Success Stories - Page 27 of 38

It’s amazing what a drop of water can reveal to the trained eye.

In the lab of assistant professor Lauren Zarzar, Ph.D., in Penn State's Eberly College of Science, Zarzar and graduate students Amy Goodling and Caleb Meredith were studying droplets of water for use in lenses. They happened to notice certain conditions where the droplets were colored. This observation enabled them to understand and…

Disrupting the sleep market was all in a day’s work for alumni JT Marino

Every parent knows college students like sleep. College of Engineering graduate John-Thomas “JT” Marino, however, committed all his energy to sleep after graduating in 2012 when he started Tuft & Needle – a direct-to-consumer online mattress retailer with a "bed in a box" concept – completely disrupting the way consumers purchase…

Rachel Herder leads IP Clinic effort to boost entrepreneurship success

Rachel Herder knows a thing or two about how complex systems work. As director of the Penn State Law Intellectual Property Clinic and assistant professor of clinical law, she leverages her multiple degrees and experience in life sciences patent law to help entrepreneurs across Pennsylvania determine how to properly secure a patent,…

Invent Penn State scales to provide impact in Pennsylvania

During the Board of Trustees Committee meeting on Outreach, Development and Community Relations on Nov. 14, collaborators in the Invent Penn State initiative — the Office of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization, Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank, Penn State New Kensington and their Corner LaunchBox, and the Office of Government…

Tick defense, interactive math equations among 2019 FastTrack Accelerator teams

Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank has accepted six new early-stage startup businesses into its FastTrack Accelerator program. The business ideas range from Lyme disease-carrying tick defense for athletes to 3D printing parts for silicone prototyping to helping small businesses grow their customer pipeline. Through a competitive entry program, Fast Track drew…

Student Startups Shine at the Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference

Shortly after the recent 2019 Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference kicked off, Penn State University President Eric Barron welcomed eight Penn State student researchers and entrepreneurs to center stage for them to compete in the Student Startup Showcase – a forum for Penn State’s best and brightest student…

Alumna Hillary Lewis Murray returns to Penn State to help students get their entrepreneurial juices flowing

April 2019, during Startup Week, was a homecoming for 2008 Penn State Magna Cum Laude graduate, Hillary Lewis Murray. After graduating from Penn State, Murray’s life became busy and she lost touch with the University. Five years later, Murray founded her business Lumi Organics while an MBA student at the…

Penn State's New Agreement with Volvo Group North America Continues Academic-Preferred Partnership in U.S.

Back in 2009, Penn State University began an experiment with Volvo Group North America that now, a decade later, is considered a national model for the development and sustainability of a holistic approach to corporate engagement. Today, the Volvo Group and Penn State are building on that world-class model by…

Global Entrepreneurship Week helps Pennsylvania entrepreneurs learn and launch

In its 11th year, Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Penn State provided a unique opportunity for student and community entrepreneurs and innovators to network and learn from one another in unique environments on and off campus. GEW featured 56 events — 26 events at University Park and 30 across 11 Commonwealth Campuses —…