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Participants in URI’s Ideation Studio form startup ideas

Innovators in spring cohort pitch business ventures to judges

From left, Christopher dos Reis, winner of Ideation Studio’s Pitch Night competition; Heidi Cheng took third place, and Juan Vallejo was runner-up. (URI Photo/Courtesy Vanessa Alvarez)

KINGSTON, R.I. – April 24, 2026 – Seventeen University of Rhode Island students, faculty, and alumni presented their ideas for a startup business to judges at URI Innovations’ RISE-UP Ideation Studio’s Pitch Night on April 22 in the Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences.

Ideation Studio participants worked individually or in teams on innovations they want to commercialize for real-world impact. They attended a two-hour class each week throughout the spring semester and worked on their own time to develop their product or service.

“Each cohort has gotten better and sharper, with a great deal of promise; we’re excited to see this as we begin to build out the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem through URI Innovations programming,” said Joe Loberti, URI alumnus and successful local entrepreneur who serves as a mentor for URI Innovations.

From left, Abe Murray ’02 of AlleyCorp; and Erynn Peterson, chief executive officer of Emme; and Kirtley Fisher, assistant teaching professor for innovation, entrepreneurship and strategy in URI’s College of Business were the judges of Ideation Studio’s Pitch Night. (Photos courtesy Abe Murray and Erynn Peterson)

The top three winners were awarded implementation grants, which they will use to further develop their startup ideas.

The winners included:

  • 1st place: Christopher dos Reis, RowRunner, $1,500
    A senior accounting major, dos Reis is from Bristol, Rhode Island. RowRunner is a stadium delivery system that allows fans to order food and drinks directly to their seats at sporting events and concerts.
  • 2nd place: Juan Vallejo, TRADER, $750
    Vallejo is a senior computer science major from Central Falls, Rhode Island. TRADER is a customer relationship management billing system for contractors.
  • 3rd place: Heidi Cheng, NODE, $500
    Cheng, from New York City, is in the URI Doctor of Pharmacy program and expects to graduate in 2028. NODE is a pharmaceutical intelligence platform for fast and efficient drug re-purposing.

The other projects presented at Ideation Studio’s Pitch Night included:

  • ArtBlock Studios, a platform for users to choose and distinguish what is original art vs AI generated art
  • JIVATECH, an AI-powered conservation technology platform designed to protect endangered species by preventing deaths before they happen
  • PULSE, signal integrity framework that identifies catastrophic machine failures before they happen
  • SipSmarter, an app that allows users to easily and efficiently track their drinking (alcohol) habits
  • ML Systems, an approach to transform the building industry by combining loan origination, deconstruction, and construction, while contributing positively to the environment
  • reFlex, a soft, electrically actuated rehabilitation glove designed to assist individuals with impaired hand function due to neurological conditions
  • Service Surfer, an AI-powered local service discovery platform built to make finding reliable, affordable home repair services simple and efficient
  • Beyond, an AI-powered headphone that helps users in their daily tasks
  • UnTethered, a modular, magnetically integrated disc golf bag system
  • Global Study Pathways, a study abroad advisory service for parents to support their students before, during, and after studying abroad
  • MANUO, innovative, research-backed tools used to build personal kits that support executive functioning where and when they are needed most

The pitches were viewed and judged by experienced entrepreneurs and subject matter experts. This semester, the judges were URI alumnus Abe Murray ’02, general partner of AlleyCorp, an early-stage venture fund and incubator; Erynn Peterson, chief executive officer of Emme, a seed-stage healthcare company; and Kirtley Fisher, assistant teaching professor in URI’s College of Business.

Murray attended URI on a full academic scholarship and earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. He leads robotics investments and incubation at AlleyCorp. As CEO of Emme, Petersen focuses on making healthcare access more transparent and affordable for patients and providers. Fisher has taught courses at URI on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship since 2023. She has served as a judge for Ideation Studio several times and is a RISE-UP URI Innovations faculty ambassador.

Ideation Studio is offered through URI Innovations’ RISE-UP (Regional Innovation by Scaling Entrepreneurship via University Partnerships) program, a tri-state initiative led by URI, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the University of Hawai’i.

Ideation Studio is supported by RIHub, other Rhode Island innovation ecosystem partners, and URI community members and is designed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship through programs available to faculty, students, staff, and the greater Rhode Island community.

Enrollment is open for the fall 2026 cohort of the RISE-UP Ideation Studio.