Trask Innovation Fund application deadline set for Sept. 19

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Applications for the Trask Innovation Fund are being accepted through Sept. 19 to eligible Purdue University inventors at all campuses who are working to advance Purdue technologies toward commercialization.

Applications must describe commercially relevant work that can be performed over a six-month period that advances the development of a technology disclosed to the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization.

The awards are competitive and must be used by recipients to further the commercial potential of Purdue discoveries. Information about the Trask application is available at http://otc-prf.org/trask-innovation-fund.

Purdue faculty who received funding from the most recent round of Trask Innovation Award funding include:

* Steve Weller, College of Agriculture, and his collaborators, Burkhard Schulz, College of Agriculture, and Michael Gribskov, College of Science, $50,000.

* Young Kim, College of Engineering, $50,000.

* Sophie Lelièvre, College of Veterinary Medicine, $48,563.

In this round of awards, selected projects from the Purdue College of Agriculture will have the opportunity to be awarded additional funding from Romney, Indiana-based Ag Alumni Seed Improvement Association Inc. Weller and his colleagues were the first to be awarded this additional funding.

"The $50,000 Trask Innovation Fund award has allowed my colleagues and me to create a prototype of a diagnostic tool to inform farmers whether glyphosate-resistant giant ragweed exists in their fields," he said. "The additional $10,000 from the Ag Alumni Seed Improvement Association has allowed us to expand our activities to determine whether our diagnostic tools will work for other weeds resistant to glyphosate, thus expanding our detection toolbox."

The Trask Innovation Fund Advisory Council manages two rounds of funding each year. The council is composed of representatives from the local business community, Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue University Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships, and Purdue faculty.

The advisory council will meet Nov. 7 to determine this round's award recipients. Awards will be announced in late November.

About Purdue Research Foundation

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts, administers trusts, funds scholarships and grants, acquires property, and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park and Purdue Technology Centers. The foundation received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology-transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. 

Writer: Hillary Henry, 765-588-3586, hkhenry@prf.org

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org