The Emerge Accelerator connects Department of Defense (DoD) mission partners with emerging technology teams and startups at our nation’s top research universities.

Teams of students, faculty, and staff from T3 research universities with emerging technology and startups will be matched with Department of Defense (DoD) stakeholders to expand dual-use (applicable to commercial and DoD markets) ventures as part of the National Security Innovation Network’s new Emerge Accelerator program.

Universities nominated more than 200 teams for the NSIN Emerge program, and after an intensive selection process, 42 teams from 17 universities received invitations to join the inaugural cohort. Selected universities bringing diverse capabilities to the DoD include:

  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Northeastern University
  • Rice University
  • South Dakota Mines
  • The Ohio State University
  • University of Central Florida
  • University of Hawaiʻi
  • University of Louisville
  • University of Maine
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Missouri—Kansas City
  • Indiana University
  • Washington University in St. Louis
  • Arizona State University
  • University of California, Berkeley

Although the teams vary in size and technology, each will work with DoD and commercial prospects to develop critical skills in venture strategy and marketing, and product development and design. As part of their effort to become successful dual-use ventures, the teams will test their prototypes in real military projects and receive mentoring on breaking into DoD and commercial markets with their intellectual property (IP) and technology.

Key DoD technologies that university IP will look to advance include:

  • Energy technologies (e.g., clean, sustainable, high-yield, nuclear)
  • Advanced engineering materials (e.g., bio-inspired, nanotech)
  • Semiconductors and microelectronics
  • Advanced computing (e.g., high-performance, quantum, simulation)
  • Applied artificial intelligence/machine learning (e.g., big data analysis/situational awareness, predictive modeling, autonomy, robotics/drones)
  • Advanced communications and networking technologies (e.g., internet of things, 5G, radio frequency, denied/hostile environments)
  • Biotechnologies (e.g., medical, bio-inspired)
  • Advanced sensing (e.g., electronic warfare)

About NSIN

The National Security Innovation Network is a program of the U.S. Department of Defense that collaborates with major universities and the venture community to develop solutions that drive national security innovation. We operate three portfolios of programs and services: National Service, Collaboration, and Acceleration. Together, these portfolios form a pipeline of activities and solutions that accelerate the pace of defense innovation.