MSU faculty and students shine with support from Kentucky Commercialization Ventures

Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV), an organization that helps faculty and students turn their ideas into tangible products, is helping Morehead State students and professors make their ideas into reality.

Through the Innovation Fellowship Program, KCV selects students and faculty members from Kentucky colleges and universities to participate in an experiential learning program that includes weekly online cohort meetings, independent study with high-quality startup training materials, guided application exercises and weekly coaching sessions with KCV staff and coaches.

Three MSU students were chosen for the program last fall:

• Hannah Barrett is a Morehead State's Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics senior from Beattyville.
• Sarah Lager, a senior accounting major from Mt. Sterling.
• Mary Sherrard, a Craft Academy junior from Grayson.

"I wanted to get involved in the fellowship because it would provide me with the opportunity to learn how to make a pitch deck and file intellectual property," Barrett said. "Throughout the experience, I gained presenting skills, networking skills, and researching skills. I gained a new understanding of how a business really operates."

Another way KCV is helping Eagles succeed is through sponsorship, which allows professors and their students to attend conferences and present their research. Last year, KCV sponsored professors and students from Morehead State so they could attend the Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) annual conference in Louisville.

Dr. Kouroush Jenab, assistant professor of engineering and technology management; Tyler Blake, a graduate student in Engineering and Technology Management from Flatwoods; and Jeffrey Young, a senior computer science major from Lancaster, presented research on virtual reality (VR) STEM and workforce training platforms. Jenab aims to develop VR STEM and workforce training platforms that would significantly enhance the quality, recruitment, and retention of K-12 students to STEM programs and continue the education of workforces in academic institutes. Jenab earned a KCV's Impact Award for the research in 2022.

Dr. Anindita Paul, assistant professor of engineering and technology management also presented her research on a low-power, all-pass filter with biomedical applications. Paul hopes the technology will one day be able to harness kinetic energy to power biomedical devices that currently require batteries, which must be replaced.

"I want to harvest the energy, and from that energy, I want to power wearable biomedical devices like hearing aids, or there are some visceral biomedical instruments like a pacemaker without having to take it out of the body," Paul said. "It could really be a good thing for patients and doctors."

Paul worked with junior Aidan Ray of Morehead, an engineering technology major with an emphasis on electronics and computers.

To learn more about business programs at MSU, email cbt@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2090.

To explore programs in the School of Engineering and Computer Science, email secs@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2090.

For more information about the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, email craftacademy@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2093.