Stories & Updates

“I bet you twenty bucks I can beat you in this game.” Playing video games and involving money in the equation is a situation which tends to occur regularly among gamers. Alex Pickett and Dan Goodman had a goal to create a platform where gamers can play for money. 

It’s a bright, blue, sunny day and you decide to take a trip to the ballpark with your friends. The game is tied and everybody is excited to see what happens next. All of a sudden your chest tightens up and you begin to wheeze. It feels impossible to get a breath and now your friends all begin to panic. You pull out your inhaler and head for the car. Just a moment ago your biggest worry was your favorite team winning, and now it’s hoping to make it out of the hospital before the day ends.

Many great innovations, societal changes and inventions begin with the question, “what if…?” Fourteen Delaware Innovation Fellows (DIF) hailing from 11 majors presented answers to their “what if” questions at the 2022 DIF Innovation Showcase. Their answers were the basis of their capstone innovation project and the culmination of work completed during their three-phase fellowship.

This article is part of a series describing how UD Horn Entrepreneurship assists teams in moving their inventions and innovations into the marketplace, a process known as commercialization. Each team receives a customized blend of resources, including training, mentorship, and funding, through the Blue Hen Proof of Concept Program.  Mentorship and support is also provided by Horn Entrepreneurship partners, including the Office of Economic, Innovations and Partnerships and Delaware’s Small Business Development Center.

Lan Wang was a UD graduate student and postdoc, now Versogen’s Director of New Chemistry and Cofounder, who led the effort to scale the world’s leading polymer membrane technologies for converting water into green hydrogen.

Article by Dara McBride  Photos courtesy of Predictive Analytics Group ǀ Illustration by Heidi McDonough

Thank you to Horn National Advisory Board member Dee Ridgeway and the Predictive Analytics Group (PAG), the company Dee cofounded with two other UD alumni for their support of innovation at the University of Delaware. Many of our students and graduates find internships and jobs as well as mentorship at PAG. Read the article announcing their latest contribution to UD.

Meet Glen Gaddy joining the Horn Entrepreneurship Team in a new role as Managing Director of the University Launch Fund. Gaddy plans to utilize his extensive experiences as an entrepreneur and innovator from both his corporate and academic roles. He comes to Horn as the Managing Member of long standing angel investor group, Robin Hood Ventures, and serves as chair of Mid Atlantic Diamond Ventures, the leading quarterly early stage pitch forum in the Mid Atlantic.

Article by Adam Thomas Photos by Evan Krape and iStock December 02, 2021

The MakerGym sits at the intersection of creativity, design, fabrication and impact. This fall’s batch of Make It Happen Challenge award winners show the breadth of projects that can come to life with some thinking and tinkering. 

Horn Entrepreneurship’s Venture Development Center (VDC) serves as a resource for inventors, technologists and creatives working on entrepreneurial projects. It is known for bringing entrepreneurs’ startup dreams to reality, as a gathering spot for problem solvers & out-of-the-box thinkers and a place where a lot of fun stuff just happens. 

Photo by Evan Krape