Awarded Projects

Marine vessels—whether fishing boats, research ships, or aircraft carriers—struggle with biofouling: the buildup of algae, barnacles, and sludge that slows vessels down and increases fuel costs. Industrial bilge areas face similar problems, often requiring harsh chemical cleaners. Dr. Robert Hughes’ project develops environmentally friendly coatings that prevent this buildup without relying on toxic substances that are harmful to both humans and the aquatic environment.

By reducing drag and improving cleanliness, these coatings can help vessels operate more efficiently and minimize environmental impact. Industrial users may also benefit from coatings that require less maintenance and fewer harsh chemicals.

This project aligns with the needs of Eastern North Carolina’s coastal industries and maritime economy. With NCInnovation’s support, the team will advance the technology toward commercial readiness and evaluate its performance in real marine environments.

Training simulations—used by soldiers, first responders, and medical professionals—often rely on data sources that aren’t realistic enough to prepare people for the challenges they face. Dr. Sambit Bhattacharya’s project builds a unified simulation platform that uses advanced physics to make synthetic data for AI models, thereby making the simulations more lifelike and more useful.

The system can support diverse applications, including emergency response, battlefield scenarios, surgical planning, and other high-stakes environments where realistic training saves lives. By improving accuracy, realism, and responsiveness, the technology aims to help soldiers and medical providers build a plan more effectively and confidently.

With NCInnovation funding, the team will build and refine AI models to produce platforms and synthetic data with partners to test them in real training environments. This work supports both national defense and healthcare while advancing Fayetteville State University’s growing leadership in AI-based visualization technologies.

Communities need reliable information during emergencies—whether it’s severe weather, environmental hazards, or local safety threats. But today, much of that information comes from disconnected systems, making it harder for officials to respond quickly. Dr. TinChung Leung’s project brings these data streams together into one platform that uses sensors, analytics, and AI to help officials assess risks in real time.

This matters for everyday people. Faster, clearer information means quicker decisions during storms, fires, chemical spills, or community safety events. It helps responders understand what’s happening on the ground and act before situations get worse.

With NCInnovation’s backing, the NCCU team will refine the technology and test it with local partners. The long-term goal is a tool that helps protect lives and strengthen community resilience—especially in places without large emergency infrastructure.

Whether it’s a plane wing, a car door, or a wind turbine blade, many of the products we rely on every day are made from composite materials—lightweight, layered structures designed to be strong. But over time, those layers can separate, creating safety concerns and expensive repairs. Dr. Jason Patrick’s project focuses on making these materials tougher and more reliable by strengthening the “in-between” layers where failures often begin.

If successful, manufacturers could catch problems earlier and build longer-lasting products. That means safer vehicles, lower maintenance costs, and stronger industrial systems across North Carolina’s advanced manufacturing sector. This work also matters for military equipment and infrastructure that must withstand extreme conditions.

With NCInnovation’s support, the team will refine the technology, test it under real-world stresses, and prepare it for partnerships with companies that can bring it to market. By improving how these materials hold together, this project helps ensure that the products North Carolinians depend on—at work, at home, and in transit—stay safer for longer.

More than 32 million Americans live with osteoarthritis, a painful joint condition that often goes undetected until it’s advanced. Dr. Jason Franz’s team is building a low-cost wearable system that uses sensors and machine learning to identify early signs of knee and mobility problems.

The idea is simple: instead of needing specialized equipment or a specialist appointment, people could wear a small device during everyday walking. The system analyzes movement patterns and flags subtle changes linked to early-stage osteoarthritis—long before many people realize something is wrong.

Catching arthritis early matters. It gives individuals and clinicians more time to intervene with physical therapy, lifestyle changes, or other treatments that help prevent long-term disability. This is especially important in rural areas where access to specialists is limited.

With NCInnovation funding, the team will refine the technology and test it with diverse patient populations. Their goal is to make early detection affordable and accessible—so fewer North Carolinians have to live with chronic joint pain that could have been managed sooner.

Power grids, factories, and renewable energy systems all rely on complex equipment that must run smoothly around the clock. When a device fails without warning, it can shut down production lines, disrupt energy delivery, and cost businesses thousands of dollars per hour. Dr. Babak Parkhideh’s team is developing monitoring tools that predict when equipment is at risk of failure—before it impacts operations.

By analyzing electrical signals and system behavior, the technology identifies early warning signs that are nearly impossible to detect manually. This helps companies schedule maintenance strategically rather than reactively, reducing costs and improving reliability.

For manufacturers and utilities across North Carolina, that means fewer outages, stronger system performance, and more resilient infrastructure. With NCInnovation support, the team will prepare the technology for real-world testing—and ultimately help position North Carolina as a leader in advanced reliability solutions.

Many chronic diseases—like arthritis, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders—are driven by inflammation deep inside the body. But today’s anti-inflammatory drugs often affect the whole system, leading to side effects that make long-term use difficult. Dr. Kerui Wu’s project focuses on delivering medicine directly to the immune cells most responsible for inflammation, called macrophages.

Think of it like a targeted delivery service: instead of flooding the entire body, the treatment goes straight to the cells causing the problem. This approach could make medications work better at lower doses and with fewer risks.

For patients living with chronic inflammatory conditions, that could mean a better quality of life. For healthcare providers, it could mean more effective tools that avoid some of the complications of current therapies.

With NCInnovation support, the team will continue developing and testing this delivery platform, building a foundation for future treatments that are safer, more precise, and more responsive to patients’ real needs.

Cybersecurity is no longer something only adults need to understand. Children are online at younger ages than ever, but most cybersecurity education materials are written for teens or adults. Dr. Ellie Ebrahimi’s team is building a browser-based platform that teaches elementary school students how to stay safe online through interactive, age-appropriate games and scenarios.

Instead of lectures or complex terminology, the platform uses storytelling and hands-on activities to help kids recognize unsafe situations, protect their information, and build digital confidence. Teachers can use it in classrooms, and parents can use it at home.

This matters because early habits shape lifelong behavior. Giving children accessible cybersecurity skills helps protect families, schools, and communities from digital threats. With NCInnovation support, the team will expand the platform’s content and test it with local school districts—supporting safer digital futures for North Carolina students.

Patients successfully treated for breast cancer may develop complications from surgery or the cancer itself. One complication is a buildup of fluid in the arm due to improper draining. Dr. Martin Tanaka’s project aims to develop a SAFE channel with an innovative design that helps to drain this excess fluid.

It could spare patients from the painful and disfiguring effects of a swollen limb and improve overall health. Another exciting feature is that the device is easier to implement than other treatment options.  Thus, this technology may be especially important in rural areas where access to specialists is limited.

With NCInnovation support, the team will refine the design, optimize its performance, and prepare for clinical testing. If successful, this innovation could improve patient comfort, reduce healthcare costs, and expand access to advanced medical care across North Carolina.

Dr. Stephanie Richards and team developed a cost- and time-efficient device and method to test pesticide effectiveness against the world’s deadliest animal: mosquitoes. The process utilizes a compact wind tunnel (patent pending) to assess insecticide effectiveness, obviating the need for more expensive and lengthy field tests. The technology has applications for local governments, public health agencies, and agriculture, and will result in the creation of a new contract research organization based in eastern North Carolina.

Dr. Patrick Briley and team developed a platform technology to help speech language pathologists and their patients treat stuttering through a digital platform that can carry on conversations, recognize speech patterns, and recommend specific lessons based on those patterns. The platform also addresses social anxiety by providing immersive VR practice environments and AI-driven customized treatments plans, and it includes case management tools.

Dr. Shirley Lee Chao and team patented two organic pesticides derived from industrial hemp that compare favorably with more toxic pesticides in early tests. The goal is to replace insecticides that harm pollinators and are associated with increased cancer risks in humans. The initial focus is on treating poultry houses (a major industry in NC), which often rely on toxic chemicals to control bugs, as well as post-harvest food-storage facilities.

Dr. Amay J. Bandodkar and team invented an inexpensive bandage with an embedded battery and electrodes that produce an electric field to facilitate rapid wound closure, including in irregularly shaped and deep wounds. Studies indicate faster healing than the current standard of care and the bandages have a number of potential uses, including the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, which affect nearly 750,000 Americans a year and have a mortality rate comparable to many cancers. Through this funding, the team will also pursue the bandage’s practicality in military and disaster settings.

Dr. Ericka Ford and team developed a better way to make acrylic and carbon fibers, which have a wide range of uses. Currently this industry relies on a toxic manufacturing process that hasn’t changed since the 1940s and, as a result, is mostly carried out overseas. The new process would enable re-shoring, with a lower carbon footprint.

Dr. Amanda L. Wolfe and team developed compounds that offer a promising new way to fight bacteria that resist existing drugs. There has been a sharp uptick in these multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens globally, with 3,595 recorded in 2021 in North Carolina hospitals alone, and one-in-four infections among active-duty military personnel involving an MDR pathogen. These new compounds inhibit an essential energy-producing enzyme in two bacteria designated as critical priority targets by the World Health Organization.

Dr. Ronit Freeman and team are developing a drug to treat fibrosis, which is a scarring of heart, lung, or other organ tissue. Existing treatments for common types of fibrosis have such limited effects that only a fraction of patients even receive treatment. This team envisions producing a weekly inhalant that, at a minimum, will slow the condition’s progression and may reverse fibrosis, which would be unprecedented in humans.

Dr. Susan Trammell and team developed an innovative laser technology, called Light-Assisted Drying, to enable storage of vaccines and other therapeutics at room temperature. The technology would eliminate the need for refrigeration during transport and storage, reducing costs by up to 80%. The process is faster and more versatile than other emerging methods. Key stakeholders include public health agencies, pharmaceutical companies, livestock producers, and healthcare providers.

Dr. Pinku Mukherjee, the Irwin Belk distinguished professor of cancer research at UNC Charlotte, and team are developing a novel T-cell engager derived from a patented monoclonal antibody that was also developed at UNC Charlotte. This T-cell engager has shown significant efficacy in treating chemotherapy-resistant pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is particularly deadly because it is typically diagnosed only in late stages due to a lack of screening tools and the fact that it progresses without obvious symptoms.

Dr. Liam Michael Duffy and team are working on a better way to identify molecules, which is a crucial step in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceutical and agrochemical development. Their patented approach can radically lower the time, energy, and cost needed to distinguish molecular isomers (molecules made of the same atoms but with different physical structures) from each other, which would be revolutionary in drug and chemical industries.

Dr. Ben A. Bahr, a William C. Friday endowed chair and distinguished professor at UNC Pembroke, and team are working on a new therapeutic compound to treat Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 55 million people worldwide, as well as other brain disorders. Current treatment options are expensive, inaccessible, and/or have limited effectiveness. Bahr’s patent-pending compounds work to reduce multiple pathogenic proteins that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Dr. Lindsey H. Schroeder and team developed a new system to identify people at risk for traumatic brain injuries, whiplash, and other head and neck trauma. The device is portable and easy to use, relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning to set a new standard in neuromuscular monitoring.