Eight COE Projects Selected for GapFund360

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Northeastern’s GapFund360 program helps Northeastern’s researchers bridge the gap between promising lab results and demonstrating a commercially viable prototype. By offering grants and programs, GapFund360 catalyzes state-of-the-art technologies, advancing Northeastern innovation through prototyping, validation, and industry input. Awards range from $50K -$100K. Nine projects were selected from a pool of 39 applications from across the university; COE contributed 25 of the applications and eight projects were selected for funding.

Congratulations to the following COE researchers whose projects were selected for Phase I or Phase II GapFund360 funding: ChE Assistant Professor Sidi Bencherif, MIE Assistant Professor Safa Jamali, ECE Assistant Professor Sarah Ostadabbas, ChE/COS Associate Professor Carolyn Lee-Parsons, ECE Professor Tommaso Melodia, ECE Associate Research Scientist Salvatore D’Oro, ECE Associate Professor Kaushik Chowdhury, ECE Principal Research Scientist Yousof Naderi, ECE Postdoc Ufuk Muncuk, ECE Professor Vincent Harris, ECE Associate Research Scientist Parisa Andalib, ECE Associate Professor Matteo Rinaldi, and ECE Research Assistant Professor Zhenyun Qian. Also, Sidi Bencherif and Safa Jamali were recipients of the COE Assistant Professor Gap Fund Award.

Phase I Awardees | 2019

  • Hypoxia-inducing Cryogels: A Hassle-free and Low-cost Hypoxic Cell Culture Solution
    Sidi Bencherif, Thibault Colombani, Zachary Rogers
  • Physics-informed Neural Network Platforms for Targeted Design and Manufacturing of Soft Materials
    Safa Jamali, Mohammadamin Mahmoudabadbozchelou
  • A-Eye: A Nanotechnology and AI-assisted Artificial Cone Cell Capable of Color and Spectral Recognition
    Swastik Kar, Sarah Ostadabbas, Davoud Hejazi
  • Production of Chemotherapeutic Drugs from the Periwinkle Plant
    Carolyn Lee-Parsons
  • AI-powered Wireless Network Operating System
    Tommaso Melodia, Salvatore D’Oro, Lorenzo Bertizzolo, Leonardo Bonati

Phase II Awardees | 2019

  • Contactless Wireless Energy Transfer: Anywhere, Anytime Charging Surfaces
    Kaushik Chowdhury, Yousof Naderi, Ufuk Muncuk, Kai Li, Jerry Gu
  • Uniquely Engineered Nontoxic Mn-ferrite Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    Vincent Harris, Parisa Andalib
  • Battery-less Infrared Sensor Tags for Reliable Occupancy Sensing (BISTROS)
    Matteo Rinaldi, Zhenyun Qian, Sungho Kang

Related Story: Recognizing GapFund360 Awardees

Related Faculty: Swastik Kar, Sarah Ostadabbas, Carolyn W.T. Lee-Parsons, Tommaso Melodia, Salvatore D'Oro, Kaushik Chowdhury, Yousof Naderi, Ufuk Muncuk, Vincent G. Harris, Parisa Andalib, Matteo Rinaldi, Zhenyun Qian, Safa Jamali

Related Departments:Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering