UND I-Corps Team Selected for VentureWell’s 2026 E-Team Program
Neuroclear Pro Park, a student innovation team from the University of North Dakota, has been selected to join the Winter 2026 cohort of VentureWell’s competitive E-Team Program. Only twenty-two student ventures nationwide were chosen for this cohort, representing emerging technologies aimed at improving healthcare, sustainability, information technology, and other critical sectors. Neuroclear Pro Park is developing a continuous-monitoring wearable designed
2025: Year in Review
Every year, the NSF Great Plains I-Corps Hub works toward a singular goal to ensure that research does not stop at discovery. The goal is to help ideas move beyond the lab and into the world where they can create economic activity and expand opportunities across the Midwest. In 2025, that work continued across six states and eleven universities, and
NSF Great Plains I-Corps director recognized nationally for innovation
Dr. Chad Ulven, NSF Great Plains I-Corps Hub Director, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the organization’s highest professional distinction for academic inventors. Ulven will be among 169 new NAI Fellows elected this year. Source: NDSU News The NAI Fellows Program honors inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation through outstanding inventions that
SDSU’s NASA Victory Fueled by Customer Discovery
A student team from South Dakota State University is gaining national attention after taking first place in NASA’s 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies competition; an achievement shaped in part by their experience in the NSF Great Plains I-Corps Hub program. The annual competition invites university teams to envision future-focused aviation solutions. This year’s theme, AgAir: Aviation Solutions for Agriculture, challenged
Sheila Fields on Driving Change in Healthcare
At the core of every I-Corps journey lies a clear problem and an idea to solve it. For Sheila Fields, owner of BFields Solutions, Inc., and a past participant in the Great Plains I-Corps Program, the problem is antibiotic overuse and the consequences it has for patients and healthcare systems alike. Partnering with Dr. Scott Campbell and his research team,
RJ Energy Using I-Corps as a Litmus Test for New Technology
When Bella Peterson first joined the I-Corps program, she was a college student with curiosity and a willingness to learn. Through University of North Dakota’s Center for Innovation, Bella connected with Russell Schell of RJ Energy Solutions to assist him with customer discovery throughout the 5-week program. Originally, their technology focused on repurposing wasted heat from commercial kitchens to improve
Great Plains I-Corps Wraps First-Ever Discovery 60 Cohort
The NSF Great Plains I-Corps Hub has officially wrapped up its first Discovery 60 cohort, an intensive eight-week program designed to help researchers and entrepreneurs refine their business models, get to know their potential customers, and move closer toward commercialization. Discovery 60 builds upon participants’ earlier I-Corps experience by requiring 60+ customer discovery interviews, which is 3 times the number
Building Something People Actually Want
The number one reason startups fail isn’t lack of funding or poor marketing. Startups often fail because they build something that no one wants. That truth can sting, especially when you’ve poured your time and energy into a business idea. But it’s also why the I-Corps process is so powerful. It forces us to pause, step back, and ask the