By Hala Madanat, Vice President for Research and Innovation, San Diego State University and SDSU Principal Investigator, NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region

As Vice President for Research and Innovation at San Diego State University, I have been continually impressed by the impact of the NSF I-Corps™ program in catalyzing both research and entrepreneurship across our campus. SDSU faculty bring deep disciplinary expertise to their work, generating new knowledge, publications, and externally funded research. Like most academics, they hope their discoveries will extend beyond scholarly journals to create real-world impact—a core reason public investment in academic research is so important.

Yet translating fundamental research into impactful products and services requires an understanding of entrepreneurship that is rarely part of faculty training outside of business schools. This is where I-Corps plays a transformative role.

Participation in I-Corps has had a profound effect on our faculty and student teams. Researchers are naturally immersed in the technical details of their work and, as experts, often assume they understand how and why their research will be applied. I-Corps challenges this assumption by shifting the focus from the details to the bigger picture. By pushing teams out of the lab and into conversations with potential users, decision makers, and others involved in the adoption of new technology, the program reveals a consistent surprise: the real needs of users are often different from what researchers initially expect. Importantly, those needs are frequently just as significant—and well aligned with the team’s research in new and unexpected ways.

For some teams, the I-Corps experience has led to the launch of startup companies or licensing agreements that extend the public impact of their work. For others, it has clarified the need to return to the lab and further develop the research before commercialization—an outcome that is equally valuable. Along the way, students involved in I-Corps gain critical skills that strengthen their future careers, whether in academia, industry, or entrepreneurship.

San Diego State University benefits from a robust innovation ecosystem, including undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, a collaborative technology transfer office, and strong connections to the regional startup and venture capital community. Being part of the NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region serves as a vital conduit within this ecosystem, accelerating the flow from innovative research to meaningful public impact.

Learn how researchers are turning insight into impact through I-Corps.
Watch a short video featuring a San Diego State University PhD researcher who participated in I-Corps.

If you would like to learn more or join an I-Corps course, please contact our I-Corps Teaching Team: Toloupe Perrin Stowe or Stanley Maloy.