Entrepreneurship
Mechanical engineering students Jack Mulvaney, Josh Shrewbridge, Hayden Dondlinger, Kai Groudan, Duncan Laird and Gregory Reilly shined at this year's Colorado Sustainable Challenge, receiving nearly $8,500 in awards during the two-week hackathon-style event designed for anyone passionate about solving problems and building a solution to impact sustainability.
Assistant Professor Longji Cui and ME alum Jafar Makrani (MMechEngr'25) have each won $125,000 in startup funding along with their respective teams as part of this year's Lab Venture Challenge competition. Their startups, Synergia and Agami Zero, specialize in developing cutting-edge technology that offer cost-effective, clean energy solutions.
Point Designs, co-founded by Research Professor Jacob Segil, Associate Research Professor Richard Weir at Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØAnschutz, and Rady Mechanical Engineering alums Levin Sliker (MechEngr’10; MS’12; PhD’15) and Stephen Huddle (MechEngr’99; MS’13), is announcing a new collaboration that they believe can have a profound impact on the future of prosthetic design.
Associate Professor Chunmei Ban is a co-founder of Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder spinout Mana Battery. The company is at the forefront of a race to provide low-cost batteries with longer lifespans than the market offers today.
Colorado-based startup company Lunar Outpost, co-founded by AJ Gemer ((AeroEngr'10; MMechEngr'12; MAeroEngr'16), recently launched the country's first ever robotic rover designed to explore the moon. Now, they look to explore space in a new way, this time in collaboration with LEGO.
Professor Massimo Ruzzene is the senior vice chancellor for research and innovation. His goal is to foster a campus environment that turns research into real-world impact in areas such as quantum, space, climate and health.
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder is a hub for sustainable entrepreneurship. Spinouts such as Associate Professor Greg Rieker's LongPath Technologies, Professor Se-Hee Lee's Solid Power and Associate Professor Chunmei Ban's Mana Battery are just some of the university's latest successful ventures motivated by protecting the environment.
For over 20 years, Associate Research Professor Svenja Knappe has focused on developing miniaturized quantum sensors and systems. Now the technology is helping Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder spinout Mesa Quantum commercialize chip-scale quantum solutions that can transform our navigation infrastructure.
AJ Gemer (AeroEngr'10; MMechEngr'12; MAeroEngr'16) is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Colorado-based startup company Lunar Outpost. The team recently launched their new MAPP exploration rover, set to land on Thursday, March 6 at the lunar south pole, one of the most strategically and scientifically significant locations in space.
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØEngineering has named the inaugural recipients of its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows program, which supports faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students in bringing research to market. The fellows, selected for their work in fields like robotics, biomedical devices and advanced materials, receive funding, mentorship and entrepreneurial support to accelerate commercialization.