News
Welcome to the Innovation News page. This is where all the top and recent news articles will be displayed, as well as all the news from 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Top News
For startups, the first step to finding a solution is selecting the right problem. Soon-to-be entrepreneur Charles Beam had compiled a list of 20 possibilities to which he could apply his skills as an LSU computer science graduate. The biggest involved finding the right opportunities for federal contractors.
Truth Diagnostics got its start, and its name, because the startup's partners believed in a better business model: a boutique lab with personalized services for physicians and smaller clinics and transparency in customer relations.
You might say Chckvet, software tools that make veterinary practices more efficient, was born of frustration. Colin Hebert, Matthew Ieyoub and George Villaume had previously launched a web and app development company, Breach Software, which served as the web development team for Mallard Bay, the VRBO of hunting and fishing. "They really liked it, but Breach's growth opportunities were limited. They were just salaried employees, basically working full time for Mallard Bay," said Chckvet Business Lead Elliott Greenwood. "They wanted to do more."
Recent News
LSU Names Robert Twilley Vice President for Research and Economic Development
Today, LSU named Robert Twilley the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, pending approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors. Twilley has been serving as the Interim Vice President since October 2022, and is widely known as an expert in the field of coastal and environmental sciences
LSU, BRAC, NexusLA Present New Startup Accelerator
LSU, BRAC and NexusLA are partnering to create Startup City Launch, a new, 10-week training program to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into scalable businesses.
LSU'S ANDREW MAAS NAMED CHAIR-ELECT OF AUTM, A GLOBAL NONPROFIT
Andrew J. Maas, associate vice president for research, LSU Office of Innovation & Ecosystem Development, has been named chair-elect of AUTM, a global nonprofit whose members support the commercialization of academic research.
National Academy of Inventors Selects Two LSU Faculty Innovators
LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Comparative Biomedical Sciences Professor Tammy Dugas and LSU Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Professor Michael Khonsari have been elected as fellows to the National Academy of Inventors, or NAI.
INVENTHERM WINS TECH GRANT FOR ICE CREAM MACHINE
Inventherm, a tenant of LSU Innovation Park, has been awarded a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a commercial prototype of its breakthrough soft-serve ice cream machine.
LSU Lands Small Business Development Center Director
Adam C. McCloskey has been named director of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center at LSU. At LSU, McCloskey leads an office that provides no-cost consulting to small business and aspiring entrepreneurs in the nine-parish capital region. The SBDC offers expert advice on issues from cash-flow management, securing loans, business planning and everything in between.
LSU to Lead Innovation in Louisiana for New Regional Southwest Hub
LSU is one of the lead organizations for a new, National Science Foundation-funded regional hub that will help propel more research out of the lab and into the real world. The $15 million Innovation Corps Hub: Southwest region is part of the operational backbone of the National Innovation Network — universities, NSF-funded researchers, established entrepreneurs, local and regional entrepreneurial communities and federal agencies that help researchers take their discoveries from the idea stage to the marketplace.
LSU Physics Professor Launches New AI Space Start-up
The space between Earth and the moon is estimated to offer a $10 trillion industry opportunity. LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy Assistant Professor Jeffery Chancellor has launched a new start-up company, Atlantis Industries, to join the 21st century space race. Chancellor is a scientist and expert consultant on radiation effects for manned spaceflight and the aerospace industry. Prior to coming to LSU, he briefed NASA astronaut crews on radiation health risks associated with their missions as a senior research engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. At LSU, he and his team of students are advancing space radiation detection and protection for human space travel and space vehicle hardware systems. They have developed three new technologies at LSU that will now be available for commercial and governmental use through Atlantis Industries.
LSU Entrepreneurs Win Funding at World's Largest Student Startup Competition
Students and alumni, who launched the tech startup company called Mallard Bay, were the first entrepreneurs from LSU to compete in the world’s largest student startup competition, the Rice Business Plan Competition, and took home more than $200,000 in prizes earlier this week.
Find Parking On LSU’s Campus With ParkZen App
Driving through the parking lots at LSU to search for an open parking space can be stressful for students, especially with an enrollment that has surpassed 35,000. To address this, Manos Chatzopoulos, assistant professor of Physics & Astronomy, has developed a free smartphone app to assist drivers in locating available parking on LSU's campus.
New Covid-19 Treatment Developed By Skymount Medical In Partnership With LSU Approved For Use In Patients In The United Kingdom
Skymount Medical, a drug discovery company using an artificial intelligence, or AI, platform developed by LSU researchers to repurpose and build new drugs, announced today that it has received approval from the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, to conduct a human clinical trial of its new oral therapeutic for COVID-19 patients. MHRA serves in a role similar to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the U.K.
LSU Hires New Louisiana Small Business Development Center State Director
LSU is now the new host organization for the statewide network that provides training and technical support to small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Louisiana. Bryan Greenwood is the new state director of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center, or LSBDC, which is a network consisting of 10 regional offices.
Beyond Biodegradable Mardi Gras Beads
Five hundred strands of biodegradable Mardi Gras beads— formulated at LSU and made in Louisiana—will be handed out along parade routes in New Orleans this year as concern over the tens of thousands of pounds of discarded plastic beads and their impact on the environment grows. LSU Department of Biological Sciences Professor Naohiro Kato has been concerned about the problem the excess plastic from Mardi Gras poses for the environment for years; and as a biologist, he is creating solutions.
Fighting Covid-19 With LSU-Developed Artificial Intelligence
With repeat surges and the emergence of new variants, there is a rising need to continuously and effectively treat—in addition to prevent—COVID-19. While Pfizer and Merck were the first to launch antiviral treatments to ward off severe illness and death last month, another drug—discovered by LSU researchers using artificial intelligence, or AI—could soon become available.
Tenant Smalls Sliders' Future Endeavors
LSU Innovation Park tenant and LSBDC client, Smalls Sliders, discusses plans for their successful fast-food drive through.