News
February 06
2025
Penn State Students: Turn startup dreams into reality this summer
Penn State student startups from all campuses, including World Campus, are encouraged to apply for the 2025 Invent Penn State Summer Founders Program. Selected teams will receive a $15,000 grant to dedicate their summer to advancing their startup, social impact project or nonprofit initiative.
February 06
2025
Invent Penn State fuels innovation across Pennsylvania
The Invent Penn State LaunchBox and Innovation Network supported 1,356 entrepreneurs, engaged 3,274 students, and directly facilitated the creation of 193 new jobs and 113 startups across Pennsylvania, in fiscal year 2023-24.
January 27
2025
Marine Corps veteran to lead new Veterans Business Outreach Center at Penn State
Hazel Diaz, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a Penn State alumna, has been named the director of the new Veterans Business Outreach Center at Penn State. The recently opened center provides entrepreneurial development services to veterans, active-duty service members, National Guard members, reservists and military spouses across the commonwealth.
January 24
2025
Reimagine your research: Apply for Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps Short Course
Invent Penn State’s NSF I-Corps Short Course is accepting applications for its virtual February cohort, with a deadline to apply of Jan. 31. The no-cost program helps researchers test a startup idea through customer interviews and educational programming on the lean startup methodology.
January 24
2025
‘Dare to Disrupt’ features alum Paul Suhey on implementing urban-area EV charging
The latest episode of Invent Penn State’s Dare to Disrupt podcast features Paul Suhey, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Revel. Paul shares how he drives Revel’s mission to accelerate electric vehicle (EV) adoption in U.S. cities by focusing on fast-charging infrastructure.
January 13
2025
PlantVillage empowers farmers around the world to combat climate change
PlantVillage, a Penn State-based research lab, is working with smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and the Americas to adapt to climate-related challenges. To guide its expansion and commercial efforts, PlantVillage participated in the Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps regional short course, which helps researchers start on the path toward commercializing their innovations.
January 13
2025
Penn State startup tackles chronic wounds with ‘Plasma Patch’
Penn State startup Fourth State Therapeutics has developed a cold plasma-based technology called the Plasma Patch, intended to tackle chronic wound treatment. Fourth State participated in Invent Penn State’s Summer Founders Program and NSF I-Corps Short Course.
January 08
2025
Penn State students tackle farming challenges in Kenya with ShambaShare
Through Penn State’s Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program, Sam Marshall’s student startup team developed ShambaShare. They later won funding in the Invent Penn State Inc.U Competition to pilot their agricultural equipment-sharing platform in Africa.
December 06
2024
Veterans win startup funding through business bootcamp
Six veterans, including a Penn State Harrisburg student, were awarded funding to help launch their business ideas during the Veterans Business Bootcamp pitch competition hosted by Harrisburg LaunchBox powered by Penn State and the Rotary Veterans Initiative.
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