Clemson University’s STRIDE ART (Accelerating Research Translation) Academy recently concluded its Spring 2026 cohort with a competitive pitch event at the Barnes Center.
“The research faculty within Clemson are the catalysts to bring forth translational research with real world impact to the communities and industries we serve,” said Craig Kinley, STRIDE Program Coordinator. “Their individual and collective engagement in our program will deliver the next steps of the journey to successful ventures such as licensing, commercialization and/or societal impact around the world.”
The pitch competition marked the end of this semester’s seven-week ART Academy program, a “Research Translation 101” course for research faculty. The Academy aims to foster an environment where ideas can flourish, leading to tangible outcomes and a culture of impact-driven innovation. The Academy serves as an informative incubator for STRIDE’s core mission of transforming cutting-edge research into real-world applications and meaningful solutions that benefit society.
The competition featured seven top teams presenting to an audience of fellow research faculty, graduate students and members of the STRIDE ART Academy. The audience served as judges, casting their votes based on use case (problem/solution), team dynamic, technical feasibility, competitive position and market/societal impact.
- First place — Apoorvi Chaudhri, postdoctoral fellow in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, and Jessica Larsen, the Carol and John Cromer ’63 Family Endowed Associate Professor of Drug Delivery, Biomaterials, and Nanotechnology: NanoSTRIKE, nanoparticle-based immunotherapy
- Second place — Harsh D. Sapra, assistant professor of automotive engineering, presented by Diego Noriega and Shudipta Chakrabartty: bSafe, a battery safety application to protect against failure
- Third place — Fernanda Goulart, postdoctoral fellow in the Richard A. McMahan School of Architecture: Health Collab AI, a human-AI collaborative toolkit for evidence-based healthcare design
- People’s choice — Dongwoo (Jason) Yeom, Thompson E. Penney and Gretchen M. Penney Endowed Distinguished Associate Professor in the Richard A. McMahan School of Architecture: Beyond Lynk, an AI-powered indoor environment control software for personalized comfort, enhanced health, and effortless care.
Applications for the STRIDE ART Academy Fall 2026 cohort will be available soon.
