UofL invention for tracking employee engagement is licensed to startup

Baylee Pulliam — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 13:38:33 +0000

A University of Louisville researcher has invented a new software that helps companies easily measure employee engagement — a key to increasing productivity and profits by creating better places to work, he says.��

And now, Louisville startup ��has licensed the technology from UofL and is working to get it to market.��

The inventor here, , studies organizational culture and applied behavioral economics as an associate professor at the UofL College of ��ֱ�� and Human Development (CEHD). His is the first licensed technology out of CEHD.��

Shuck said organizations are more productive and, often, more profitable when their employees are engaged in their workplace. Engaged employees also have a better overall workplace experience. However, his research suggests there is a more than 60% drop off in levels of engagement in the first six months of an employee’s tenure.

“Globally, employee engagement remains a critical, and sought-after competitive advantage for businesses and organizations of all sizes,” he said. “It is the differentiator between market share, customer experience and quality. Everyone wants more of it.”

His software, the Employee Engagement Scale (EES), helps companies to monitor that engagement, and hopefully improve it, through brief, easy-to-use surveys that gauge how employees think and feel about their work.��

The EES will be a central part of system for businesses that provides a sort of “virtual colleague” — one that keeps track of who and what staff are communicating while analyzing collaboration. CEO��Charley Miller said the “colleague”��could help leaders in the company better understand their employees and make smart decisions on how to improve the work environment.��

“One of the key aspects of a good colleague is that they are great listeners,” Miller said. “Dr. Shuck’s IP enables us to ensure our virtual colleague is great listener when it comes to understanding how to ascertain employee engagement.”��

Not only is Shuck’s technology the first out of CEHD to be licensed to a company, but it’s the first license of the UofL Office of Research and Innovation’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, or EIR, program.��

Miller was one of the program’s first EIRs, to help guide UofL research-backed technologies to market in collaboration with the . After Miller’s term ended, he launched Unitonomy around Shuck’s technology.��

“Sometimes all it takes is getting the right mix of people — researchers, entrepreneurs, community members — in the same room,” said Will Metcalf, executive director of , who launched the EIR program. “This is case-in-point, and we’re so excited to see what grows of this partnership between Charley and UofL.”��

Funding for the EIRs comes from the , a public-private partnership led by UofL and backed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development to grow Louisville’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

UofL AI diagnostics researcher inducted into National Academy of Inventors

Baylee Pulliam — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 19:50:00 +0000

University of Louisville researcher Ayman El-Baz, whose work blends artificial intelligence and medical imaging, has been inducted as a Fellow into the National Academy of Inventors.��

He and 167 other inventors from institutions around the world will be formally recognized as 2019 NAI Fellows at a ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona, in April 2020, according to a .

“It is a great honor for me to be one of the NAI fellows,” said El-Baz, a UofL J.B. Speed School of Engineering alum and chair of bioengineering.

At UofL, El-Baz works at the intersection of computer science and medicine. Many of his inventions use artificial intelligence to analyze medical images, allowing them to very accurately diagnose everything from ��to to .

El-Baz is the sixth UofL inventor to be inducted into the NAI, following Suzanne Ildstad and Kevin Walsh (2014); William Pierce (2015); Paula Bates (2016); and most recently, Robert S. Keynton (2017).

“We’re very proud of Ayman, and all past UofL inductees, for this huge accomplishment and all the hard work behind it,” said Allen Morris, executive director of the . His office works with UofL researchers, like , to commercialize their inventions.��

“This kind of honor shows our university’s commitment to and leadership in research, invention and technology commercialization,” he said. “These inventions have the power to change and improve the way we work and live.”

Aside from the EPI-Center, El-Baz has also worked with other UofL programs for technology development and commercialization. He was the first researcher to hit a “trifecta” with UofL’s suite of��, having earned entry into the UofL Coulter Translational Partnership, NSF I-Corps and NSF AWARE:ACCESS programs.

“These crucial support mechanisms have enabled me to develop and translate technologies from ideation to commercialization quickly,” El-Baz said.

To date, El-Baz holds eight patents, five copyrights and has had 11 technologies optioned and two have been licensed to companies for further development and commercialization. Some technologies have also resulted in startup ventures like Autism Diagnostics Technologies Inc., which El-Baz co-founded, creating jobs and economic development.��

NAI fellows hold a collective 41,500 issued U.S. patents, resulting in 11,000 licensed technologies and companies, generating more than 36 million jobs and $1.6 trillion in revenue, according to the release.

“I am so impressed by the caliber of this year’s class of NAI Fellows, all of whom are highly-regarded in their respective fields,” NAI President Paul R. Sanberg said in the release. “The breadth and scope of their discovery is truly staggering. I’m excited not only see their work continue, but also to see their knowledge influence a new era of science, technology, and innovation worldwide.”

inventor – UofL News

UofL invention for tracking employee engagement is licensed to startup

UofL AI diagnostics researcher inducted into National Academy of Inventors