UConn Today – Surgeons perform almost 800,000 total-knee replacements, and more than a half-million hip replacements, in the United States each year.
And while those procedures are typically life- and mobility-enhancing, the initial post-surgical pain can be very unpleasant for some patients. Opioids remain among the most popular prescription medication to combat orthopedic post-surgical pain, but two UConn Health faculty members think they’ve found a better solution.
UConn Today – Niko Zurita ’10 (BUS) remembers how, during the COVID-19 pandemic, almost every human resource executive in America tried to arrange a “Virtual Happy Hour” in an effort to keep employees connected.
And while it was better than nothing, those end-of-the-workday gatherings, conducted through a computer monitor, were clearly no substitute for an in-person event, Zurita says.
UConn Today – As a UConn student, Lyla Andrick ’24 (CAHNR) created about 2,000 brightly colored dinosaur stuffed animals in her dorm room, while also juggling schoolwork and a job at a veterinary clinic.
The plush animals have become so popular that the small New England boutiques where they are sold can’t keep them on the shelves.
UConn Today – Who hasn’t purchased a pint of mouthwatering strawberries and two days later had to toss it in the trash because the berries became mushy and moldy?
A staggering one of every three pieces of fresh produce ends up in the garbage, a frustration for farmers, grocers, and consumers alike.
But a team of UConn scientists think they have a solution. Their startup, Atlantic Sea Solutions, is using seaweed extracts as a coating for peaches, berries and other fresh produce. They believe the natural ingredient can double the shelf-life of perishable foods by reducing shrinkage and spoilage. The seaweed-coating can be applied without changing the flavor or texture of the food.
UConn Today – The Cecchini family’s entrepreneurship story began with an extraordinary love for their English Bulldog, Tank.
Unlike his two canine brothers, Tank suffered from unrelenting food allergies and painful ear infections. The South Windsor family developed a healthy, all-natural, grain-free dog biscuit just for him. When friends and family kept asking for samples, they recognized they were onto something big. They created their business, The Dog Bone LLC, in 2016.
UConn Today – Although personal health-tracking devices have proliferated in recent years, entrepreneur John Toribio, a Ph.D. candidate at UConn, believes his innovation is far superior to what’s available on the market today.
Toribio Labs is the winner of UConn’s 2024 Innovation Quest (iQ) entrepreneurship competition and has received a $15,000 award.
UConn Today – Atlantic Sea Solutions is a startup that develops edible coatings from seaweed that can extend the shelf life of fresh produce.
Another startup, Webquity, is working to ensure that students with disabilities and neurodiverse learners have equitable access to online content.
Yet another startup – Happy Dinosaur – is looking to grow and scale a line of sustainable and handmade plush dinosaurs that, up until now, have all been made by the startup’s founder individually and by hand.
UConn Today – Sophomore Samarth Gupta ‘26 stood in front a room filled with business leaders at Hartford AI Day and explained why artificial intelligence can dramatically improve everyday life.
MIT has created ICU Intervene, which predicts what treatments will be most effective for critically ill patients, he said. Paypal uses AI to analyze transactions to curtail cybersecurity fraud. And Amazon is using image detection to support a ‘smart store,’ which eliminates the need to wait in checkout lines.
UConn Today – The University of Connecticut has joined the National Science Foundation I-Corps Hub Northeast Region, a prestigious appointment that will allow the university to serve more entrepreneurs seeking to develop scientific and technological innovations.
UConn Today – Just a year ago, Amelia Martin ’23 (CAHNR) was an undergraduate student with a great idea for creating an eco-friendly surfboard, but little idea how to bring it to the marketplace.
Today she is an entrepreneur and the owner of Mud Rat, a company creating organic surfboard cores from the mycelium of mushrooms. The material can replace Styrofoam, which produces toxic dust, and takes hundreds of years to decompose.