SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund Awards $20,000 to Local Companies

Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) has announced that two Upstate New York companies have been awarded funding through the SyracuseCoE 2020 Innovation Fund amounting to $20,000. The Innovation Fund is funded by the SyracuseCoE Partner Program and is designed to help companies commercialize products and technologies that have the potential to innovate and transform the market.

Acumen Detection is a Startup Partner operating out of the SyracuseCoE headquarters building that is transforming the way dairy producers across the globe monitor the health of their herds by providing pathogen detection at the point of need–on the farm. Acumen Detection joined the SyracuseCoE Partner Program in 2019, soon after its spin-off from SRC Inc.

Acumen Detection’s 2020 Innovation Fund Project: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Acumen has applied its work to address the critical need for diagnostic reagents. Identifying asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus from droplets that settle on surfaces has the potential to significantly improve indoor air quality and public health. Acumen seeks to develop a four-hour, point-of use test that would dramatically assist efforts to mitigate the virus. The grant will help Acumen manufacture and distribute test kits once U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization is received.

Northeast Green Building Consulting (NGBC) is a SyracuseCoE Affiliate Partner and longtime collaborator. NGBC designs, teaches and builds in Nature’s Image, making use of their deep experience in the design sciences of biomimicry, resilience science and theory, and building science.

Northeast Green Building Consulting’s 2020 Innovation Fund Project: This project synthesizes innovative research in resilience science, healthy buildings and passive strategies into a Resilience Audit and Standard‚ the “Assessment for Developing Adaptation, Persistence and Transformability for Buildings” (ADAPT for Buildings). The goal is to provide the design, development, engineering and construction industries, and building owners with a state-of-the-art framework and tool containing quantifiable, verifiable metrics to use to analyze the performance of healthy and resilient buildings. Ultimately, the ADAPT for Buildings tool will take form as a virtual, interactive app and workbook for multi-industry use.

“The Innovation Fund Awards are a great example of how members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program can use their membership resources to take advantage of meaningful opportunities and overcome potential barriers to commercialization,” says SyracuseCoE interim executive director Eric Schiff. “The awards, based on technical merit and sound principles, have tremendous potential to strengthen each company through the success of their projects.”

After an initial review by SyracuseCoE staff, selected applicants were invited to participate in a digital proposal pitch to a panel of judges, including members of the SyracuseCoE Industry Partners Council, collaborators and others. Eligibility for awards is extended to all current members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. Proposals may include collaborations with non-Partner Program firms and academic partners; however, proposals must be submitted and led by members of the Partner Program. Since 2014, more than $487,000 in project funding has been awarded under this program to support 45 projects conducted by 28 companies.

A call for proposals for the second round of the 2020 SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund Awards will be announced in the fall.