UofL student startups pitch 3-D printed prototypes

Students in the University of Louisville’s new 3-D Printing Business Incubator spent the past semester designing and prototyping new products. On Dec. 5, they will have the chance to pitch their innovations to potential investors. 

The students, from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering’s Mechanical Engineering Department, formed 10 “startups,” then worked together to design a product, prototype it using 3-D printing and build a business case around it that could compete for a future round of financing.

Each team will present their products at a venture day event from 8:30-10:30 a.m. on Dec. 5 at the Shumaker Research Building on the Belknap Campus.

“We are excited to have a hundred design engineers leverage disruptive 3-D printing technologies to create business with new products for biomedical, industrial, transportation and consumer sectors,” said professor Sundar Atre, Endowed Chair of Manufacturing and Materials, who launched the incubator. “What they have accomplished this semester is truly extraordinary.”

Companies are invited to sign up to mentor the teams and provide a market focus for their products. One way UofL engages industry is through the Institute for Product Realization, which seeks to create an ecosystem that spurs innovation and generates educational opportunities.

The student startups in the incubator received technical mentorship from faculty and will receive business mentorship from an investment group. Each team was assigned a student project manager and a graduate student with relevant product research and development experience to serve as chief technology officer.

Another 10 teams will be added in January, when spring classes begin. At the end of each term, investors and other community stakeholders will be brought in to hear pitches from the teams.

More information on the individual teams is available here.