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May 10, 2022

Two engineering faculty startups earn Discovery to Product SEED grants

Written By: Staff

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College of Engineering faculty members David Beebe and Dawei Feng are leading two of the emerging technology projects that earned funding through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Discovery to Product office’s annual State Economic Engagement and Development (SEED) grant program.

The program is aimed at advancing innovative research and helping commercialize technologies developed by UW-Madison researchers.

Beebe, the Claude Bernard Professor of biomedical engineering and the John D. MacArthur Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, is working with Salus Discovery, one of the several spinoff companies to emerge from his lab, and Jose Ayuso, a professor of dermatology. Their group will develop Griddient, a versatile research tool for studying biological signals and biochemical gradients in 3D microenvironments. The funding will support research and development of the Griddient platform for stem cell research, neuroscience, and cancer research applications.

Feng, the Y. Austin Chang Assistant Professor of materials science and engineering, will work on expanding flow battery technology, enabling his startup Flux XII, LLC to enhance its energy storage solutions and provide cost-effective, safe and longer duration energy storage. By partnering with microgrid manufacturers and utilities, Flux XII hopes to deploy energy storage systems tied to wind and solar energy generation.

Overall, eight companies founded by UW-Madison researchers received support through the SEED program, which is funded through a $300,000 matching grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.