Ascendr Launches Atlas to Help University Research Offices Find and Assess Expertise

MT. AIRY, Md. - EntSun -- Ascendr, PBC, today launched Atlas, a research expertise and grant intelligence platform for university research offices. The company's first product helps offices understand the expertise a research opportunity requires, assess the depth needed, and identify potential contributors within and beyond their institution, with evidence behind each recommendation.

Research offices often have limited time to assemble a proposal team. Relevant expertise may be spread across departments and campuses, or require an external collaborator. Atlas connects researchers to grants, publications, patents, courses, collaborations, and approved institutional records, helping offices examine the work that supports a potential match.

Starting with a request for proposals (RFP), Atlas identifies the areas and depth of expertise needed to address the problem. It then suggests potential principal investigators, co-investigators, and collaborators, linking recommendations to supporting records. An office can examine, for example, whether a researcher's work demonstrates experience using a method, developing it, or leading a research program that depends on it.

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"A strong team starts with understanding the problem an RFP asks you to solve and the depth of expertise it will take," said George Koomullil, founder and CEO of Ascendr. "We built Atlas to connect those requirements to people whose work supports their contribution, whether they are on campus or at another institution. Research offices can see why someone is recommended and judge how that expertise fits the team."

For external collaborators, Atlas helps offices assess areas and depth of expertise using available records. They can examine a person's role in related work, its relevance, and how recent or sustained it has been, adding an evidence-supported assessment to referrals and direct conversations.

The same intelligence supports industry and government partnership requests, program reviews, and capability planning. Where configured, Atlas also checks requirements such as roles, affiliations, dates, conflicts, and expertise coverage.

Assessments of required expertise depth and researcher fit remain estimates for expert review. Atlas labels expertise scores and scenario results as estimates and flags ambiguous identities for review. Institutions retain responsibility for decisions. The platform is designed for deployment in the institution's own cloud, and the institution retains ownership of its data.

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Atlas is available to universities and multi-campus systems. Learn more at https://ascendr.ai/atlas.

The launch article follows an illustrative funding call from understanding the expertise required to starting a team conversation: https://blog.ascendr.ai/introducing-atlas.

About Ascendr, PBC

Ascendr, PBC, is a Delaware public benefit corporation headquartered in Mount Airy, Maryland. The company develops trustworthy decision intelligence for research, intellectual property, and technology strategy. Its public benefit mission serves the researchers, institutions, and public who rely on that intelligence and includes advancing education and entrepreneurship in communities worldwide. Learn more at https://ascendr.ai.