We strive to grow entrepreneurs with grit and determination to improve the world through plant science innovation, accelerating new discoveries and technologies, and launching new startups, all in the interest of advancing agriculture in North Carolina and beyond.
NC State’s cutting-edge tools, investor networks and institutional support – including a tech transfer office that’s among the best in the nation and a Chancellor’s Innovation Fund that supports short-term commercially focused research – empower interdisciplinary teams to take big ideas and run with them. Along with our Seed2Grow program for NC State plant science entrepreneurs, we offer a strong support system for commercialization.
7 N.C. PSI Startup Companies
since April 2022
#2 in Research Commercialization
NC State ranking among universities without a medical school
29 Intellectual Property Disclosures
at NC State in plant sciences since 2022
Commercialization Advisory Council
The Commercialization Advisory Council helps identify promising technologies with market potential, provides their expert advice on commercializing N.C. PSI technologies and uses their experience to provide high-level mentorship to N.C. PSI startups.
Stephen Markham, co-chair, Poole College of Management
Giles Shih
Mark Brooks, FMC Ventures
Lisa Chang, Poole College of Management
Kathleen Denya, N.C. PSI
John Dombrowsky, Oerth Bio
Tim Martin, NC State Office of Research Commercialization.
Blake Stevens, Alexandria LaunchLabs
Mohan Tavorath, CropTrak
Paul Ulanch, North Carolina Biotechnology Center
N.C. PSI Makerspace
The N.C. PSI Makerspace is a lab and service center for rapid prototyping of low-cost custom hardware and software solutions for monitoring plant and crop systems across agricultural scales. It is fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology, tools and equipment to enable collaborations among N.C. PSI researchers from different disciplines.
Makerspace Director Andrea Monteza shows an electronic sensor made in the makerspace to representatives of Lenovo.
Connecting University Resources
The N.C. PSI partners with NC State’s Office of Research Commercialization to unlock the incredible technologies that are coming out of NC State and providing positive economical, environmental and societal impact.
Actively scout for disruptive technologies and make connections early in faculty development of technology.
Work with N.C. PSI–developed innovations and IP to advance them along the commercialization pathway to maximize their value.
Optimize the entrepreneurial environment for plant-science business startups, including building closer ties with the agtech community.
Coordinate commercialization support programs.
Leverage existing faculty and student technology entrepreneurship training and develop additional incubator and accelerator programming as needed.
Raise innovation funds focused on the agtech sector to secure access to earlier-stage pre-seed and seed capital, advanced technologies and early-stage business enterprise and later equity capital and growth rounds.
Develop a network of industry mentors focused on plant sciences.
For more information
Kathleen Denya, Ph.D.
Director of Innovation Partnerships kmpitche@ncsu.edu or 919.513.2073
