{"id":86596,"date":"2025-09-22T13:52:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T17:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/?p=86596"},"modified":"2025-09-22T14:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:21:09","slug":"new-engineering-studio-dedicated-to-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-opens-at-uri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/new-engineering-studio-dedicated-to-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-opens-at-uri\/","title":{"rendered":"New engineering studio dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship opens at URI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Ideation and Innovation Studio will empower students to pursue creative ingenuity<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Sept. 22, 2025 — In line with the University of Rhode Island College of Engineering\u2019s vision to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, the College proudly announced the opening of the Ideation and Innovation Studio, I\u00b2(studio),<\/a> in the Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering\u2019s Toray Commons. The studio opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The I\u00b2(studio) represents a major step forward for the College of Engineering, strengthening its role as a hub of creativity, hands-on learning, and innovation. Open to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff, the studio directly supports the college\u2019s mission to prepare engineers who solve real-world challenges through bold ideas and collaborative design.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Large-format 3D printer (Orange Storm Giga) in action (URI Photo\/Catherine Scott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The project was made possible through a $270,000 award from 401 Tech Bridge\u2019s<\/a> RISE-UP<\/a> program, funded by the Office of Naval Research, to support associate professor Paolo Stegagno and his team in developing the studio. RISE-UP works to bridge the gap between industry and academia. One of its overarching goals is to create a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship focused on dual-use (commercial and defense) challenges\u2014goals that align closely with the College of Engineering\u2019s priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo help achieve that, our team knew we needed to co-create curated innovation spaces within our colleges, and also across URI to encourage cross-disciplinary entrepreneurship,\u201d said Pete Rumsey, chief business development officer, URI Research Foundation and URI Ventures. \u201cThe objective of this idea is to accelerate innovation and increase the development of intellectual property and business start-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The College of Engineering worked in close partnership with the RISE-UP team to identify the ideal location and equipment to make the studio a reality. By expanding its existing 3D printing lab and relocating some computer classrooms, the college created a welcoming, technology-rich space at the very heart of its flagship building.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A 14.5 ft dragon that was 3D printed on one plate,<\/strong>\u00a0demonstrating the labs large scale printing capabilities (URI Photo\/Catherine Scott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The I\u00b2(studio) features multiple 3D printers including large-format options, a laser cutter, a printed circuit board machine, soldering stations, hand tools, and eight high-performance computers with SolidWorks and other design software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOpen to all engineering students, the studio supports everyone\u2014from first-year students just getting started to graduate students developing advanced research or entrepreneurial projects. Whether they have a big idea or just want to see what\u2019s possible, they will find tools, space, and friendly guidance to help turn curiosity into innovation,\u201d said Rumsey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The studio includes two distinct, but connected, environments: an ideation space and an innovation space. The ideation space offers a flexible, collaborative setting with whiteboards and digital tools to encourage free thinking, brainstorming, and concept development.  The innovation space offers high-tech equipment enabling rapid prototyping and iteration, helping students move from concept to tangible solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A photo of some of the equipment available for students, faculty, and staff to use in the I\u00b2(studio). (URI Photo\/Catherine Scott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

To maximize student access, the college is developing training materials and instructional videos to guide users in operating each piece of equipment. A special emphasis is being placed on integrating the studio into the undergraduate experience, beginning with first-year students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIntegrating this studio into the first-year experience means our students don\u2019t have to wait to start doing engineering. They can design, prototype, and test their ideas in real time, alongside their coursework,\u201d said Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs Mayrai Gindy, a co-primary investigator on the project. \u201cThis hands-on access helps them build skills, connect with their peers, and understand that innovation is at the heart of what it means to be an engineer.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Workshop schedule for SPARK! series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A key part of the studio\u2019s programming is SPARK!,<\/a> a workshop series led by entrepreneurs Rumsey and Joe Loberti of Revolution Cycle Works. Open to all students, faculty, and staff, the series helps participants take their ideas further. \u201cStudents can attend one session or all five, but they will gain skills they can then apply in class, competitions, or even launching a business,\u201d said Rumsey. Registration is not required to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was an honor for me to be part of this project,\u201d said Stegagno, lead PI on the project. \u201cI hope that URI students leverage the opportunities that the studio presents to them. It is meant as a place where they can learn, play and tinker with technology outside of the classroom. Where they can develop and bring to life their own projects, and potentially where they can learn how to use their projects to make a real and lasting impact on their lives and the people around them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ideation and Innovation Studio will empower students to pursue creative ingenuity KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Sept. 22, 2025 — In line with the University of Rhode Island College of Engineering\u2019s vision to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, the College proudly announced the opening of the Ideation and Innovation Studio, I\u00b2(studio), in the Fascitelli Center for Advanced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5094,"featured_media":86599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[17,712,96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-news","category-innovations","category-student-success"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86596"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86619,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86596\/revisions\/86619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}