Biodegradable coating one of four RAIN grant winners

Graduate student Kai Chi tests the ability of various thicknesses of a biodegradable coating to prevent oil from seeping through a pizza box. Kai Chi, a Ph.D. candidate in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, works in the lab of Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Jeffrey Catchmark, who has been awarded a RAIN Grant toward commercialization of the coating he discovered.

Blue and White Potato Chips

A student start-up plans to debut Blue and White Potato Chips, a new product made with naturally blue potatoes — just in time for football season.

Coming soon to your next tailgate: Blue and White Potato Chips.
E&I Program Leaders

E&I Coordinator Mark Gagnon (left) and E&I Director Dan Azzara (right) are ready to help students and faculty explore entrepreneurship this fall. Have an idea? Send an email or stop by 6 Armsby. Take a first step — and we'll help with the next ones.

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Zach Wilson with wine barrels

Zach Wilson, a 2011 agribusiness management graduate from the College of Agricultural Sciences, started building a vineyard on his family’s farmland as a sophomore. This year, he's making 16,000 to 20,000 bottles of wine.

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Zach Wilson, a 2011 agribusiness management graduate from the College of Agricultural Sciences, chats with guests in the tasting room at Wilson Vineyard in Nottingham, Pennsylvania.

Zach Wilson in the vineyard with Mark

Zach Wilson, a 2011 agribusiness management graduate from the College of Agricultural Sciences, started building a vineyard on his family’s farmland in his sophomore year. He explains plans for Wilson Vineyard in Nottingham, Pa., to Mark Gagnon, Harbaugh Entrepreneurship Scholar and Coordinator for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Saffron Team Won 2nd Place Ag Springboard 2015

Team Saffron won second place place during Ag Springboard 2015. Students Nate Hamaker, Byron Bredael, JoAnna Hofstaedter, Alex Murdoch, and Kristen Fisher with College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Rick Roush and Earl Harbaugh, lead donor to the E&I Program. The final round of competition and awards banquet was held April 14, 2015.

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The new InterSeeder farm equipment helps pave the way for renewed innovation.

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Students sampling future foods

Will crickets and soy-based nutrition become our meal mainstays? Penn State alumnus and representative of Thought For Food Jared Yarnall-Schane shared foods made with crickets and soy with folks who are curious about what we'll eat in the future to during a special dinner held Thursday evening, Oct. 13 in State College.

Food of the Future Event - Cookies

People curious and concerned about what we'll all eat as global population climbs sampled foods like these cookies at an October event in State College.

Drawing New Heroes

Artist Sean Bodley draws coloring pages for kids with science superheroes who are people of color. (Photo by Cameron Hart)

Re-Drawing STEM Sciences

Artist Sean Bodley draws coloring pages for kids for SySTEMic Action, a team of Ph.D. students creating new products to promote diversity within STEM sciences. (Photo by Cameron Hart)

SySTEMic Action Team

The team of Ph.D. students who want kids to see diverse superheroes in the STEM sciences.

Hans Vriens, Red Bull, Forum Speaker

Hans Vriens tells his story of establishing Red Bull in the U.S. market in April 2013 as the Harbaugh Entrepreneurship Forum speaker. (Photo by Jessica Paholsky)

Dustin Betz Quote on Ag Springboard

Quote from Dustin Betz of GreenTowers about Ag Springboard being the catalyst that pushed their business forward

Dr. Jeffrey Catchmark's biofoam

Dr. Jeffrey Catchmark, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, is working to commercialize his discovery of a promising, new medical foam to stop bleeding that can safely dissolve in the body. Here, Catchmark (right) works in the lab with Jingxuan Yang, a visiting scholar from Donghua University. (Photo by Martha Schupp)

Dr. Greg Ziegler discovers natural orange color

Food Science Professor Dr. Gregory R. Ziegler hopes to commercialize a brilliant orange made from avocado pits as a natural food coloring. (Photo by Lisa Duchene)

Dr. Nina Jenkins, ConidioTec

Dr. Nina Jenkins, an entomologist and expert on safe pest-control methods, discovered that a formulation made from fungal spores effectively kills bedbugs. (Photo by Lisa Duchene)

Warchest Project

Two agricultural sciences students are pitching their idea to repurpose military ammo cans into tailgating gear. (Image: Cameron Hart)

Ag Springboard 2017 Finalists

Images of the five finalist teams for Ag Springboard 2017: ModZero, Sweet Dreams Pet Lodge, War Chest, Pasta2050, Little Farm

Ag Springboard 2017 Finalist Day & Banquet

Pasta 2050 won $7,500 and first place with its pitch for pasta fortified with cricket flour. ModZero won $2,500 and second place with its pitch for a patent-pending rifle scope that can be used on multiple rifles. Pics of the winning teams, plus keynote speaker Todd Erdley, founder and CEO of Videon.

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Make It Happen/E&I Student Team, 2018

The Make It Happen team (L to R): Monica Caldwell, Mike DeVito, Dr. Mark Gagnon, Sarah Giegerich.

P.S. Snacks Founder/CEO Nikki Azzara
Israel spring break 2018

10 students and three faculty members traveled to Israel over spring break 2018 to learn about how the nation's culture promotes startups, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Aprehend Team

The Aprehend Team at the E&I Showcase, November, 2017.

Testimonials

Penn State alumni who were involved with the E&I Program while students reflect on the benefits of their time with E&I.

Bold Foods

Bold Foods is the company formed from the 2017 Ag Springboard winner, Pasta 2050 or "Cricket Pasta." Weslie Khoo, food science graduate student, founded the company, which is about producing pasta with cricket powder — as a sustainable source of protein.

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Small version of the combined Make It Happen and Ag Spring logos

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Combined Ag Spring & MIH logos for email, from 2017, designed by Callie Rojewski.

Eichenlaub trip, auto-mower study, Sept 2018

Dan Eichenlaub, founder and president of the Eichenlaub upscale landscape firm in Pittsburgh, is studying robotic, autonomous lawn mowers as an innovative solution to a labor shortage. He turned to Penn State agribusiness management students for help studying customer acceptance of the technology.

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Earl & Kay Harbaugh sweatshirts

Earl and Kay Harbaugh wear their pride for what started as the “Farmers High School” during an appreciation event in October 2015. (Photo: Michael Houtz)

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