UF/IFAS Helps Floridians Launch Food Business Dreams
After 10 years as an educator, Smith wanted a new adventure.
“I thought of what I enjoyed doing, but none of those things were appealing to me to do as a business,” she said. “Except for making fried lentils. For me, making lentils was very relaxing. Not only that, but everybody loved my lentils. It’s a favorite family snack.”
At first, Smith put the idea on the backburner, thinking it might not be feasible.
“I thought that I would immediately have to get my product in stores, and I had no idea how to do that,” she said. “I didn’t even originally attend the Extension cottage food course with the intention of starting my own business. It was to support someone else. But once there, a lightbulb went off. I realized I could do this.”
From Fighting Shoplifting to Pioneering Gene Therapies, the Startups in This Accelerator Are on the Front Lines of “Super Creativity”
The startups within UF Innovate, as well as the accelerator itself, are vivid examples of what creativity and innovation expert James Taylor, based in Scotland, describes as SuperCreativity—a phenomenon that many business leaders are trying to foster in today’s fast-changing business environment. It is a concept that goes beyond creativity or innovation alone.
UF AI Center To Push Boundaries of Ag Research
AI will create a fourth agricultural revolution, achieving huge gains in farm productivity the way the introduction of tractors, synthetic fertilizers and genetics did in previous eras. The speed and success of that revolution depends on how well land-grant university innovators.
The groundwork for the revolution has been laid by more than a century of UF/IFAS establishing credibility through its citrus science. Working with a UF/IFAS faculty member comes with assurance that growers’ data will be protected.
Florida’s Life Science Leaders United To Celebrate 25 Years of Innovation and Growth in the State
BioFlorida's 25th Annual Conference united statewide leaders of Florida's life sciences industry representing biopharmaceutical, medical technology, and digital health companies, globally recognized research universities and research institutions, and the state's health systems to spotlight the continued momentum and success in science, business, and public policy and spur collaboration and future growth.
UF Innovate Honors Innovators at Fifth Standing InnOvation Celebration
More than 200 innovators and entrepreneurs gathered for UF Innovate | Tech Licensing’s fifth annual Standing InnOvation event to honor and celebrate innovators and their work at the University of Florida in fiscal year 2022.
QRDI’s Qatar Open Innovation Program Announces Winning Partnerships
The Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council’s flagship program, Qatar Open Innovation (QOI), has announced the two winning innovation partnerships for Hassad Food, Qatar’s investment arm in food and agribusiness sectors, one of which is a UF startup and Accelerate resident, Micro Nano Technologies.
UF Innovate Hosts First Fast Break Ventures Summit
Investors, innovators, and entrepreneurs convened at the University of Florida Stephen C. O’Connell Center for UF Innovate | Ventures' first-annual Fast Break Ventures Summit. Over 100 attendees met on center court for an afternoon filled with discussion on the state of venture capital in Florida and to hear pitches from six startup companies.
Orange County Hands Out Thousands of Free Mosquito Traps
Last month, Orange County Mosquito Control identified approximately 93,000 acres that are seeing more mosquitoes. Because of that influx, the county and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are handing out free mosquito traps.
The traps were invented in a UF lab. And the company that now sells them, Inzecto Mosquito Trap, donated 100,000 traps to hard-hit communities impacted by hurricane Ian. 9,000 of those traps went to Orange County.
UF Start-Up Helps Fight Mosquitoes in Areas Hit Hardest by Hurricane Ian
A product developed in a University of Florida lab designed to protect American soldiers from insect-borne diseases is helping wage war against the surge of mosquitoes in areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian.
The Inzecto Mosquito Trap, co-created by Phil Koehler, a UF distinguished professor in the department of entomology and nematology, is an easy-to-use, environmentally friendly, and effective mosquito-killing device. The Gainesville-based company donated 100,000 traps this week to communities struggling with large populations of mosquitoes due to the floodwaters left behind by the hurricane’s rain and storm surges.
Dr. Barry Byrne Named Innovator of the Year
The annual event honored Dr. Barry Byrne as Innovator of the Year for his contributions to gene therapy and highlighted six teams of inventors for their Inventions of the Year.
