Princeton-Area Startups Receive CSIT Grants
The New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation, and Technology (CSIT) announced early this month that it had awarded $3.9 million in grants to 45 startups statewide through its Catalyst Seed Research and Development Grant and Clean Tech Seed Grant programs. The awards will help these young companies accelerate development of their technologies and transform their discoveries from the research stage into commercially viable products and services.
Several of the grant recipients are startups based in the greater Princeton area.
“Funding New Jersey startups today through grant programs like the Catalyst Seed R&D Grant and the Clean Tech Seed Grant helps to guarantee a strong economy in the future and furthers Governor Phil Murphy’s vision for the state,” CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft said in a statement. “Cultivating companies within our state during their formative years helps us to promote financial growth, sustainability, and economic mobility for years to come.”
CSIT’s Catalyst Seed R&D Grant Program has awarded 27 early-stage startup companies a total of $2.6 million in funding through grants of up to $150,000 for life sciences startups focusing on drug development and therapeutics and up to $75,000 for R&D.
A total of $1.3 million in funding will also be awarded to 18 companies chosen in Round 2 of the Clean Tech Seed Grant Program. The Clean Tech Seed Grant Program, which was jointly developed by CSIT and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, provides grants for R&D activities to very early-stage, New Jersey-based clean technology companies that will help them to advance their development on products and services to a point where they can more readily appeal to outside investors and, in some cases, begin to generate revenue.
“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey has become one of the best places in the nation to grow and scale a company, especially a startup,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “CSIT’s Catalyst Seed R&D Grant and Clean Tech Seed Grant programs allow entrepreneurs to secure funding for vitally important research and new technologies that not only better our society, but also create new high-paying jobs grow our economy and solidify New Jersey’s reputation as a leader in equitable, diverse, and transformative innovation.”
Princeton-area companies that receive grants through the Catalyst Seed Grant Program for drug development include Airpark Road-based NeuroPair, Inc., which received $150,000.
Companies receiving Catalyst Seed Grant Program funding in other categories include several grown from research started at Princeton University. One such example is Phoresis Inc., which received grants through both the catalyst seed and clean tech seed programs for its work on water purification systems that offers a less expensive method that could bring affordable access to clean drinking water to populations that currently don’t have it. Among the founders is Howard Stone, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton who leads the Complex Fluids Group there.
Another Princeton University spin-out is AquaPao, Inc., which received $75,000 through the Catalyst Seed Grant Program. Led by co-founder Rod Priestley, a professor of chemical and biological engineering and Princeton’s first vice dean for innovation, AquaPao is also addressing issues of water cleanliness and scarcity.
Its website, www.aquapao.com, explains its technology: “AquaPao’s patent-pending photoresponsive solar absorber gel (SAG) has high elasticity to allow for repeated cycles of clean water production from harmful sources and can be powered solely by natural sunlight.
“The application of thermally responsive hydrogels to regulate the transport of water has inherent attributes toward addressing water scarcity. As a practical manner, hydrogel-based systems are both scalable and modular. They also have a low environmental footprint and non-renewable energy requirements.”
Additional recipients of $75,000 Catalyst Seed Grants are RizLab Health Inc. and Tendo Technologies, Inc., both based at Princeton Innovation Center Biolabs on College Road East.
RizLab is a spinoff of the Nano Bioelectronics Laboratory at Rutgers and was founded in 2018. The company’s product is a “CBC analyzer,” a pocket-sized, wireless, electronic tool that provides analysis of the results of complete blood count tests. Visit www.rizlabhealth.com.
Tendo Tech is led by Marcus Hultmark, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton. The company’s researchers are working on applications of elastic filament velocimetry (EFV) technology to HVAC systems, where it can be used to measure precise pressure drops in buildings; infusion pumps, where it can help ensure proper dosage of medications; and other areas. Visit www.tendo.tech.
Two additional companies were awarded funding through the Clean Tech Seed Grant Program.
Hit Nano, Inc., which received $75,000, is based in Bordentown. The company founded in 2018 by Princeton University scientists develops low-cost, high-performance lithium-ion batteries and energy storage materials using novel high temperature nanotechnologies. Visit www.hitnanoinc.com.
Project Plastic LLC, which received $74,990, is also based at Princeton Innovation Center Biolabs. The company was founded in 2021 by two Princeton University graduate students in architecture.
As noted on the company’s website, www.projectplastic.site/team, “As part of their research, the pair analyzed the dysfunctional plastic recycling industry and were shocked to learn about the millions of tons of plastic that leaches into the world’s rivers and oceans each year. Their thesis research ultimately proposed the development of novel infrastructure for the collection and recycling of aquatic plastic waste.
“In particular, the pair noted a worrying lack of infrastructure and protocols for removing microplastics from aquatic environments. They decided to focus on developing new technologies for the entrapment and upcycling of microplastic pollutants to establish a circular plastic economy. Our team’s first prototype technology aims to be the world’s first portable, affordable, and low-maintenance microplastic collection device.”
Deaths
Pete Carril, 92, on August 15. The legendary basketball coach led the Princeton University men’s team for 29 years, culminating in an upset victory over defending champion UCLA in the first round of the 1996 NCAA tournament.
Joseph M. “Pop” Kustrup Jr., 80, on August 12. He worked for The Trenton Times newspaper for 42 years retiring as their transportation manager.
Brenda B. Mihan, 81, on August 3. She worked for Johnson & Johnson as an administrative research assistant.
Virginia L. Horning, 91, on August 11. She worked Thermoid in Hamilton, as head teller at Yardville National Bank, as a bookkeeper with Grover Lumber, and as a lunchroom aide at Langtree Elementary School in Hamilton.
