PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — From lab discoveries to high-growth ventures, the Brown University innovation community is accelerating commercial translation, forging strategic industry partnerships, and expanding the boundaries of science and technology.

That momentum took center stage at the fourth annual Innovation@Brown Showcase on October 15, 2026. The day kicked off with rapid-fire flash talks covering aging, RNA therapies, AI, and battery tech. It then moved into a dynamic panel discussion, tech presentations, and innovation awards, before concluding with the main event: a vibrant venture showcase featuring 23 teams of founders and inventors sharing pre-companies, translational projects, and novel spin-outs driving economic impact across Rhode Island and beyond.

This year’s Showcase marked several significant milestones: registration set a record high of 349 attendees; the pitch competition expanded to a dedicated pre-event, the Brown Invents Startup Challenge, held at the CIC during Rhode Island Startup Week; Provost Frank Doyle and Brown Trustee Sangeeta Bhatia headlined a packed keynote on scaling academic innovation; and Adept Materials, the 2025 Startup of the Year winner from last year’s Showcase, received national recognition when its Lilypad paint was named to TIME’s list of the Best Inventions of 2026 on the morning of the event.

Bridging Discovery and Impact

As federal expectations shift, universities are finding new opportunities to translate academic research into real-world commercial impact. “One of the things that I see in the role of VPR is that the federal government is pushing the university system harder and harder to connect with industry earlier and earlier,” said Vice President for Research Greg Hirth.

“Honestly, I embrace the challenge,” said Provost Frank Doyle. “This is a chance for us to look hard at the way we do things here. We looked at the portfolio and we are very heavily dependent on the federal government—83%. That's not sufficiently diversified. We need to do things differently, and we have an inaugural associate provost for corporate engagement, James Kellner, who's looking at exactly this kind of opportunity.”

As provost, Doyle balances the roles of chief academic officer and chief budget officer—a “tricky balancing act,” noted keynote moderator Bob Safian, host of the Rapid Response podcast. “Frank is also an engineer by training. He has his own patent portfolio, and he's an entrepreneur. He came to Brown with the stated mission to double the impact of Brown research.”

Doyle joined MIT Professor and Brown Trustee Sangeeta Bhatia on stage for a keynote panel exploring “The Evolving Role of Academia in Scaling Innovation and Economic Impact,” recorded live for the Rapid Response podcast.

“Sangeeta Bhatia is one of the most decorated scientist-entrepreneurs in the nation,” Safian said as he introduced the alumna, trustee, and member of all five National Academies, who has co-founded multiple biotech ventures from her research lab.

With cameras recording for live taping and a standing-room-only crowd watching, Safian posed the first question to the panelists. “If there’s one thing about what’s at stake in American science and on American campuses right now,” Safian asked, “what would it be?”

“One thing that's happening right now is that business leaders are not taking chances as early as they used to on brand new ideas,” said Bhatia. “So at the moment, you have to have a brand new idea and de-risk it and grow it with philanthropy and government grants. And it gets to some point where the business needs to scale, and then venture will come in. It used to be that you could convince an exciting business leader that something was exciting, and they just took a chance. I think we have to really maintain that spirit in this country because otherwise, that risk averseness will cost us.”

To address these challenges and foster innovation, Bhatia proposed a concrete model for building campus support networks: embedding experienced serial entrepreneurs directly within key sectors.

“There are lots of points of entrepreneurship around the Brown campus,” said Bhatia. “Connecting and coalescing and creating communities of those folks is really enabling.” With repeat entrepreneurs available in biotech, energy, and AI, for example, anybody with ideas can walk into that person’s office and ask if their idea is viable, how much money to raise, and how to get an introduction. “If we could sprinkle a few of those around the Brown campus,” Bhatia said, “that would be incredible.”

Venture Networking

The Venture Showcase and Networking Session—a centerpiece of the event—highlighted 23 ventures led by faculty, students, and alumni. The session connected founders with investors to translate research into real-world applications across therapeutics, medical devices, AI and digital health, and physical sciences.

The venture tables remained a focal point throughout the event, filled with a steady stream of visitors so engaged in animated discussions with founders that organizers had to sound a gong multiple times to gather the crowd's attention and move the program along.

Participating ventures included Bridge Robotic Surgical Technologies (modular surgical accessories), C-Mind LLC (AI patient engagement platform), Lilac Biosciences (RNA modification for drug discovery), and Nereus Systems (propeller-free underwater inspection robots).

Highlighted technologies included Bridge Robotic Surgical Technologies modular surgical accessories, CNT-SmartBandage biosensing wound dressings, EMPIRIC AI coastal weather forecasting, Motion-Enabled Super-Resolution Imaging, and SABLAA ventilator complication reduction.

Innovation Awards

The day concluded as Deputy Vice President for Research Marty Scholtz presented the annual BTI Innovation Awards, honoring the inventors, innovations, and startups transforming Brown research into real-world impact.

Innovation of the Year: Chris Horvat (Empiric AI)

Empiric AI leverages machine learning breakthroughs to generate high-frequency, long-term forecasts for coastal regions and small island states. “Our methodology is cheap, rapid, and transferable by design,” Horvat explained. “We've built this through partnerships with Caribbean and Pacific governments, and now we’re exploring commercial applications in the United States.”

Reflecting on local impact, Horvat noted, “I grew up here in Rhode Island, so connecting with a local audience interested in our work is very gratifying. We’ve all seen weather over- or under-forecasted; making weather and climate predictions more reliable is extremely relevant societally.”

Supported by the NSF I-Corps program, the team is actively discovering customer needs and expanding business development. “The hope is that we'll spin out a company and secure initial investment rounds to deploy this technology across Rhode Island and the U.S.”

Startup of the Year: Lilac Biosciences, CEO Adriana Coll De Peña

Spun out of the Giuliani RNA Center by Professor Anubhav Tripathi in 2025, Lilac Biosciences develops vital analytical tools to speed up RNA drug discovery and development.

“Every lab has great ideas, but the pivotal moment was the community,” said CEO Adriana Coll De Peña, who joined Lilac after working on RNA therapeutics at Moderna. “Having a state and community that believed in us early was fundamental to testing ideas and gaining independence.”

Backed by the Rhode Island Life Science Hub, the five-person Providence team is now focused on expanding its pipeline. “Our goal is to be the go-to partner for all RNA analytical questions—from modifications to quality attributes—and become an essential part of every RNA research and therapeutic workflow.”

Inventor of the Year: Anita Shukla

Recognized for her lab’s pioneering drug delivery systems and biomaterials targeting antimicrobial resistance, Professor Anita Shukla emphasized the collaborative effort behind the award: “I won this award today on behalf of my lab. A huge focus of our research is developing technologies to tackle pressing challenges in treating bacterial and fungal infections.”

With drug-resistant infections on the rise, Shukla highlighted the urgent responsibility facing modern researchers: “We’re coming up on an era where common antibiotics no longer work. As engineers, we have an obligation to design better delivery systems that detect, prevent, and treat these lethal infections before it’s too late.”

“Engineers are supposed to solve big problems and apply science to help humanity,” Shukla added. “Forming a company to bring this technology into the world is a necessary step toward bettering human lives.”

“The 2026 Showcase made one thing clear: Brown’s innovation engine is accelerating,” said Hirth. “By uniting groundbreaking research, targeted funding, and dedicated mentorship, the university is transforming bold ideas into market-ready ventures that drive real-world impact in Rhode Island and beyond.”

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Thank you to our 12 showcase sponsors and supporters for making the 2026 Innovation@Brown Showcase and Brown Invents Startup Challenge possible: Banner Witcoff, Brown Angel Group, Cherrystone Angel Group, Elm Street Ventures, EY, GrowthLab, Harrington Discovery Institute, K&L Gates, Launchpad Venture Group, Slater Technology Fund, Teknor Apex, and The Engine.

Interested in becoming a sponsor for a future event? Contact us at innovation-showcase@brown.edu.