The Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC)-managed Charger Innovation Fund (CIF) will be a UAH development mechanism that will assist faculty and staff with furthering the commercial potential of technologies developed at the University. Funds will be awarded under the advisement of the CIF Advisory Council, which consists of UAH faculty, research staff, and the local business community.

The objective of the CIF is to support short-term projects that will enhance the commercial value of UAH disclosed intellectual property assets. Financial support is designed to provide between $10,000 and $25,000 for a period of up to six months from the commencement of the project.  Project commencement shall begin no later than six months after award notification.

The CIF will support demonstrative commercial technology development work reducing an invention to practice, providing critical commercial-relevant data, or developing working prototypes. All projects will be viewed to accelerate the technology to the marketplace.

It is a requirement that all proposals submitted for consideration must have an associated Invention or Software Disclosure filed with OTC between the beginning of the fiscal year of the award and the date of CIF proposal submission.