UT Chancellors Innoavtion Fund awards $250K to commercialize university research
The Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development and the UT Research Foundation provide $50,000 in tech transfer grants to each of the five 2026 winners.
Five innovators at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), walked away with $50,000 grants this week to bring their research from the lab to the marketplace. The process of commercialization is long, challenging, and expensive; yet, the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) and the UTK Chancellor’s Innovation Fund identified these five university faculty members as the right people to do it.
Tuesday afternoon was all about recognizing those five finalists.
In total, the UTK Chancellor’s Innovation Fund awards $250,000 annually to faculty research teams hoping to turn their lab-proven science into a full-fledged business. The awarded research can be anything from complex chemistry, agtech, and early-stage medical devices to commercially available products and SaaS solutions.
Meet the 2026 Winners
Madhu S. Dhar and Steven Newby are bringing to market a novel universal bio-ink for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Maged Guerguis is bringing to market a company he calls OTTO Prefab. His innovation is a building material called the U-panel, which could help contribute to the construction of net-zero smart homes. Guerguis said this design is based on “biomimetic principles found in nature,” which maximize structural performance, minimize weight, and drastically reduce waste.
Scott Lenaghan and Alex Pfotenhaur have discovered and developed a self-replicating RNA for spray-on RNAi pesticides.
Cong Trinh is hoping to commercialize his biomanufacturing process for natural butyl acetate.
And, Feng Yuan Zhang and Matthew Mench are hoping to commercialize effective and integrated electrodes for low-cost electrolzera and energy storage.
Learn more about the ORIED at UT.
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