Grand Challenge Fast Pitch Session

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Please join us and pitch your big idea that could lead to a successful ERC.  You will have 2 minutes and one Powerpoint slide (no animations) to make your pitch. Use the attached template and replace the “XXX” in the filename with your last name. We are limiting the session to one pitch per faculty member so pick your best idea. Explain the proposed vision for a transformational engineered system. Address the transformative, unique, and convergent aspects of the vision that constitute its value added. Include recent breakthroughs with high potential impacts. Describe why PSU should lead this ERC. The goal of the pitch is to convince a general, scientifically literate audience about the compelling nature of the problem and the soundness and innovation of the premise on which the proposal will be built. Information about the ERC program can be found at http://erc-assoc.org.

Please send your Powerpoint file to Susie Sherlock at sjs10@psu.edu by Monday, January 15 at 5 PM. If you are unable to attend, you may submit a narrated 2 minute slide and we will include it in the program.

Participation in the pitch session does not obligate faculty to participate in an ERC proposal. We are simply looking for good ideas and providing an opportunity for team building. You may have some missing pieces when it comes to a competitive ERC proposal but pitch your idea anyway. After the pitch session, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to participate in an online survey to provide feedback to the presenters, suggest related topics and/or faculty, and assess the potential for winning an ERC. A few weeks after the pitch session, interested teams will submit a letter of intent that will be evaluated by faculty and administrators, with the top teams receiving support from the university for their ERC preproposal effort.

Participation in the pitch session is required for faculty who wish to be considered for further support. Our goal is to support six ERC preproposal teams at $70K/team for the 2018 ERC competition. The funding is for proposal development activities such as workshops, red team reviews, travel, and PI salary.