Innovation



UConn Startup Uses Tech To Ensure Breastfed Babies Thrive

UConn Today – At least half of breastfeeding mothers stop nursing by their infant’s second week of life, largely due to concerns about the baby receiving enough milk.

UConn alumnae Jayme Coates MS ’07, MBA ’10 and Brittany Molkenthin ’17 (NUR) believe they have created a solution. Lactation Innovations is an easy-to-use, non-invasive technology that may alleviate mothers’ concerns.


EBV Honors Lawrence Dapo ’15 With Inaugural Zacchea Veterans Impact Award

(Contributed Photo)

The UConn EBV program has awarded the inaugural Michael J. Zacchea Veterans Impact Award to a program alumnus who played an integral role in protecting former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sept. 11, created a successful Connecticut construction company, and continually supports his fellow veterans.Continue Reading


Grad Student Lexy Vecchio Wins IQ Challenge with Videogame that Mimics PTSD

Mary "Lexy" Vecchio and her startup Ursa Mayhem Media have won Innovation Quest 2022 with their video game, Here There Be Bears. (Contributed Photo)
Mary “Lexy” Vecchio and her startup Ursa Mayhem Media have won Innovation Quest 2022 with their video game, Here There Be Bears. (Contributed Photo)

At 11 years old, Mary “Lexy” Vecchio had a traumatic, life-changing ski accident.

She was skiing alone, without a helmet, and hadn’t told her family which trail she would be on. She had a terrible crash, and broke her hip. She was alone in the snow, stranded, frightened, and seriously injured. Her screams for help went unheard for a long time.Continue Reading



Michelle Cote, Relentless Advocate for Innovation and Hartford, Named A Top Woman in Business

Top 25 Women in Business Award  recipient Michelle Cote (contributed photo)
Top 25 Women in Business Award recipient Michelle Cote (Contributed Photo)

Michelle Cote, a relentless advocate for innovation in Hartford, and an instructor at the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, will be honored with a Top 25 Women in Business Award by The Hartford Business Journal.Continue Reading


Newly Re-Named ‘Department of Management and Entrepreneurship’ Reflects Growing Excitement About Innovation

Student Jack Tarca, pictured above, was able to accelerate the growth of his company through UConn's entrepreneurial support. (Contributed photo)
Student Jack Tarca, pictured above, was able to accelerate the growth of his company through UConn’s entrepreneurial support. (Contributed photo)

Student Jack Tarca may never have created his business, Find the Good Brand clothing company, if it weren’t for the entrepreneurship guidance he received at UConn.

“UConn gave me the confidence to start my own venture and build my clothing brand into a meaningful and impactful business,” said Tarca, a senior majoring in management. “The curriculum has allowed me to see a sustainable future with my business, allowing me to pursue this as a career.”Continue Reading


Serial Entrepreneur, UConn Alum Nadav Ullman Tackling Supply Chain Nightmare

UConn Today – When UConn alumnus and serial entrepreneur Nadav Ullman ‘12 (BUS) created Project N95, a national clearinghouse vetting PPE from around the world in the thick of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, he discovered something more daunting than a shortage of surgical masks and gloves.

He realized the whole global supply chain process was broken.


Innovation Quest Organizers Expect ‘Extraordinary Turnout’ for This Year’s Competition

UConn Today – The leaders of UConn’s highly successful Innovation Quest (iQ) competition said there are millions of varied ideas that could create prosperous startups.

But one irrevocable dynamic separates those who succeed from those who fail.

“The key to being successful is that you have to continually innovate,’’ says Rich Dino, director of the iQ program, who is also a serial entrepreneur and an associate professor emeritus. “Our entrepreneurs learn to ‘hear the footsteps behind them’ and accelerate the move forward by continued innovation.’’