Teaching about world food issues, forging partnerships between environmental health and safety and discovering the secrets of the marshes are among the projects selected for the 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows program.
A group of seven faculty across five departments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University will receive funding to support their proposed IEFF projects.
Carmen Bain, CALS associate dean for academic innovation, said she was impressed by the quality and depth of this year’s proposals.
“The committee was excited by the thoughtfulness of the proposals aimed at helping undergraduates think creatively and act entrepreneurially, skills that will serve them well as future problem solvers. I look forward to seeing their ideas come to life,” Bain said.
Meet the 2026 IEFF cohort
- Smaranda Andrews, associate teaching professor of food science and human nutrition, “The Global Food Innovation Engine: A Scalable Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Agron/FSHN 3420 World Food Issues”
- Erin Bergquist, clinical professor of food science and human nutrition, and Nicole Tramp, clinical associate professor of food science and human nutrition, “Culinary Medicine Workshop”
- Awoke Dollisso, professor of agricultural education and studies, “Entrepreneurial Leadership in AGEDS 4900G”
- Angelos Lagoudakis, adjunct assistant professor of economics, “Teaching Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Ag & Tech Entrepreneurship”
- Michael Rentz, associate teaching professor of natural resource ecology and management, “The Marsh Monitors Network”
- James Wright, professor of agriculture and biosystems engineering, “Environmental Health Safety & Risk Management Partnership”
Established in 2022, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows program aims to foster and expand a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among CALS faculty. It was initiated by the Dean’s Office for Academic Innovation and the Start Something CALS program. Nine faculty were part of the inaugural cohort, made possible by funding from CALS Dean Daniel J. Robison and President Wendy Wintersteen.
Additional information about the IEFF program and links to stories about the previous two cohorts’ projects can be found on the CALS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows webpage