The TI:GER Program (Technology Innovation: Generating Economic Results) at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business merges classroom instruction, technology innovation projects, and practical, real-world experiences. It brings together MBA and Ph.D. students who collaborate in teams to develop their entrepreneurial ideas into impactful technology innovation projects.
Meet Cedric Kamelson, Ph.D. candidate in Bioengineering.
What school are you in?
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Bioengineering program at Georgia Tech's College of Engineering and affiliated with the Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB).
Who is your faculty advisor, and what is your research area?
My faculty advisor is Saad Bhamla, and my research area is cellular and molecular biology.
What initially interested you about the TI:GER program?
What initially interested me about TI:GER was the opportunity to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and bringing technology into the world. I had already experienced research in an entrepreneurial environment while working at an early-stage biotech company, and during my Ph.D. I became increasingly interested in technologies that had potential beyond the laboratory. I realized that I really enjoyed asking not only "Does this work?" but also "Who actually needs this, and how do we build something valuable around it?"
TI:GER stood out because it brings scientists, engineers, business students, and other disciplines together around real technologies. That was particularly attractive to me because my long-term goal is to build companies around scientific innovation. I saw TI:GER as a way to complement the technical depth of my Ph.D. with the commercial perspective I was missing, while also serving as a natural bridge into my MBA at Scheller.
What were you hoping to gain from the program when you enrolled?
When I enrolled, I wanted to learn a more rigorous process for translating an interesting technology into a real commercial opportunity. As scientists, we are trained extremely well to ask whether something is technically possible, but that does not necessarily tell us whether somebody needs it, will pay for it, or whether it solves an important enough problem to justify building a company around it.
I wanted practical experience with customer discovery, market selection, value propositions, competitive analysis, intellectual property, and ultimately go-to-market strategy. I also wanted to become better at communicating technical ideas to people outside of my immediate scientific field.
A major part of that for me was learning how to let the market influence the direction of the technology rather than becoming attached to the first application that seems exciting. Working on the frugal Raman project has been particularly useful for that—we have explored very different applications and had to continuously ask where the technology creates enough value to matter. That process of moving between the laboratory, customers, and the business model was exactly what I hoped TI:GER would teach me.
Was there a specific moment or conversation that helped you decide TI:GER was the right fit for you?
There was actually a very specific experience that helped convince me. Before I had even been accepted into TI:GER, I brought Dr. Jonathan Giuliano an idea I had been developing for an integrated sleep system. The concept was to close the loop on existing sleep-tracking technology by using biometric information to identify a person's sleep state and then adapt environmental inputs such as light, temperature, and audio in real time. The broader goal was to move beyond simply measuring sleep toward improving sleep quality and, eventually, exploring applications such as reducing apnea events or enhancing memory.
Instead of just telling me whether he thought it was a good idea, Dr. Giuliano immediately started walking me through what would need to happen to turn it into something real. He helped me think about developing a prototype, building the right team, identifying potential industry partners, and approaching companies that already had complementary technologies. He eventually helped me formulate a pitch to Withings, a leading sleep and health biosensor company. That outreach turned into an opportunity to present the concept virtually and ultimately an invitation to meet with them in person to discuss potential collaboration.
That experience was probably the moment TI:GER became very tangible for me. After only a few conversations with Dr. Giuliano, I had gone from having an idea in my head to speaking with a major company in the field about what collaboration could potentially look like. It made me realize how much I did not yet know about translating technology into opportunity, but also how quickly the right mentorship and commercialization framework could accelerate that process. I remember thinking that if I could gain that much from a handful of conversations, learning from him and the broader TI:GER ecosystem in a formal setting could fundamentally change the way I approach innovation.
What skills did you develop or strengthen most through your TI:GER experience?
The biggest skill I developed was learning to evaluate technology from the customer's perspective rather than the inventor's perspective. TI:GER strengthened my ability to conduct customer discovery, identify real pain points, communicate technical ideas clearly, and think more critically about market fit, competition, and commercialization. It also taught me to be less attached to a specific application and more willing to let evidence guide the technology's direction.
How did the program challenge you in ways you didn't expect?
TI:GER made classroom concepts immediately applicable. With our low-cost Raman project, ideas like market segmentation, value propositions, competitive analysis, and go-to-market strategy quickly became customer interviews and real commercialization decisions.
As we spoke with people across different industries, including brewers and distillers, their feedback directly influenced which markets we explored and how we thought about the technology. That process showed me that commercialization should develop alongside the science rather than only after the technology is finished. How has your TI:GER experience shaped your goals after graduation?
How has your TI:GER experience shaped your goals after graduation?
TI:GER has reinforced that I want my career to sit at the intersection of science, entrepreneurship, and technology commercialization. After graduation, I want to help build companies around meaningful scientific innovations, whether by founding something myself or working in an environment where I can help translate early-stage technology into real products. The program has given me a much clearer understanding of what that process actually requires and has made that path feel much more tangible.
If you could describe the program in one sentence to a prospective student, what would you say?
TI:GER teaches you how to take a technology out of the laboratory, understand where it can create real value, and build a credible path toward bringing it into the world.