University of Oregon chemistry graduate students Susan Cooper, Brandon Crockett, and Adam Jansons are among 155 students from 47 higher education institutions that have been named University Innovation Fellows by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter). Epicenter is an NSF-funded national program that trains student leaders to create new opportunities for their peers to engage with innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and creativity.

The 2016 UO Epicenter five-member team includes Susan, Brandon and Adam – researchers in the Darren Johnson and Jim Hutchison labs – along with Nick Capaldini from Product Design and David Phillips from Human Physiology.

The students will all complete six weeks of online training, and in late March will travel to the University Innovation Fellows Annual Meetup in Silicon Valley. Throughout the year, they will take part in events and conferences across the country and have opportunities to learn from one another, Epicenter mentors, and leaders in academia and industry.

The UO Epicenter team’s efforts will focus on creating opportunities to link together the many existing centers for innovation and around campus – including the Product Design Program, the Lindquist Center for Entrepreneurship, the Green Product Design Network, Innovation Partnership Services, and the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network – while bringing these significant campus resources to the attention of students from all disciplines.

Watch their video and read more about their project at http://bit.ly/24OP9dE