The UCI startup company Ureka Science wants to bring scientists together with its platform to encourage research sharing and collaborations.
The universe is a boundless place. And, as observational astrophysicists, Shooby Hemmati, Ph.D., and Hooshang Nayyeri, Ph.D., are drawn to its endless mysteries and the constant research discoveries brought about by the universe’s ever-expanding dark space speckled with stars and galaxies.
“I’m fascinated by the fact that us humans, with thousands of years of ups and downs, are not but a blink in the history of the universe, yet we have the ability to interpret what has been and what will be,” said Hemmati.
The Problem
While observing some of the furthest galaxies in the sky using the Keck telescope in Hawaii, Hemmati and Nayyeri thought there should be better ways of accessing the latest research and communicating results within the scientific community.
“There are many issues in today’s science,” said Hemmati. “Networking has become an essential key to success in almost any field of science. With the huge number of scientific papers/proposals coming out every day, advertising is needed for the work to be seen, let alone getting any feedback from the community.”
According to Hemmati, the science community favors extroverts, while those researchers who are younger with less confidence face a lot of difficulty. Additionally, Hemmati adds, some practices, such as sharing a scientific paper with a journal, still exist.
Ureka! The Solution
Co-founded in January 2018, Ureka Science, Inc. is an app and website that focuses on an “open science” platform that aims to become the go-to resource for researchers and scientists who can discover the latest research in their fields, post their own research and receive feedback, as well as connect with one another to collaborate.
The startup was named after a famous word shouted by ancient Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes, who in 265 B.C., was tasked with determining whether or not the king’s crown was made of solid gold. It is reported that Archimedes made the discovery while bathing with the crown and was so excited that he jumped from the bath and ran through the streets of Syracuse shouting “Eureka!” – Greek for “I’ve found it” – too excited to realize he was naked.
“There are many different tools that scientists need and you can find most of them in different platforms, but there was no single platform to answer all of the needs of scientists,” said Hemmati, Ureka Science co-founder and CEO.
What the scientific community lacks in information sharing, Ureka Science aims to provide free of charge. Now there is a single network hub for them to connect.
“When there is a new scientific discovery, on conventional social media platforms, there could be 100 different conversations going on at the same time about the same subject and your interested reader doesn’t know which one to follow,” said Nayyeri, Ureka Science co-founder. “We designed Ureka to have all of that discussion in a centralized location by experts of each field that is easily searchable by other users.”
Once in the app, the user is presented with 10 branches of science that can range from astronomy, computer science, biology and more. Each channel is updated daily with all the science postings from arvix.com, a free preprint archive. In addition, each channel contains posts from the verified scientists. Users of the app can choose to follow channels or other scientists to fill their newsfeed with the research they desire.
The Ureka app lets the user search within scientific literature, the latest trends based on user interaction as well as browse a paper suggestion system and contains a bookmarked library for future readings. The app also allows the user to read announcements about upcoming conferences and deadlines.
Finding their Way
The team joined UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s Wayfinder incubator in January 2018 and continues to advance through the program. They have found value in the workshops and training programs, such as the Wayfinder bootcamps, which offer UC startup companies the opportunity to connect with each other and leverage the collective wisdom of the community.
“You get the opportunity to meet and talk to a lot of people within Applied Innovation or other people who come through here,” said Nayyeri. “It seems to be a startup hub for Southern California.”
In addition to networking and the Wayfinder program’s workshops, the Ureka Science team found the Wayfinder showcase events to be particularly helpful for interaction and getting the word about their startup out into the community.
“We bumped into a lot of people there that led to some discussions about potential investment,” said Nayyeri. “People showed a lot of interest in the Ureka pitch from that event.”
The trio of co-founders, which includes Asantha Cooray, Ph.D., UCI professor of physics and astronomy, launched their idea into a startup using seed round funding and are now looking for Series A funds. Additionally, within the Cove @ UCI, the team aims to gather more users and become a main hub for scientific discussion with a new added possibility of having a live cast of conferences for people who cannot attend.
“In the U.S., it’s easier to access science in general, but for everyone else in the world, it’s not easy,” said Hemmati. “An application like Ureka, which is open for everyone to download, provides a very good opportunity for scientists around the globe to learn from one another and to get involved.”
Learn more about Ureka Science.
Main graphic: Julie Kennedy, UCI Beall Applied Innovation