Startup
Spotlight:
Renee Stander, a digital ar st at IS3D, creates a 3‐D model of a protein to be used in the
interac ve so ware being created for the NIH‐funded SYNAPSE project to help students
learn how nerve cells communicate.
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robust STEM‐competent workforce is required for
success in a global economy driven by technology and
innova on, yet currently the U.S. is ranked 48th in
science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
educa on by the World Economic Forum. Only 21 percent of
U.S. high school seniors are proficient in science, according to
the U.S. Department of Educa on. Only 16 percent are proficient
in mathema cs and interested in pursuing STEM careers. About
half of U.S. public high school students who fail to graduate say
they dropped out of school because their classes were neither
interes ng nor, they believed, relevant.
A recent start‐up company origina ng from UGA research, IS3D
is developing interac ve so ware tools to help K‐12 students
learn STEM concepts by applying cri cal thinking skills to solve
real‐world problems.
Through partnerships with more than a dozen school districts,
IS3D has developed anima on and games, applica ons, e‐
books and interac ve case studies that help students develop
and hone the problem‐solving skills required for successful
careers in STEM fields.
To facilitate direct collabora on with teachers and students,
IS3D relocated to space owned by the Clarke County School
District. In exchange, IS3D provides free use of its products in
Clarke County classrooms and offers training opportuni es for
students interested in business and so ware development.
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IS3D contributes to local economic development through
employment of 11 full‐ me and four hourly employees,
including two UGA students. To date, IS3D has secured $3.9
million from federal and state grants. In 2013, the company
received the inaugural “Startup of the Year Award” from Four
Athens, a technology incubator in Athens, Ga, and it was
recently named one of the Top 40 Innova on Technology
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