Southwest I-Corps™ is a hub for education, infrastructure and research to engage academic scientists and engineers in innovation.

Through the combined entrepreneurial experience and research capabilities of five leading research institutions in Texas, Southwest I-Corps™ supports and connects young scientists, leading faculty and the greater business community across the Texas and Southwest region in testing their funded research for potential commercial applications through national and regional I-Corps™ programming.

Together, we are spurring innovation.

Southwest I-Corps™ is expanding! We’re excited to add new partners to our Hub to spur innovation across the southwest United States.

We’re working to build, utilize, and sustain the national innovation ecosystem.

Southwest I-Corps™ is part of the National Innovation Network (NIN), a national network of NSF-funded researchers from I-Corps™ Hubs, and I-Corps™ Nodes and Sites. Working together, this network addresses America’s needs for innovation education, infrastructure, and research.

Individually known as an I-Corps™ Hub, Southwest I-Corps™ cultivates regional innovation education, infrastructure and research. We work cooperatively with other I-Corps™ Hubs and Nodes to foster understanding on how to:

  • Identify, develop and support promising ideas that can generate value,
  • Create and implement tools and resources that enhance our nation’s innovation capacity,
  • Gather, analyze, evaluate and utilize the data and insight resulting from the experiences of the I-Corps™ Teams, and
  • Share and leverage effective innovation practices on a national scale to improve the quality of life for the American public.

Hub Leadership

Christine Dixon Thiesing

Principal Investigator
The University of Texas at Austin

Jack Baldauf, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator
Texas A&M University

Brad Burke

Co-Principal Investigator
Rice University

Joseph Heppert

Co-Principal Investigator
Texas Tech University

Aprille Busch

Director, Southwest Hub
Austin Technology Incubator
The University of Texas at Austin

Weston Waldo

NSF I-Corps™ Instructor
Program Manager, Hub Coordinator
The University of Texas at Austin

Jessica Fleenor

NSF I-Corps™ Teaching Assistant
Program Manager

Rice University

Kerri Smith

Program Director
Rice University

NSF I-Corps™ Faculty & Instructors

Aprille Busch

NSF I-Corps™ Faculty
Austin Technology Incubator
The University of Texas at Austin

Aaron Cervantes

NSF I-Corps™ Instructor
The University of Texas at El Paso

Terry Chase

NSF I-Corps™ Faculty

Jessica Fleenor

NSF I-Corps™ Teaching Assistant
Program Manager

Rice University

Max Green

NSF I-Corps™ Faculty
Ratio Flux

Kaz Karwowski

NSF I-Corps™ Instructor
Rice University

Blake Petty

NSF I-Corps™ Faculty Lead
Texas A&M University

Kerry Rupp

NSF I-Corps™ Faculty
True Wealth Ventures

Shanna Spencer

NSF I-Corps™ Teaching Assistant
Texas A&M University

Weston Waldo

NSF I-Corps™ Instructor
Program Manager, Hub Coordinator
The University of Texas at Austin