Rice Entrepreneurship Center, Liu Idea Lab (Lilie) for innovation and entrepreneurshipWe hold an annual event Napier Rice Launch Challenge Championship (NRLC) elevates and celebrates the best startups from every corner of campus.
This year, more than 100 student ventures started in Lilly’s classes and co-curricular programs to compete in the early rounds of the NRLC. The Lilie team then selected the final five companies to pitch their ventures to a panel of expert judges on April 16th.
As one of the world’s leading research universities and home to the nation’s No. 1 entrepreneurship graduate program, Rice University is positioned to develop cutting-edge medical devices and address the world’s challenges in addressing climate change and the energy transition. It is located in “Lilie’s mission is to discover new materials and applications, advance the science of computers that affect bits and atoms, and develop therapeutics,” said Kyle Juda, executive director of Lilie.
“These adventures exemplify the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit we foster at Rice,” Judah said. “We are proud to support such an ambitious venture that upends the way the world has always been done. That is the hallmark of Rice and Liu Idea Lab’s entrepreneurial spirit.”
These five teams will compete for a share of more than $100,000 in non-stock funds in front of a live audience in the Grand Hall of the Rice Memorial Center from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Solidec: Ryan DuChanois, Yang Xia, Haotian Wang
This team from Lilly’s 2023 Innovation Fellows program has developed a new solid-state electrolyzer that can literally create some of the most sought-after molecules out of thin air. This solid-state electrolyzer uses captured carbon as a feedstock to create the next generation of carbon-negative chemicals.
Bonfire: Ben Liu and Michael Munajed
This undergraduate team from Rice Computer Science built a mobile app for local events that has attracted more than 1,000 Rice student users since its launch a few weeks ago.
HEXAspec: Tianshu Zhai and Chen-Yang Lin
This team in Lilly’s 2024 Innovation Fellows program is using its novel new materials to improve thermal management in the semiconductor industry, saving energy and millions of gallons of water used to cool data centers. Masu.
Women’s Wave: Nabiha Ghani and Cassandra Wagoner
This faculty team is building a platform for women aged 20-40 to meet each other, enjoy local experiences together and find new best friends. Their Friendship Matchmaking Artificial Intelligence connects over 100 paying customers in the past six weeks with the right people at the right time.
CoFlux Purification: Jeremy Daum, Dana Vasquez, Alec Ajnsztajn
This team from Lilly’s 2024 Innovation Fellows Program has created a new system to capture and permanently destroy the toxic PFAS permanent chemicals present in our bodies, brains, and babies.
of Rice University Innovation Fellow The program, run by Lilly, trains Ph.D. students and postdocs make their research impact the real world. Innovation Fellows receive individualized mentorship, equity-free funding, and dedicated time and space to focus on commercialization efforts.
If you would like to participate in a live event, please Register here.
