Paving the Way for Interdisciplinary Innovation: Bucknell’s Academic Centers

Innovation thrives in spaces that champion curiosity, ambition and collaboration. At Bucknell, both the Perricelli-Gegnas Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the Dominguez Center for Data Science — two of the University’s newest interdisciplinary academic centers — give students the resources they need to bring bold ideas to life and spark new discoveries across disciplines.

Since its launch in 2024, the Dominguez Center for Data Science has offered both semester-long and summer research opportunities for students exploring data science and artificial intelligence research. Through the JoAnn Patrick-Ezzell ’75 & Andrew Ezzell Data Science Student Fellows Program and the Scholarly Grant Program, students receive funding for pursuing semester-long data science projects in collaboration with faculty or staff mentors. During the summer, DCDS also supports small teams of student research fellows to work full-time on a wide range of projects while honing their data science skills.

The Perricelli-Gegnas Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation offers a variety of funding and resources to help students bring their big ideas to life, including seed grants, the Benjamin and Sherrick Awards for Entrepreneurial Endeavors, the annual BizPitch Competition, the Bison Venture Plan Competition, Design-Build-Launch Internships and the Start-Up Micro-Internship Program, the Summer Entrepreneurial Fellows program, hands-on workshops and consultations, and alumni mentorship. 

The App Makerspace was launched in Fall 2026, as was programming for the University’s newest center — the Bucknell Initiative for Dialogue & Democracy. Led by Director Lauren Baillie, BIDD’s vision is rooted in the nonpartisan exploration of citizenship and society, and will prepare students to productively participate in civic life by examining the policies, practices and societal structures that sustain communities.