April 10, 2026

Meet the eight finalists for the 2026 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards represent the next generation of UC San Diego-powered startups and innovators.

Albert Hill, CEO of KatoMed, demonstrates the company's technology for Hideo Tanimoto, president and representative director of Kyocera.

This commentary by UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute grant writer Molly Wofford provides practical tips for stronger grant proposals.

Find Out What's Happening in National Security Innovation 

Brought to you by the FORGE, get all your national security innovation news here! 

The numbers are in, and they are telling. For the spring cohort of Innovating for National Security (i4NS) at UC San Diego, the competition reached an all-time high. Over 170 elite students across campus vied for a seat at the table, but the mission only had room for 25.

That’s a sub-15% acceptance rate—tighter than many Ivy League admissions. This isn’t just a class; it’s a high-stakes selection process for the next generation of national security leaders.

The "keenness" of this competition can’t be overstated. This cohort represents truly remarkable students from UC San Diego’s STEM and business talent. They aren’t just high achievers—they are innovators who can handle the "fog of war" that comes with solving complex, messy, and urgent defense problems. To those who made the cut: The mission starts now. 

If you're interested in applying, stay tuned. The bar is high, but the Fall 2026 application is around the corner.

What makes i4NS such a highly-prized course at UC San Diego? It’s simple: Real stakes. Real problems. Real impact.

I4NS teams are embedded with "Problem Sponsors" from across the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. They aren't simulating challenges; they are tackling actual bottlenecks in national defense, from autonomous systems to rapid logistics.

The i4NS Experience:
●  The Mission: Apply user-design principles to solve critical national security gaps.
●  The Pressure: "Boots-on-the-ground" urgency meets academic rigor.
●  The Payoff: Direct exposure to the defense tech ecosystem and a chance to see your solution move toward the front lines.

UC San Diego is uniquely positioned at the intersection of a massive national security hub and a thriving tech and innovation ecosystem, led by the FORGE. i4NS leverages this "San Diego Advantage," bringing Silicon Valley’s rapid-prototyping culture to the doorstep of the nation’s largest fleet concentration area. If you want to build the future of national security, this is the launchpad. 

Application Granted: July 23, 2024

Inventors: Mingxun Wang, Pieter Dorrestein, Amina Bouslimani

Mass spectrometry is a key analytical technology for detecting and identifying small biomolecules, such as peptides, metabolites, and the like. Large repositories of data from mass spectrometry exist on samples from around the world, and this patent help scientists figure out where an unknown chemical came from, even if they don’t know what the chemical is. The ability to determine a compound’s likely source or context has broad applications including environmental forensics, food & product safety, quality control, and medical diagnostics. The patent and related copyrights on software have been licensed to Ometa Labs, LLC to analyze customer compounds.

Join the NIH SBIR Info Session on April 13, 2026, a virtual event hosted by the Brink SBDC at the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business in partnership with UC San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization. Designed for researchers, faculty, and entrepreneurs interested in launching or growing an innovative venture, no prior SBIR experience is required.

Turn your ideas into working prototypes faster with the Bot-Assisted mcube™ Framework (BAmF) on April 16. Whether you’re a founder, researcher, or simply someone with an idea, this session will show how structured AI workflows can help teams build, test and iterate products far more quickly.

View From The Horizon is Horizon Accelerator's premier conversation series happening on April 30 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. In each session, founders and investors share what the capital journey actually looks like, the signals that matter, the decisions that didn't go as planned, and the strategies that unlocked growth. 

When founding your first startup, you know you will need help from attorneys, but what are the most critical early legal needs for your fledgling startup? Join OUP’s upcoming webinar on April 30 at 1:00 p.m. ET. This webinar will review four of those main areas and how to work efficiently and effectively with counsel on each. 

Join the Sullivan Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation for their Lean Lecture Series this month in the Rady School of Management, Otterson Hall 2s117 (MPR2)!

- A False Tradeoff: Venture Impact Versus Scale (Thursday, April 16th, 5:15p.m. - 6:30p.m.)

- Leadership from the Inside-Out: Curiosity as a Superpower (Thursday, April 30th, 5:15p.m. - 6:30p.m.)

- Entrepreneur Workshop - Founder to Leader (Thursday, April 16, 2026,  4 - 5:30 p.m.)

- Future of Neuro-Inclusion & Innovation (Monday, April 20, 2026, 12 – 1 p.m.)

- Entrepreneur Workshop - Financing Your Business (Wednesday, April 22, 2026,  4 - 5:30 p.m.)

The Sullivan Center Incubator provides an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and visionary founders can grow their businesses. Located at Rady School of Management, select startups will be awarded exclusive access to desk space with views of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by over 1,000 graduate students, access to funding and mentorship, training, and more at no cost.

Looking to bring your research to fruition? Join the I-Corps Aspire Cohort. This fast-paced, virtual program introduces the fundamentals of customer discovery, helping academic innovators assess problem-solution fit in a short, structured format. Multiple dates available!  Learn the fundamentals and take the first steps toward SBIR eligibility and a $50,000 National I-Corps grant.

Check out Pitch Pulse 2026, a multi-vertical startup pitch series designed to spotlight promising founders and strengthen the SoCal innovation ecosystem. Across five focused online sessions, early-stage startups will present within dedicated industry verticals, receive ecosystem-driven feedback, and connect with mentors, investors, and partners. The series culminates in a final in person showcase. 

Register to attend Session 01. 

The Ninth Annual SDIC Innovation Showcase is back on Wednesday, June 10 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m, bringing together the region’s most groundbreaking startups and innovations. More than 30 early-stage companies will pitch live, with Life Science innovators competing for a coveted Golden Ticket sponsored by BioLabs San Diego. Early Bird registration ends May 1st.

The Clinical Trial Support Service(CTSS) team at Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute (ACTRI) interacts closely with UC San Diego investigators to provide quality regulatory and project management services that support the planning, implementation and completion of clinical studies. See how they can help you!

Find out how to get to
The Design & Innovation Building at UC San Diego.

Learn more about the Office of Innovation & Commercialization.

Email us at innovation@ucsd.edu.