The exercise demonstrated what currently occurs when no early detection technologies and protocols are used.

“It was a productive meeting with some of the industry’s most influential retail loss prevention leaders around the table,” said Dr. Read Hayes, director and founder of the LPRC and a research scientist at UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.  “We identified technology and protocol R&D priorities for the coming year. Our team will put together a package that retailers and others can use to help develop their plans and training initiatives.”

For more than 20 years, some of the country’s largest retailers have looked to UF Innovate | Accelerate startup LPRC and its affiliated UF researchers to help stop crime in their stores through research-based trial and testing. While their efforts initially focused on shoplifting and shrinking losses, recent attention has shifted toward preventing violent crimes in retail spaces.

Learn more about Fighting the growing threat of crime and violence in retail spaces.

OneSixOne Ventures, a UF Innovate | Accelerate graduate and local partner, has invested more than $2 million into 12 startups since February 2022. In February, the company announced a new $950,000 investment into Rain AI, a startup developing a computer chip designed for use by artificial intelligence. 

Rain AI is a Gator-led startup that could mirror NVIDIA or Vobile.  

Casilimas and Mendez met Jack Kendall, co-founder and chief technology officer for Rain AI, while at UF. Soon the startup caught the attention of national investors. Rain AI moved to San Francisco and, before long, Casilimas said the startup had gone through a first and second round of investing in 2018 and 2021.

OneSixOne has invested in two other Gator-led startups. Casilimas said UF has the resources to keep building on its top six ranking by U.S. News & World Report along with the Wall Street Journal’s designation of the number one public university in the nation.  

UF has also pushed artificial intelligence learning throughout all its programs. OneSixOne, while not exclusive to AI, has invested in five AI companies.  

“We see a lot of opportunity [at UF], and we want to keep building that ecosystem,” Casilimas said.

Learn how Gators back Gators in a new artificial intelligence investment.

But the magic is fading. In the face of warming, acidifying oceans, coral skeletons are at risk of dissolving. Scientists are racing to develop ways to help stave off collapse. But their efforts are hampered by the difficulty of studying delicate coral polyps in the lab. 

In a first for helping coral polyps respond to these threats, scientists from the University of Florida have recreated the first stage of the coral skeleton creation process in a common, squishy sea anemone. The technique transforms this soft-bodied creature into the perfect lab model for researching coral skeletons and developing ways to bolster coral polyps in a changing climate. 

“The whole ecosystem is dying. You can listen to the death all you want, but what are you going to do to fix it?” said Mark Martindale, Ph.D., director of the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and supervising researcher on the study. “In order to do that, you need to understand what the problems are. And you need an experimental system to do that. Now we have that system.”

Learn how this New Technique May Help Scientists Stave Off Coral Reef Collapse.