Stevens News / Research & Innovation

Stevens Selected as NSF Innovation Corps Hub Partner for New York Region

Electrical & Computer Engineering Professor Negar Tavassolian will receive $250,000 per five year to commercialize skin cancer imaging device

Negar Tavassolian, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and David Zimmerman, Director of Technology Commercialization at Stevens’ Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship were recently selected to participate in the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps, (I-Corps™) program for the New York region. Tavassolian will receive $250,000 per year over five years to fund the commercialization of her recently patented handheld skin cancer imaging device.

Established in 2011, the I-Corps™ program connects NSF-funded university engineering and science researchers with the National Innovation Network, made up of communities in technology, entrepreneurship, and business sectors. The National Innovation Network aims to help commercialize technologies developed through discoveries in science and engineering.

“The I-Corps™ grant catalyzes commercialization efforts in universities which is why it's important for bringing ideas out of the lab and into the real world,” said Tavassolian. “We are very excited about this aspect of it.”

The New York Region Hub consists of:

  • The City University of New York, Lead

  • Columbia University

  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  • New York University

  • Rockefeller University

  • Stevens Institute of Technology

  • Stony Brook University

  • University of Massachusetts Medical School

  • University at Albany

The hubs will serve to feed the National Innovation Network and provide support, training, and experience in entrepreneurship to researchers in academia across engineering and science, enabling them to turn basic research results into marketable products.

Learn more about electrical and computer engineering at Stevens:

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)

ECE Undergraduate Programs

ECE Graduate Programs

Related Stories

iCNS AI Engineering and Science Symposium speakers (from left) Joseph Helsing, Min Song, Tianhao Wu, Yingchao Zhang, Mingyu Derek Ma,  Yulong Cao,  Hao Wang and Jessica Gruich standing in front of a stage and podium.
February 10, 2026
Stevens Student-Led AI Innovation Takes Center Stage at iCNS AI Engineering and Science Symposium
February 05, 2026
Pinar Akcora Receives NSF Grant to Study How Ions and Polymers Interact in Ionogels 
January 30, 2026
Stevens Students are Mapping the Future of AI Data Centers
January 15, 2026
Igor Pikovski Receives $1.3 Million Keck Foundation Grant, a First for Stevens
More Research & Innovation

Stevens News

School of Computing
January 29, 2026
Stevens Institute of Technology Establishes School of Computing to Lead the Next Era in AI and Technology Education and Research
February 19, 2026
Stevens Institute of Technology Announces Two New Programs to Support Research-Based Startup Formation and Industry Collaboration
December 09, 2025
Stevens Ranks No. 1 in New Jersey for Graduate Earnings in New Federal Salary Data
February 19, 2026
Stevens Institute of Technology Installs Advanced X-Band Weather Radar to Strengthen Flood Monitoring and Severe Weather Forecasting for the New York Metropolitan Area
All Stevens News