USF Research & Innovation and the Florida High Tech Corridor have announced a joint investment of $100,000 to support four new projects through the Early Stage Innovation Fund program. The initiative aims to help early-stage ideas with potential for community or commercial impact.
The selected projects are led by faculty from USF’s College of Arts & Sciences, College of Behavioral & Community Sciences, and College of Education. These projects span the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee campuses.
This round of funding will focus on developing a roadmap for AI literacy education in K-12 schools, training bilingual professionals in education, creating an immersive virtual reality learning experience for youth, and expanding multicultural curriculum to enhance social and emotional learning among students.
“Across our campuses every day, USF faculty are developing creative solutions to society’s biggest challenges,” said Dr. Sylvia Wilson Thomas, USF Vice President for Research & Innovation. “This important work supports the breadth and depth of community engaged, high-impact research at USF. This round of Early-Stage Innovation funding was an opportunity for USFRI and the Corridor to highlight USF researchers’ ingenuity around social sciences, design, and education and student engagement.”
Paul Sohl, CEO of the Florida High Tech Corridor added: “The Florida High Tech Corridor launched this seed funding initiative as a means of supporting promising new ideas from University of South Florida faculty and kickstarting research ideas that go on to become larger initiatives. These projects will involve and serve the wider community in unique and meaningful ways, and we’re excited to see the returns from this effort.”
The Early-Stage Innovation Fund was established in 2022 by USF Research & Innovation together with the Florida High Tech Corridor. Its goal is to back early-stage innovations that could lead to industry partnerships or broader community involvement through start-ups or licensing opportunities.
Previous rounds have funded advancements in artificial intelligence tools, sustainable manufacturing methods, defense technology development, Alzheimer’s research efforts, vaccine creation strategies, and infection-fighting techniques.
USF researchers can apply for up to $25,000 per project from this fund to advance their innovations further within the university setting.
Among this year’s funded projects:
– Dr. Fan Yang is leading efforts on a roadmap for AI literacy education tailored for K-12 students in Tampa Bay.
– Dr. Matthew Foster is developing new training methods aimed at preparing bilingual educators specializing in special education.
– Dr. Lindsay Persohn heads a team working on a prototype virtual reality application called “eXploRe a Wonderland of Inquiry,” designed as an interactive environment where young people collaborate on real-world problem-solving.
– Drs. AnnMarie Alberton Gunn and Susan V Bennett are building an expanded curriculum focused on improving vocabulary along with social-emotional skills among early childhood students in Pinellas County.
Details about future funding rounds will be shared soon by organizers. More information about these programs can be found at www.usf.edu/corridor.
