The University of Georgia's (UGA) Innovation Bootcamp is an intensive entrepreneurship training program designed to increase participation by under-represented groups in an already established innovation ecosystem. Ultimately, the goal is to diversify the innovation ecosystem. The eight-week Innovation Bootcamp program, piloted in the fall of 2019 with female faculty, staff, and graduate students, was developed as a focused program with a flexible, three-pronged approach that can be tailored to any target cohort. The foundational element of basic commercialization training is consistent for all groups, while the elements of skill building and community building are tailored to the specific needs of the target cohort. The program does not aim to build an alternate ecosystem for under-represented groups but, instead, provides a customized bridge of training and support to increase their participation and ultimate success in existing entrepreneurship programs, such as the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps. Based on the success of the initial pilot cohorts and the experience with women innovators, the Innovation Bootcamp has become a cornerstone program of UGA's Innovation District initiative. It is now offered twice per year and engages and supports a variety of cohorts. This tailored and cohort-specific approach is viewed as critical to building an innovation ecosystem that truly represents the diversity of the campus and the community. This manuscript details the bootcamp framework and the progress of the initial three cohorts, a total of fifty-six women. The outcomes have informed further innovation programming and led to an appreciation of the need for nuanced program delivery.

Scientific modeling can be used to conceptualize, test, understand, and direct complex natural systems. The ability to create accurate models of three-dimensional (3D), functioning tissues is a growing reality. Benchtop tissue models, that is, tissue test systems, have many potential advantages over current modeling technologies, including two-dimensional (2D) cell culture and animal models, for biomedical research. Three-dimensional fabricated tissues are more representative of natural tissues than 2D cell cultures; are easier to control, replicate, and discern than animal models; and are potentially cost saving for biomedical research. Tissue models can be used to investigate tissue function and disease progression, discover new pharmaceuticals, teach, and personalize treatments for patients. Biofabrication is an additive manufacturing process offering control over cell distribution, biomolecule deposition, and biomaterial geometries and surfaces. At the confluence of tissue modeling and tissue fabrication is the design process for creating 3D tissue test systems to support biological discovery, personalized medicine, teaching, and in vitro testing.

"Sustainable futures: propelling innovative ecosystems" was the theme intended for the Ninth Annual National Academy of Inventors Meeting. With the meeting cancelled, the content for the conference is being distributed online and in print format. Indeed, rather than shifting the conference's theme, the COVID-19 pandemic has required us to examine ecosystems in a new context that likely would not have been fully explored otherwise. Makerspaces, an important part of the innovation ecosystem, rose alongside the maker movement as physical places where fabrication equipment is accessible to the masses. As the benefits of the spaces and the maker mindset were learned, libraries and educational institutions introduced makerspaces as a service for patrons and students in support of their missions to increase intellectual growth and creativity. Makerspaces have now become ubiquitous in the higher-education landscape; most campuses have one, if not multiple, makerspaces. An unstated goal of makerspaces is often to turn the patrons into "makers." Most university campuses have embraced the maker mindset; however, while this approach may inspire some students, many do not participate. Even those spaces created as a catch-all way of introducing students to new technologies fail to attract large numbers of students and are not seen as equally beneficial or inviting by all students. University makerspaces have disparate origins, many created for department or discipline-specific needs. Thus, with the university as an institution where people of vastly different backgrounds, education levels, and knowledge come together and connect with the local, scientific, and business communities, the discipline-centered approach falls short. As universities train disciplinary specialists who can work in a broader context, their makerspaces must evolve past these limiting perspectives to better address the changing needs of the work-force and industries. The continued work and outreach of makerspaces despite the shuttering of campuses for COVID-19 may help us appreciate that facilitating, promoting, and organizing the connection of people and ideas to solve problems is as important as the physical spaces. We have witnessed makerspaces become rallying points where technology and resources, diverse skill sets and perspectives, and the mindset of reducing ideas to practice are combined to tackle urgent problems and create impactful solutions through interdisciplinary approaches that unite education, research, community, and industry efforts. Now is the time to capture this growth in reach and responsibility in the mission and format of the evolved makerspace.

Universities have long recognized the need to create pathways for ideas and new technologies to advance from academic labs to market; however, the decentralized and haphazard nature of American innovation means that some discoveries may be neglected. In order to more effectively address the issues with innovation, a research team led by Steven Currall produced a new framework in the book Organized Innovation: A Blueprint for Renewing America's Prosperity. Because of the current drive of universities to increase innovation, economic development, and corporate partnerships, we thought it was timely to revisit this book and offer commentary on its lessons for navigating these demands.

The Innovation-Corps™ (I-Corps) program was created by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2011 to help translate NSF-funded academic research to market. Working with coordi- nating partner VentureWell, the NSF offers select participants from U. S. academic laboratories the opportunity to immerse themselves in a process to test and explore the opportunities and value of their ideas in the marketplace. Participants talk to potential customers, partners, and competitors to refine their research ideas into viable products using an entrepreneurial approach to meet the challenges and uncertainty of creating successful innovations. This paper summarizes panel content that was planned for the NAI Ninth Annual Meeting, which was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns and restrictions. The purpose of the panel was to provide a range of uniquely different perspectives; thus, we have opted to maintain the question and answer format. The panelists first examine the real and perceived, or intended and unintended, outputs of I-Corps projects and then discuss the I-Corps process as the catalyst for refining and/or scaling promising research idea into a product to meet a customer need. The panelists then describe the importance of customer discovery as relevant to invention and to culturally conscious entrepreneurship and how this first step can aid basic research. The panelists highlight the opportunities and challenges of teaching a customer discovery approach in an academic setting by charging learners to ask open-ended questions to acquire a 360-degree perspective of a technological innovation. Lastly, the panelists provide a viewpoint on the execution of academic customer discovery during the current COVID-19 challenges and the potential for economic development.

In partnership with The Lemelson Foundation, The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors (AAAS-LIA) program was launched in 2014. The program's vision is to showcase relatable faces and voices in invention, i.e., faces and voices of individuals who can inform, inspire, and influence thought leaders and global communities regarding the current grand invention challenges facing humanity and how those challenges might best be approached. A natural conduit for grand challenge invention is the academia-industry interface; however, this nexus demands our immediate attention. Indeed, higher education provides a place of unfettered idea generation as well as the means to expose a diverse population of individuals to critical thinking and inventive skills, while industry provides translational expertise. Considering that rates of entrepreneurship in the U.S. have fallen near a multiple decade low (1) and that invention and problem solving are the impetus for start-ups and, therefore, a significant source of job creation, the AAAS-LIA mandate has a purposeful urgency and criticality. Each year, a cohort of seven to ten inventors are selected for the AAAS-LIA program; they are provided key speaking engagement opportunities, and they are encouraged to find opportunities of relevance to their own innovation spheres in order to inspire and encourage a new and diverse generation of inventors, increase global understanding of the role of invention in creating new products and building new businesses, illustrate the importance of inventors and invention education in building economies and fostering innovation, highlight current challenges and opportunities surrounding invention, and celebrate inventors who work to address issues of environmental sustainability and social good. The ambassadors have participated in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) annual meeting for the past five years, spearheading discussion (or engagement) relevant to invention through panel discussions. This year's panel highlighted the important connection of academia to invention, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship. The panelists also described their inspirations and challenges and how they inspire others. Most importantly, the discussion challenged the NAI audience to be change-makers for the academic entrepreneurial ecosystem and, specifically, to recognize the criticality of fostering academic start-ups. This contribution provides brief context for the panel topic, an overview of the panel discussion, including an introduction to the AAAS-LIA program and the panelists, and summarizing thoughts as to future directions.

The traditional siloed academic environment and its attendant flow of information from "experts" to "novices" hinder the development of students' and faculty's asking and listening skills, which are an important part of turning ideas into impactful innovations. This manuscript describes the National Science Foundation/American Society for Engineering Education Innovation Corps for Learning (I-Corps ® L) program and its associated evidence-based entrepreneurship methodology, which includes listening, asking, and updating valuation of a specific idea in response to learning the customer needs and pains. We provide a case study of our experience in the I-Corps L program and connect lessons learned to the proposed use of "customers" as a means to transform the academic environment. This customer-centric approach could shift how engineering students are taught about design and the pursuit of intellectual property (IP). For example, training would be redirected from focusing solely on the technical steps of writing a patent to emphasizing the process needed to protect an idea as part of creating impactful business activities. Students would obtain a "real-world relevant" understanding of IP by identifying who would use an idea and in what form, i.e., who will pay for the idea in a specific embodiment. Similarly, researchers are traditionally taught to defend ideas and question challenges rather than humbly learning the value of an idea by asking the potential customers. Asking and questioning are different skills, and asking without biasing the response with preconceived answers is necessary to understand the translational landscape of an idea. By making the customer the center of our teaching and research, we can all benefit from the use of evidence-based entrepreneurship to translate our clever ideas into impactful innovations.

The field of tissue engineering has grown substantially, especially the use of biodegradable polymers as scaffolds or templates. Cells are seeded on an absorbable polymeric or organic matrix, the system is implanted in vivo, and the matrix is gradually resorbed as the tissue develops. This entry concentrates on key developments in the field rather than providing a historical overview.

Research characterizing transport of nutrients and waste in tissue engineering scaffolds has led to the study of scaffold properties that contribute to permeability and porosity of the scaffold. Both permeability and porosity contribute to the transport properties of the scaffold; however, permeability relates to the degree to which pores are interconnected within the scaffold. This work evaluated permeability for woven polymer fiber scaffolds by modulating the following scaffold parameters: material combination, weave configuration, and fiber geometry. Materials tested were poly-l-lactide and poly-l-lactide-co-ɛ-caprolactone in various combinations. Plain and crowfoot weave configurations were compared, and grooved wicking fibers were compared with round cross-section fibers to study fiber geometry. A modification of the constant head hydraulic conductivity test was used in combination with a vertical wicking test to determine levels of permeability of the woven scaffolds. Results showed a significant effect on permeability for combinations of weave configuration, fiber geometry, and material combination. However, modulating fiber geometry demonstrated the most significant contribution to permeability. This result suggests the grooved wicking geometry may be used in scaffold development to regulate transport by selectively moving fluid away or toward the area of interest by capillary action. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 107B: 306-313, 2019.

Adipose tissue engineering strategies have been widely researched to develop methods to engineer natural, autologous tissue to repair soft tissue defects resulting from traumatic injury, congenital defects, or tumor resections. The development of viable adipose tissue for clinical use requires coordination between the key aspects of the tissue engineering process, which include an appropriate cell source, scaffold material, cellular environment, and mode of delivery or implantation. This chapter provides an overview of biomaterials that have been used, to date, in adipose tissue engineering strategies and a discussion of the success and limitations of each method.

Bone graft procedures are currently among the most common surgical procedures performed worldwide, but due to high risk of complication and lack of viable donor tissue, there exists a need to develop alternatives for bone defect healing. Tissue engineering, for example, combining biocompatible scaffolds with mesenchymal stem cells to achieve new bone growth, is a possible solution. Recent work has highlighted the potential for woven polymer meshes to serve as bone tissue engineering scaffolds; since, scaffolds can be iteratively designed by adjusting weave settings, material types, and mesh parameters. However, there are a number of material and system challenges preventing the implementation of such a tissue engineering strategy. Fiber compliance, tensile strength, brittleness, cross-sectional geometry, and size present specific challenges for using traditional textile weaving methods. In the current work, two potential scaffold materials, melt-spun poly-l-lactide, and poly-l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone, were investigated. An automated bio-loom was engineered and built to weave these materials. The bio-loom was used to successfully demonstrate the weaving of these difficult-to-handle fiber types into various mesh configurations and material combinations. The dobby-loom design, adapted with an air jet weft placement system, warp tension control system, and automated collection spool, provides minimal damage to the polymer fibers while overcoming the physical constraints presented by the inherent material structure. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1342-1351, 2017.

Current cancer diagnostic methods lack the ability to quickly, simply, efficiently, and inexpensively screen cancer cells from a mixed population of cancer and normal cells. Methods based on biomarkers are unreliable due to complexity of cancer cells, plasticity of markers, and lack of common tumorigenic markers. Diagnostics are time intensive, require multiple tests, and provide limited information. In this study, we developed a novel wicking fiber device that separates cancer and normal cell types. To the best of our knowledge, no previous work has used vertical wicking of cells through fibers to identify and isolate cancer cells. The device separated mouse mammary tumor cells from a cellular mixture containing normal mouse mammary cells. Further investigation showed the device separated and isolated human cancer cells from a heterogeneous mixture of normal and cancerous human cells. We report a simple, inexpensive, and rapid technique that has potential to identify and isolate cancer cells from large volumes of liquid samples that can be translated to on-site clinic diagnosis.