Duke University assignment leads to startup | Universities recognized for innovation

Duke University assignment leads to startup

DURHAM, NC–Three college students turned a Duke University Fuqua School of Business assignment into a startup. Their company, called Alcove, offers a simple swiping app to help college students find compatible roommates and shared housing. Alcove co-founders, Colin Tai, Patrick Wickham, and Mitchel Gorecki, created a marketplace that lets landlords and homeowners lease residential properties, one bedroom at a time.

Study to increase drone adaptivity

KNOXVILLE, TN and WEST LAFAYETTE, IN–One problem with autonomous vehicles is that they lack way to filter out information they don’t need, slowing their response time to changes in their environment. Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville are experimenting with a metamaterial that uses its shape to learn how to adapt to its surroundings. They’re studying the effect of dome-covered surfaces on a drone’s wings that would give it a way to remember in microseconds what dangerous conditions feel like and react quickly.

Universities recognized for innovation

AMES, OH–Iowa State University won an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). Examples of the university’s innovation include building hoes with 3D printers and creating agtech products such as smart sensors, machinery electronics, and biomass logistics. The school recently announced plans for a $200 million multi-use district intended to connect the campus.

MADISON, WI–The APLU has also designated the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University. UW–Madison was awarded this designation based on its commitment to economic engagement, including focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer, talent and workforce development, and public service and community engagement.

A self-healing composite for structures

RALEIGH, NC–Engineering researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new self-healing composite that allows structures to repair themselves in place, without having to be removed from service. This means users can rely on a structural component, such as a wind-turbine blade, for a much longer period of time without worrying about failure.