By Katie Dzugan
What happens when 11 interdisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers, and innovators are given federal patents and challenged to develop real-world mobility solutions? That’s exactly what FLIPspace: Advanced Mobility Arkansas set out to test—and at the final pitch event in May, attendees got a front-row seat to watch this bold VentureWell pilot unfold.
On May 22, the FLIPspace: Advanced Mobility Arkansas program culminated in a high-energy pitch event at the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research (I3R) at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The event marked the close of a seven-month pilot aimed at helping Arkansas-based teams commercialize advanced federal technologies in the transportation space, including concepts focused on electric vehicle (EV) charging, food distribution, and rural access to healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
Each year, the U.S. federal government invests over $190 billion in research and development, with a significant portion carried out across more than 300 federal laboratories—making it one of the largest sources of research & development funding in the world. FLIPspace was designed to help unlock that investment by connecting federal intellectual property (IP) with local entrepreneurs ready to turn lab breakthroughs into real-world ventures.
Over five months—from the January kickoff to the May finale—teams worked with complex IP from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Argonne National Laboratory, and the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. With support from mentors, advisors, and regional partners, they translated these technologies into promising, Arkansas-focused mobility solutions.
The judging panel, including Lane Patterson and Joe Comizio, co-founders of Highway Ventures, posed tough but thoughtful questions. “To me,” Patterson shared in a pre-event interview, “the value of pitching is two-fold: It pressure-tests your ideas and strengthens your communication skills.” What makes this program unique is its incorporation of a venture studio model—an approach that develops and tests new business ideas, matches them with experienced entrepreneurs, and builds them into companies. In collaboration with Highway Ventures, we are excited to build a pipeline of viable business concepts within the Arkansas ecosystem.
Just a few months earlier, at the January 24 virtual kickoff, many teams were still navigating unfamiliar patent language and emerging technologies. By pitch day, they were presenting refined ventures rooted in customer insights and market trends.
Several teams stood out for their innovative approaches to federal technology during the final pitch event. Here’s a look at the top three awardees:
First Place: Charge Chain (Team 9)
Adedolapo Ogungbire, Saurav Pokharel, Mubarak Thanni
Charge Chain proposed a peer-to-peer network for utilizing at-home EV charging stations—essentially an Airbnb model for electric vehicle owners. Its concept was built on the Argonne National Laboratory’s Charge Station Management System patent.
Second Place: Fresh Score (Team 3)
Robert “Drew” Fleming, Ehsan Naderi, Philip Sambol, Najee Stubbs
Fresh Score developed a “freshness score” tool to reduce food waste during storage and distribution, combining NASA’s Robonaut 2 and RFID Inventory Tracking Smart Enclosure patents.
Third Place: Team 10
Mohammad Tahir Ansari, Toluwanimi Ogundipe, Amarjeet Tiwari
This team pitched a longer-lasting asphalt solution for pothole repair, leveraging a Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs patent for Induction Hot Mix Asphalt.
“Participating in the FLIPspace: Advanced Mobility program was an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Tahir Ansari, graduate research assistant at the University of Arkansas. “What I enjoyed most was the opportunity to engage with a diverse group of innovators and mentors who were all passionate about shaping the future of mobility. The collaborative environment fostered creativity and encouraged us to push boundaries in our thinking.”
“To me, the value of pitching is two-fold: It pressure-tests your ideas and strengthens your communication skills.”—Highway Ventures Co-Founder Lane Patterson
For University of Arkansas, Fayetteville graduate student Amarjeet Tiwari, the experience offered practical insights into startup readiness. “I really understand what’s required if I want to go into the startup phase, if I want to open a company,” he said. “That’s a big advantage I took from this program.”
The participants’ growth wasn’t only technical. It was evident in how teams collaborated, made decisions, and presented with clarity and conviction. That confidence was hard-earned—shaped by long hours, real obstacles, and the push to keep going even when the path wasn’t clear.
The event underscored that federal technologies can serve as the foundation for new startups when paired with the right support, funding, and partnerships. Postdocs, graduate students, faculty, and local community members bring untapped potential and a strong drive to build real-world solutions.
FLIPspace was a new program, but it also served as a prototype for what inclusive, IP-based innovation can look like in practice. It challenged assumptions about where innovation happens, how it develops, and who leads it.
From my front-row seat, here’s what stood out:
- The energy and collaboration within the Northwest Arkansas innovation ecosystem
- The role of entrepreneurship education in building confidence and problem-solving skills
- The potential to refine and expand this model in future iterations
To the teams: Thank you for bringing your creativity, determination, and curiosity to every stage of the program.
To our funders, partners, and collaborators, including the Walton Family Foundation, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, the Licensing Executives Society, and other national labs: Thank you for believing in this ambitious idea and supporting the creation of both a venture studio and an educational platform.
To our readers: Stay tuned. FLIPspace is just getting started, and we’re already thinking about what’s next. I’m optimistic about what’s possible when big ideas, federal intellectual property, and local commitment come together. I’m eager to explore new learning formats, take more creative risks, and trust that people will rise to the challenge when given the right tools.
Katie Dzugan is senior program officer and FLIPspace program lead at VentureWell.