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The Innovation Hub at ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù serves as the gateway for industry and research institutions to collaborate with our faculty and students. We welcome partnerships for applied research projects that advance your interests while enriching our academic community. Please reach out to us with ideas to forge impactful partnerships and ignite scientific innovation.

The Innovation Hub is receiving funding from a grant (award 2331430) from 2023 to 2026.

Vision

We aspire to create a seamless exchange of knowledge, enrich career opportunities, and pave the way for innovative research and development by involving faculty and students in projects with industry and other research institutions.

Advisory Board

Our Advisory Board consists of accomplished leaders from within the University and key sectors across the Hampton Roads area. They provide strategic insights, foster outreach and collaboration with the community, and strengthen the University’s connections to the regional innovation ecosystem.

The Board promotes activities designed to:

• Provide strategic insights on best practices in innovation, entrepreneurship, and research commercialization, ensuring the Hub remains competitive and impactful.
• Identify emerging trends in technology, industry needs, and research, integrating these into the Innovation Hub’s focus areas (artificial intelligence, data science).
• Advocate for the Innovation Hub to strengthen ties with the local community and cultivate connections within the regional innovation ecosystem, promoting collaboration and partnership opportunities.
• Offer ongoing feedback on the progress of projects, programs, and initiatives within the Hub, helping leadership adjust strategies to ensure continued success.
• Assist in identifying and securing funding sources to support the Hub's activities and initiatives, ensuring its long-term sustainability.

Members

• Jana Adamitis
  ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù College of Arts and Humanities, Dean
• Nancy Grden
  Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, President & CEO
• Nicole Guajardo
  ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù Academic Success and Engagement, Vice Provost
• Sarah Hobgood
  ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù Center for Career Planning, Director
• Marlin McDaniel
  City of Newport News, Innovation Program Manager
• Tatiana Rizova
  ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù College of Social Sciences and Natural & Behavioral Sciences, Dean
• Keith Roots
  ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù Advancement, Senior Associate Vice President
• David Salomon
  ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù Office of Research and Creative Activity, Director
• Marla Schuchman
  Jefferson Lab, Chief Innovation Officer for Research & Technology Partnerships
• Anna Hickey
  ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù Luter School of Business, Dean
• Lisa Ziehmann
  NASA Langley, Associate Director

For Industry and Other Institutions

We want to leverage our faculty expertise with your industry skills to foster research through use-inspired research project collaborations. We have particular faculty expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. Contact us with your ideas to explore possibilities for collaboration with our faculty in these or any related areas. There is no cost for external partners to participate in our current pilot research collaborations.

Our faculty have expertise in the following areas:

• Applied Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Data Science
• Data Mining
• Database Design
• Statistical Inference
• Software Development
• DevOps
• Scientific Visualization
• Robotic Controls and Systems
• Unmanned Aerial Systems
• Smart Grids
• Web Services

Reach out to us for further information or to discuss potential collaborations.

For Our Faculty

We seek to expand the horizons of your research and help you establish collaborations with industry and other external institutions. If selected for our pilot partnership program, you will be provided with a stipend to support the exploration of a research project with an external partner. We are also facilitating finding stipend support for a student assistant for each pilot partnership. 

For Our Students

Our research partnerships can provide you with opportunities to work with both ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù faculty and external research partners in industry and at research institutions.

Media and Communications

• The Business Magazine of Coastal Virginia (CoVaBIZ) , The Innovation Ecosystem in Costal Virginia: Perspectives from Around The Region, p.41. December 2025-January 2026.
• EPIIC Quarterly Newsletter, '', Issue 1, June 2025.
• Participation at the National Science Foundation showcase to the US Congress caucuses on Artificial Intelligence. Washington, DC., September 19, 2024. We presented our achievements during the first year of the EPIIC grant
• T. Swaak, "Spotlight: From Strangers to Partners." In "", The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 2024, pp. 37- 38'.
• ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù. In State of Education 2024, Virginia Living Magazine, page 115.
• ÐÔ°®Ñо¿Ëù. Press release "National Science Foundation Grant Cultivates Student-Industry Collaboration." October 13, 2023.