Dr. Bahram Nabet
ECE Professor Dr. Bahram Nabet and Adjunct Professor Dr. Pouya Dianat (also an alumnus of the department) won $50,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program. Their funded project is titled, “Opto-plasmonic photodetectors for low-cost tele/data communication beyond 5G.”
The NSF I-Corps is a program that enables engineers and scientists to expand their research. Through the NSF I-Corps basic research projects get the help they need to move towards commercialization; the I-Corps teams project should demonstrate the potential for commercial viability. Grantees in the I-Corps program have the chance to learn all about entrepreneurship and product opportunities.
Dr. Pouya Dianat
Dr. Dianat serves as the Entrepreneurial Lead in the I-Corps team project. The Entrepreneurial Lead supports the transition of the technology to commercialization.
The I-Corps team is also required by the NSF to have a mentor. The mentor is typically an experienced or emerging entrepreneur with proximity to the institution and experience in transitioning technology out of Academic labs. This mentor is responsible for guiding the team forward and tracking progress through regular communication with the NSF I-Corps program director. The mentor of this project is Edward Hammel from the Hartsdale Group, a New York private consulting firm.