Alexa Schmitz, Ph.D. ’18, co-founder and CEO of REEgen, and Austin Hickman, Ph.D. Socterra’s co-founder and CEO have turned their Cornell-based research into work transforming sustainable energy infrastructure and next-generation communications, respectively. Both scientists are now turning into CEOs who can grow and sustain businesses. Praxis Venture Development Center, one of Cornell’s campus incubators, and Activate, the Entrepreneur Fellowship Program, are providing essential support.
Schmitz and Hickman are Cohort 2022 Activate Fellows in the Activate Anywhere community, and their organizations are both based at the Praxis Center. This year marks the first crossover between the Fellowship and the Cornell Campus Incubator. Actuator and Praxis share joint missions designed to encourage scientists to bring their world-changing technologies to market.
The two-year active fellowship supports early-stage science entrepreneurs in a variety of ways: generous stipends, travel allowances and health insurance; Obtain $100,000 in research funding and at least $100,000 in additional working capital; Along with mentorship, community and intensive training.
The Praxis Center, Cornell’s incubator focused on high-tech ventures, provides the facilities and tools needed for high-tech innovation along with mentorship and a physical home base built into the Cornell research ecosystem.
Robert M. Scharf, academic director of management at the Praxis Center, sees value in combined resources. “For these young companies and their CEOs, Activate’s support with the incubation program at Praxis is a ‘best of both worlds’ environment, which greatly accelerates the commercialization of ground-breaking technologies,” said Scharf.
Schmitz’s technology addresses the environmental impact of producing rare earth elements (REE), which are critical to a sustainable energy infrastructure. A biological engineer with a Ph.D. in plant pathology and plant-microbe biology from Cornell, engineered microbes as a postdoctoral research associate with Booth Barstow (Cornell Engineering), and developed rare earth element biomining technology as a postdoctoral fellow for Cornell’s Energy Systems Institute.
“The Praxis Center is a great fit for REEgen because it allows the company to remain on the Cornell campus while maintaining intellectual property rights,” she said. “This, combined with the Activate Anywhere program, allows us to stay connected to Barstow Labs, where core technologies were invented, and my co-founder, Sean Meddin, is still completing his PhD. And risk-taking separation technology.”
She added, “I am personally grateful for the opportunity to keep the company in Ithaca, New York – a place I love and call home.
Austin Hickman, who received his doctorate from Cornell in electrical and computer engineering, is developing millimeter-wave power amplifiers on aluminum nitride platforms for next-generation communication systems. His company, Soctera, aims to extend the signal range of radar and telecom networks.
“When it came time to transition from student to startup founder, staying at my alma mater wasn’t just an easy choice — it was the best,” he said. “There is a very rich history of high-frequency electronics at Cornell and I hope Socterra can add to that.”
As REEgen and Soctera take shape, the United States is preparing itself for a new era of manufacturing, fueled by the recent passage of the CHIPS and SCIENCE Act. Nurturing startups like REEgen and Soctera is a future investment in semiconductor supply chains.
Scharf represents the Praxis Center at the American Semiconductor Innovation Alliance. “It’s important to re-establish the viability of the startup ecosystem for semiconductors, as this is the lifeblood of many other industries in the United States.
“Praxis supports four early-stage semiconductor startups and three new materials recycling/entrepreneurial startups,” said Scharf. “If all this work is successful in the long term, it will lead to a material improvement in the outlook for the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain.”
Schmitz and Hickman are part of the original Activate Anywhere collection. The Anywhere Community allows Activ partners to be based at research institutions across the United States – while still being part of Activ’s tight-knit network, including communities in Berkeley, Boston and New York.
“Colleagues in the Activate Anywhere community have incredibly strong relationships with each other and with partners throughout our community,” said Hannah Murnen, Managing Director of the Activate Anywhere Community. It was great to see how much the friends support each other despite the physical distance between them.
Since 2015, Activate has supported nearly 150 science-based innovators, who have launched 106 companies. Collectively, Activite-backed companies have raised more than $1 billion in funding and created more than 1,100 US-based high-tech jobs.
Activate is currently accepting applications for Cohort 2023 in communities in Berkeley, Boston, New York, or elsewhere. The deadline is October 31, 2022.
