NYU’s Innovation Postdoctoral Associate
New York University’s Innovation Postdoc-in-Residence program is designed to cultivate a new generation of postdoctoral associates who bridge the gap between academic research and industry innovation. This two-year program, one year based at NYU New York and the second at NYU Tulsa, equips participants with the business and entrepreneurial skills and interdisciplinary research experience necessary to translate cutting-edge research into real-world applications.
Postdoc Associates will engage in innovation projects with school-based faculty and professional development experiences that foster interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration, support cutting-edge innovations, and connect their research to the broader NYU community. This unique program is open to all current PhD students at Tandon School of Engineering, including international students, who will defend their dissertations by August 2026.
Program Goals
The Innovation Postdoc-in-Residence program is designed to:
- Equip Postdoctoral Associates with the experience necessary to bridge research and industry needs through tangible entrepreneurial skills
- Provide industry experience through a combination of academic and industry engagement opportunities
- Foster collaborations across disciplines to enhance research translation for innovative and impactful solutions
- Support the transition from research activities to industry applications
Inaugural Innovation Postdoctoral Associates
Ken Iiyoshi
How can we make public interest technology more accessible? Ken tackles this question by researching and commercializing soft robotics and haptics. He collaborates with his PhD supervisor, Mohamad Eid, and his industry mentor, Nana Obayashi, exploring applications in the arts, entertainment, and medical fields. At NYU Tulsa, he seeks to work with robotic startups, contributing the hardware and software skills he cultivated through his PhD and BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from NYU Abu Dhabi. Portfolio: keniiyoshi.com
Ken says, “I am excited and honored to pursue this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, continuing to further NYU’s global vision, as well as setting the stage for many future NYU PhDs to integrate in the Tulsa community!”
Kaushik Sunder
Kaushik earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at New York University Abu Dhabi in Summer 2025. His work bridges biomaterials research with technology commercialization, leading the development of Exo-Q, an exosome-integrated protein hydrogel for diabetic wound healing in collaboration with NYU Tandon Professor Jin Kim Montclare and NYU Langone. He advanced sustainable collagen-based nerve-guide conduits using 3D bioprinting during his PhD. Kaushik is deeply involved in NYU’s ecosystem of entrepreneurial and global campus initiatives. Read about Kaushik’s work at linkedin.com/in/kausun
Kaushik is “honored to follow in my father’s Tulsa footsteps from 1983 (he was a University of Tulsa alum); I’m eager to join the Innovation Postdoc-in-Residence program at NYU Tulsa and help drive the next wave of biomaterials breakthroughs in the community he helped shape.”
See Program Details for more information on the program structure, awards, compensation and allowances, and terms and expectations.
See How to Apply for application requirements and instructions.
Contact us at InnovationPostdoc@nyu.edu