{"id":784,"date":"2013-07-28T08:41:23","date_gmt":"2013-07-28T12:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=784"},"modified":"2017-07-28T09:16:37","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T13:16:37","slug":"fast-forward-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2013\/07\/fast-forward-this\/","title":{"rendered":"FastForward This!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"fastforward\"<\/a>
Illustration by James O\u2019Brien<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Less than a mile from the Homewood campus sits the Stieff Silver Building, once a symbol of turn-of-the-century manufacturing prowess. Today, a new era of economic development is taking hold here.<\/p>\n

The Whiting School of Engineering is underwriting this foray into entrepreneurship with FastForward<\/a>, a program aimed at commercializing the university\u2019s promising intellectual property (IP) and building a community of entrepreneurs. The venture includes an IP assessment system, technology accelerator, and education program, all aimed at fostering a Silicon Valley\u2013like startup vibe in Baltimore.<\/p>\n

FastForward offers a way for professors, graduate students, undergrads, and alumni to create businesses and opens the door for outside investors to get in on early-stage ventures, says John Fini, FastForward director, who oversees the Homewood Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization.<\/p>\n

Fini\u2019s team assesses a startup\u2019s commercial potential, and if it looks promising and has an external funding source, it will be considered for the accelerator. There is space for up to 16 companies; eight startups have been accepted into the program.<\/p>\n

Some ideas that have made the cut: an ultrasound probe that safely guides needles during delicate procedures, a new way to screen for cancer biomarkers, and a hydrogel that shows stunning promise in curing wounds<\/a>.<\/p>\n