The Latest Invent Penn State News
March 16
2025
Explore innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities at Penn State this March

Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC will take place March 24-28, offering students across the commonwealth the chance to engage with the University’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem through a variety of free events.

March 13
2025
AI-powered cooling startup aims to boost data center efficiency

NexDCCool Technologies, a Penn State research-based startup launched by Wangda Zuo’s lab, is developing a platform powered by artificial intelligence that aims to optimize the cooling systems in data centers, which would help maximize IT capacity by reducing cooling demand. 

March 6
2025
Acclaimed entrepreneur, innovator to speak at Penn State Smeal

Renowned entrepreneur, innovator and investor Slava Rubin will be a guest of the Penn State Smeal College of Business on March 25 as part of the college’s signature speaker series “Executive Insights.”

March 5
2025
Registration open for Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference

The Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference, one of the largest tech startup conferences in the mid-Atlantic region, will take place April 10-11 at The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center.

February 27
2025
Medtronic Chairman, CEO Geoff Martha to give keynote at Venture and IP Conference

Geoff Martha, chairman and CEO of global healthcare technology company Medtronic, will be the keynote speaker at the 2025 Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference on April 10–11. His fireside chat with Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi will take place at noon on April 10.

February 20
2025
'Dare to Disrupt' podcast hosts Penn State Berks alumni and sister entrepreneurs

The latest episode of Invent Penn State’s Dare to Disrupt podcast features sisters and Penn State Berks alumni Cory Varona-Corniel and Nicol Varona Cancelmo, co-founders of OCOA. Their company specializes in clean, natural haircare products designed for curly hair. 

February 6
2025
Penn State Students: Turn startup dreams into reality this summer

Penn State student startups from all campuses, including World Campus, are encouraged to apply for the 2025 Invent Penn State Summer Founders Program. Selected teams will receive a $15,000 grant to dedicate their summer to advancing their startup, social impact project or nonprofit initiative. 

February 6
2025
Invent Penn State fuels innovation across Pennsylvania

The Invent Penn State LaunchBox and Innovation Network supported 1,356 entrepreneurs, engaged 3,274 students, and directly facilitated the creation of 193 new jobs and 113 startups across Pennsylvania, in fiscal year 2023-24.

January 27
2025
Marine Corps veteran to lead new Veterans Business Outreach Center at Penn State

Hazel Diaz, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a Penn State alumna, has been named the director of the new Veterans Business Outreach Center at Penn State. The recently opened center provides entrepreneurial development services to veterans, active-duty service members, National Guard members, reservists and military spouses across the commonwealth.

January 24
2025
Reimagine your research: Apply for Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps Short Course

Invent Penn State’s NSF I-Corps Short Course is accepting applications for its virtual February cohort, with a deadline to apply of Jan. 31. The no-cost program helps researchers test a startup idea through customer interviews and educational programming on the lean startup methodology.