The Wichita State Ventures program was awarded a $7.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) earlier this month.

WSU Ventures assists faculty, staff and students commercialize their inventions to benefit the community. The grant will be used to ultimately generate defense-related jobs and foster progress in defense-related technologies, particularly in aviation. The grant has a two-year duration, and WSU Ventures plans to invest the money in five ways.

1. Robotics manufacturing

“We have that capability already, but we’re looking at expanding [robotics manufacturing] in the new experiential engineering building,” said Cindy Claycomb, director of WSU Ventures.

2. Lightning strikes on airplanes

 A new lab for this technology is being created at Air Capital Flight Lines, the old Boeing Co. site.

3. Technology and commercialization feasibility group

“This group will employ students who will — under the guidance of a faculty member and other staff members — help us look at the technologies that come particularly out of the university, but also some that come from the community and actually do a deep dive into those technologies to see if there’s some potential for that technology to be patented, licensed or commercialized in some way,” Claycomb said.

4. Inventory of supply chain

This means identifying companies in the Kansas region that have a manufacturing supply chain and documenting where the materials and supplies they use come from.

5. Community maker space.

“A maker space is like a gym for innovators,” said Debra Franklin, director of University Strategic Initiatives at WSU Ventures. “It gives us a platform for innovative ideas to be tried, tested, developed — and if it’s a working idea, to take it to market.”

The maker space will be located in a wing off of the experiential engineering building, which is currently being built as a part of Innovation Campus. People will be able to get a maker space membership and can learn to operate the machinery in order to make their inventions and products.

The process of beginning work in these five areas has started.

The first steps include staffing, procuring equipment and doing program metrics.

Senior Craig Brownlee said he understands the importance of the recent grant and how this will impact WSU’s future growth.

“There’s kind of a continuation of that same idea in my mind, that bringing industry into the university, it helps the university, it helps the students,” he said.

Brownlee added that the goal is to have an entity concerned about increasing WSU’s involvement in the economy. He said he sees that happening in NIAR and in Innovation Campus.

Overall, the program helps the economy and adds security to the university’s role in Kansas, Brownlee said.