MentorPRO Awarded Competitive Grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation
MentorPRO Awarded Competitive Grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation
January 15, 2025
Manahawkin, NJ, January 15, 2025 – MentorPRO has been awarded a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to conduct research and development work on integrating artificial intelligence capabilities into its evidence-based mentoring platform.
MentorPRO’s innovative technology combines AI-powered analytics with proven mentoring practices to enhance student support services in higher education. The platform leverages machine learning and natural language processing to provide personalized, data-driven guidance while maintaining authentic human connections between mentors and mentees. This advancement addresses the critical challenge of scaling effective student support services, particularly for underrepresented and at-risk students.
“NSF accelerates the translation of emerging technologies into transformative new products and services,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “We take great pride in funding deep-technology startups and small businesses that will shape science and engineering results into meaningful solutions for today and tomorrow.”
“This NSF grant will help us revolutionize how institutions support student success through AI-enhanced mentoring,” said Nancy McNamara, CEO of MentorPRO. “By combining our evidence-based platform with advanced AI capabilities, we can dramatically increase the reach and effectiveness of mentoring programs while maintaining the human connection that makes mentoring so powerful.”
All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. Once a small business is awarded a Phase I grant, it becomes eligible to apply for Phase II funding and additional supplements totaling up to $2 million.
About the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Small Business Programs: America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards more than $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development, helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $9.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
