Advancing Innovation: Tech Ready Grants Support Faculty Commercialization Efforts

“Advancing Innovation: Tech Ready Grants Support Faculty Commercialization Efforts Superadmin Fri, 05/15/2026 - 11:53 The Office of Technology Licensing has announced the latest recipients of the Tech Ready Grants, an initiative that helps Georgia Tech faculty advance their innovations toward market readiness. Providing early momentum for promising technologies, the grants help move research toward real-world impact. “Tech Ready Grants are designed to help researchers take critical steps toward commercialization by supporting early validation and development,” said Mary Albertson, director of Technology Licensing. “These projects represent strong potential for real-world impact across a range of industries.” This year’s selected projects span areas including advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, medical devices, sustainability, and software systems. Awardees Christos Athanasiou Assistant Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering Project: A Scalable In-Situ Durability Platform for Rapid Polymer Qualification Athanasiou is developing a platform to assess material durability under real-world conditions, helping accelerate validation timelines for high-performance applications. “What began as a lab-based fracture testing instrument became a way to observe failure under real conditions,” Athanasiou said. “Now, we are working to share that capability beyond a single lab.” Steve Diggle Professor, School of Biological Sciences Project: TAILSTRIKE Platform: Modular Chimeric Tailocin Engineering for Programmable Precision Antibacterials Diggle is developing a programmable antibacterial platform using engineered protein nanomachines to precisely target harmful bacteria. The approach aims to address antibiotic resistance while enabling more targeted therapeutic applications. “This grant will support the development of the TAILSTRIKE platform, a modular engineering system that repurposes protein nanomachines which bacteria use in warfare against each other, to create next-generation programmable, precision antibacterials,” Diggle said. Ellen Yi Chen Mazumdar Assistant Professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Project: High-Efficiency, Fully 3D-Printed Electric Motors Mazumdar is developing fully 3D-printed electric motors designed for high efficiency and flexible manufacturing across a range of applications. “The Tech Ready Grant is an exciting opportunity for us to advance our research toward something that can be commercialized as a real product,” Mazumdar said. Nathan Meraz Research Engineer, Georgia Tech Research Institute Project: SCHORTY Technical Document and Market Analysis Meraz is advancing Scheimpflug Optical Ranging Technology (SCHORTY), a platform that delivers LiDAR-class 3D sensing in a camera-native form factor. The project focuses on identifying high-value commercial applications and validating market opportunities. “Our platform delivers performance that scales with advances in imaging technology,” Meraz said. “The Tech Ready Grant will support the transition from technical validation to market discovery.” Carson Meredith Professor and James Preston Harris Faculty Fellow, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Executive Director, Renewable Bioproducts Institute Project: Commercialization of Renewable Oxygen and Water Barrier Biodegradable Packaging Meredith is advancing biodegradable packaging materials that provide strong oxygen and moisture barriers, addressing a key challenge in sustainable packaging. “My lab carries out research in future packaging materials that can replace problematic single-use plastics,” Meredith said. “This funding will help us translate Georgia Tech developments into practice through prototyping and applied testing.” William Singhose Professor, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Project: Cable Angle Sensing and Control for Improved Crane Safety Singhose’s team is advancing sensing and control technologies to improve crane safety by monitoring and stabilizing cable angles in real time. The work aims to reduce load swing and enhance operational safety across construction and industrial environments. “The cable-angle sensing technology we have developed allows crane control systems to detect the early onset of dangerous lifting conditions,” Singhose said. “By identifying when a hoisting cable begins to deviate from vertical, we can take corrective action before uncontrolled swing leads to serious injury or damage.” Xiaojuan “Judy” Song Senior Research Engineer, Georgia Tech Research Institute Project: Smart Dressing for Wound Monitoring Song is advancing a wearable smart dressing that enables continuous, on-patient monitoring of wound healing progress without disturbing the site. The technology is designed for use in chronic wound care, including diabetic foot ulcers and battlefield applications. “Tech Ready funding will help advance the technology toward real-world application and define a commercialization pathway,” Song said. Shuichi Takayama Professor, GRA Eminent Scholar, and Price Gilbert Jr. Chair in Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering Project: Organoid Alternative to Interstitial Lung Disease Toxicity Testing Takayama’s team is using lab-grown human lung tissue models to evaluate drug toxicity, offering a more accurate and scalable alternative to traditional primate models. “This system fills a critical gap where species differences limit the use of traditional models,” Takayama said. Jun Xu Professor, School of Computer Science Project: Research Into Applications and API for METTLE Xu is advancing METTLE, a novel streaming erasure code designed for high-speed networking systems, with a focus on improving data reliability and efficiency. “This funding will support the commercialization readiness of METTLE,” Xu said. About Tech Ready Grants Tech Ready Grants is an Office of Technology Licensing program that provides early-stage funding to faculty to support prototype development, validation, and market assessment. The program helps position technologies for licensing, startup formation, and industry partnerships. By supporting these critical early steps, Tech Ready Grants strengthens the pathway from research to real-world impact across Georgia Tech’s innovation ecosystem. Subtitle Summary sentence The Office of Technology Licensing announced the latest recipients of the Tech Ready Grants, supporting Georgia Tech faculty as they advance innovative technologies toward commercialization and real-world impact. Summary Georgia Tech’s Office of Technology Licensing has named the latest Tech Ready Grant awardees, recognizing faculty-led projects spanning advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, medical devices, sustainability, and software systems. The grants provide early-stage funding to support prototype development, validation, and commercialization readiness, helping move promising research closer to industry application and market impact. Dateline Mon, 05/11/2026 - 12:00 Contact Lacey Cameron lcameron30@gatech.edu Associated importer 1 Keywords gt-commercializationnews go-commercializationnews News room topics Science and Technology Mercury ID 690228 Source updated Fri, 05/15/2026 - 11:48

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