Services
Six ways I work with clients
Engagements are independent of any university role.
1. Federal Funding Strategy for Deep Tech
For startups and research teams pursuing NSF, SBIR/STTR, and translational funding.
Four years inside NSF making funding decisions on nearly 1,000 proposals across SBIR/STTR, Partnerships for Innovation, Mid-Career Advancement, and Open Source Ecosystems. I also designed the Translation to Practice program from scratch, through to an approved solicitation. I know how proposals are actually read, what review panels reward, and where strong technologies fail on paper.
What you get: program fit assessment, proposal positioning and review before submission, guidance on supplement mechanisms most applicants never use, and a realistic funding roadmap from first award through private capital match.
2. Venture Readiness and Diligence Preparation
For deep tech startups preparing to face investors.
At NSF I conducted multistage, investment style due diligence on hundreds of early stage companies before federal awards: intellectual property status and protection strategy, competitive landscape, team and equity structure, customer discovery readiness, commercialization pipeline, and budget integrity. That is the same review an investment committee runs before writing a check. I run it for you first.
What you get: a full diligence review before investors run theirs, identification of the gaps that kill deals, and preparation for the questions you will face in the room.
3. Founder Coaching for Academic Entrepreneurs
For researchers becoming founders.
I co-founded three ventures as technical lead, including two research grounded technology companies built directly from my laboratory. I have made the founder decisions that textbooks skip: intellectual property strategy with incomplete information, first commercial hires, and the moment the data tells you something the business plan does not. Those companies taught me what actually kills early stage deep tech ventures.
What you get: honest, specific guidance on IP strategy, team formation, customer discovery, and the hard calls, from someone who has been at that table rather than read about it.
4. Research Translation and Commercialization for Universities
For research offices, colleges, and technology transfer units.
As an Associate Dean for Research and Industry Partnerships I have helped grow annual research proposal submissions by roughly an order of magnitude across two fiscal years, founded a regional deep tech pitch competition reaching more than 50 teams and 300 attendees, and played a major role in a $12.5 million institute agreement behind a new doctoral program. Before that, my NSF portfolio produced 26 research grounded companies, and I funded 56 startups directly through SBIR and STTR.
What you get: design and launch of translation infrastructure, including pitch competitions, venture development programs, I-Corps pipelines, industry partnership strategy, and proposal pipeline construction.
5. Funding Program Design for Agencies and Foundations
For funders who want to build translation mechanisms, not just make grants.
At NSF I built the Translation to Practice program from concept to approved solicitation, led its working group across all eight NSF directorates, and negotiated the directorate's first co-funding agreements with the Army and Navy. I established the directorate's first EPSCoR co-funding pathway, which went on to carry $6.7 million to institutions in eight EPSCoR jurisdictions, and I co-created new funding mechanisms including APEX, the first NSF program to fund patent and intellectual property protection expenses.
What you get: end to end program design, from concept and stakeholder alignment through solicitation language, review process architecture, expert panel recruitment, and partnership agreements.
6. Expert Review and Selection Committees
For accelerators, venture studios, prize competitions, and funders.
I organized more than 100 expert review panels at NSF, recruiting disciplinary experts across semiconductor materials, photonics, chemical technologies, data science, and environmental science. I have also served as a grant reviewer for funding agencies in five countries. I know how to build a review process that produces decisions you can defend.
What you get: cohort selection design, reviewer and judge recruitment, review criteria development, and independent expert evaluation of technical portfolios.
