Three Indiana University faculty members have received $25,000 each from the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office’s Gap Fund, which helps researchers turn early stage projects into products that can attract investors and licensing deals.
The Gap Fund helps make inventions more marketable for outside funding and partnerships. This year’s winners are working in artificial intelligence, chemistry and environmental health.
Alan Dennis, a distinguished professor of information systems at the Kelley School of Business, is developing a platform that converts PowerPoint presentations into videos featuring realistic, customizable digital presenters. The AI-powered system can translate dialogue into multiple languages and adapt speaking styles, making it accessible to a wide range of audiences.
Amar Flood, a chemistry professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, is designing anti-pitting agents — chemicals that prevent tiny holes from forming in metal surfaces — to fight corrosion caused by chloride ions, like those found in salt. His method uses macrocycles, or ring-shaped molecules, to bind and deactivate the chloride, stopping it from eating into the metal. The approach could help industries where corrosion is a major cost factor.
Shahir Rizk, an associate professor of biochemistry at IU South Bend, is creating an affordable device to detect glyphosate, a widely used herbicide linked to cancer, in water and soil within 30 seconds. The device could be used by both individuals and environmental monitoring agencies.
Applications for the next round of Gap Fund grants opened Aug. 15 and will close Oct. 15.
