Glass Family Faculty Innovation Fellows

Applications Due: November 23, 2026

Building on the success of the inaugural cohort, the Glass Family Faculty Innovation Fellows program continues to support faculty-led innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and the translation of research and creative ideas into real-world impact. The program is intended to help faculty advance a focused innovation opportunity through a clearly defined milestone during the fellowship period. 

We anticipate selecting up to three faculty members who demonstrate a compelling vision for innovation and a commitment to advancing the college's mission through creative, interdisciplinary, and impactful approaches. Selected fellows will join a growing community of Riccio College of Engineering faculty engaged in innovation, entrepreneurship, and translation. 

These awards are supported by the Robert and Sandra Glass Innovation Fund.

Program Goals: 

• Support faculty in translating research, scholarly, creative, and educational innovations into startups, products, technologies, programs, partnerships, or public-impact initiatives. 
• Provide access to training, funding opportunities, mentors, and campus innovation resources. 
• Accelerate progress toward a clearly defined and measurable innovation, translational, or entrepreneurial milestone. 
• Showcase faculty innovation through public presentations and collaborative workshops. 
• Promote a sustained culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the Riccio College of Engineering (Innovation and Entrepreneurship). 

Fellowship Experience:

Selected fellows—and, where appropriate, a member of their research group (graduate student or postdoctoral fellow)—will: 

• Participate in the I-Corps @ UMass Amherst Training Program or a regional short course offered by the New England I-Corps Hub during the fellowship period to test customer and stakeholder assumptions. 
• Engage with a cohort of innovators across disciplines and campus resources (I-Corps @ UMass Amherst, Accelerating Research Translation @ UMass Amherst, Tech Transfer Office, Institute for Applied Life Sciences, Future of Food Initiative, etc.). 
• Present their work at the Glass Family Innovation Showcase 2027. 
• Receive up to $6,000 to support ideation, prototype development, translational activities, venture exploration, and/or other innovation-related activities. 

Eligibility & Application:

All full-time faculty within the Riccio College of Engineering are eligible to apply. All applications should be submitted to Aneesha Andreadis at adandreadis [at] umass [dot] edu (adandreadis[at]umass[dot]edu) using the subject title "Faculty Innovation Fellowship Program" on or before November 23, 2026. 

Application available here.

Selection Criteria: 

Applications will be evaluated based on the significance and innovative potential of the proposed opportunity, the feasibility of the proposed milestone, clarity of success measures, strategic use of funds, alignment with the goals of the Fellowship, and the potential for meaningful translational, entrepreneurial, or public impact.  

For additional information, please contact a member of the Riccio Innovation & Entrepreneurship Steering Committee:  Ashish Kulkarni, Amir Arbabi and Sundar Krishnamurty.