Author: Hannah Domebo

Eric Pierstoff, program director of the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) at the National Science Foundation (NSF), will present an hour-long webinar about NSF SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR) 1- 2 p.m. April 19.

In addition to describing at NSF SBIR/STTR  program, Pierstoff will answer direct questions, cover the SBIR/STTR program’s goal, funding philosophy, topics, funded examples and the project pitch process. There will also be 10 minutes allotted for one-on-one meetings with Pierstoff.

This webinar is free of charge but registration is required.

If you are an innovator, researcher, or small business, apply by March 29 to take advantage of this virtual event which brings the United States Air Force and the small business community together to connect and collaborate. This enables the opportunity for small business innovation to quickly deliver advanced technologies to the Air Force. The event also offers participants the following:

• An opportunity to connect innovators with potential Air Force customers.
• An opportunity for potential direct contracted purchases or Small Business Innovation Research.

Selected companies will be invited to pitch their technology to Air Force representatives in April. For more information, contact For more information, contact Wichita State Strategic Initiatives at 316-978-5363 or strategicinitiatives@wichita.edu.

Learn more about intellectual property at a webinar at 1:30 p.m. March 22. This webinar will be presented by Rob Gerlach, executive director of tech transfer and commercialization. Gerlach is also a registered patent attorney.

At Wichita State, Gerlach is often tasked with protecting the university’s intellectual property and transferring innovation from the university to the commercial marketplace where its true potential can be realized. Before joining WSU, Gerlach was a patent attorney at Thompson Coburn and previously at Patterson + Sheridan, where he dealt heavily with patent prosecution, litigation and inter partes review (IPR).

Registration is required to attend.

Are you an electrical engineering major and need assistance paying for college? Apply for the H1B One Workforce Grant program today.

The H-1B One Workforce Grant Program is designed to develop replicable, comprehensive workforce strategies for preparing the workforce for middle- to high-skilled H-1B occupations within the information technology, advanced manufacturing, and transportation sectors. These grants will build proofs of concept of innovative training models that can be replicated by the broader workforce system.

If you are an innovator, researcher, or small business, apply by Nov. 1 to take advantage of this virtual event which brings the United States Air Force and the small business community together to connect and collaborate. This enables the opportunity for small business innovation to quickly deliver advanced technologies to the Air Force. The event also offers participants the following:

• An opportunity to connect innovators with potential Air Force customers.
• An opportunity for potential direct contracted purchases or Small Business Innovation Research.

Selected companies will be invited to pitch their technology to Air Force representatives from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas; Altus AFB, Oklahoma, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, Whiteman AFB, Missouri, Offutt AFB, Vance AFB, Oklahoma, and Scott AFB, Illinois, in December 2021. 

For more information, contact Wichita State Strategic Initiatives at 316-978-5363 or strategicinitiatives@wichita.edu.

Eric Pierstoff, program director of the  Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) at the National Science Foundation (NSF), will present an hour-long webinar about NSF SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR) from 11 a.m. to noon Oct. 12.

In addition to describing at NSF SBIR/STTR  program, Pierstoff will answer direct questions, cover the SBIR/STTR program’s goal, funding philosophy, topics, funded examples and the project pitch process. There will also be 10 minutes allotted for one-on-one meetings with Pierstoff.

This webinar is free of charge but registration is required.

If you are pursuing Small Business Innovate Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding, please consider attending the next SBIR and STTR webinar 9-10:30 a.m. Sept. 21.

The session will cover the basics of SBIR and STTR, how to determine eligibility and how to figure out which of the 11 participating agencies best fits your technology.

Ali Levine, Microsoft Certified trainer, will host a free, virtual Microsoft Office session 9 to 10 a.m. June 16. The session will reveal life-changing tricks in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. It will also go over new features in Office 365, as well as how to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost performance and uncover hidden tools in other Office programs.  Registration is required to attend.