Apply for Cohort 3

Application timeline

Applications open: September 6, 2018
Applications close: October 29, 2018 at 5:00pm (EDT)
Initial application review: November 2018
Applications are reviewed by the Innovation Crossroads team, as well as scientific and industry subject matter experts
Phone interviews: December 2018
Based on initial review, selected applicants will be invited to conduct a brief phone screen with the Innovation Crossroads team.
Semi-final interviews: January 2019
Semi-finalists will be invited to visit Oak Ridge National Laboratory to tour facilities, connect with potential collaborators, and present for our team of reviewers.
Final interviews: February 2019
Finalists will be invited to visit Oak Ridge National Laboratory to connect with potential principal investigators and mentors, and present for our team of reviewers.
Cohort three selected: March 2019
Cohort three starts at Innovation Crossroads: May 2019

What you get

Participants selected for cohort three will receive: *

A two-year fellowship – Includes a personal living stipend of up to $90,000/year depending on education and experience, along with health insurance and travel allowance
Lab access and research funding – In addition to unparalleled access to facilities, equipment, and expertise at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, fellows receive $200,000 of R&D funding to support collaboration opportunities with researchers across the lab.
Business mentors, entrepreneurial training, and networking – Participants receive access to experienced business mentors, entrepreneurial training programs, and exclusive networking opportunities. Innovators are also exposed to a wide range of leaders from academia, industry, government, and finance that can serve as advisors and partners.

*All support is subject to performance and availability of funds.

Eligibility criteria

For acceptance into the program, applicants:

Must have PhD or equivalent experience
Must be focused on energy or manufacturing innovation
Must leverage ORNL R&D capabilities and have an impact on the Department of Energy (DOE) or Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) mission
Must be willing to relocate to the Knoxville-Oak Ridge area
Must be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident

Application information

Innovation Crossroads will select up to seven entrepreneurial fellows for cohort three. Sponsors include DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Fellows are selected in part based on their ability to advance our sponsor's mission. Specific topics of interest identified by our sponsors are listed below.

Sponsor Info Chart

Application materials

Applications should consist of a single PDF document containing the following information:

Resume (one page)
Please provide a resume highlighting your education, experience, and skills.
Project abstract (one paragraph)
Provide an abbreviated summary of your research technology.
Tell us about yourself (one page)
Explain why you have chosen to pursue an entrepreneurial career path.
Tell us about your technology concept (two pages)
Describe the technology concept you want to pursue. Use the Heilmeier catechism as a guide for what’s most relevant.
What is the potential impact on the DOE or TVA mission? (one paragraph)
Please comment on the potential for impact on the sponsor’s mission area for your primary application track.
Why ORNL and Innovation Crossroads? (one page)
What most attracts you to Innovation Crossroads? Why would this be the ideal home for you and your project? Which people and/or facilities at ORNL would be particularly valuable in supporting your work?
What else? (one page)
An extra page for anything else that you feel we should know.

Render and submit a single PDF that precisely follows the page guidance above. For example, "one page" means precisely a single page with no spill over.

To ensure maximum protection of your information, please mark all pages of your application with the footer "Confidential and Proprietary".

Ready to apply?

Complete the application form