The second annual University of Utah Innovation Awards recognized researchers across campus striving to transform their academic research into marketable, impactful products.
The event on Monday, Oct. 28, highlighted the recipients of the eight Innovation Awards and recognized those who patented technologies, received commercialization specific grants (the Ascender Grant and SBIR/STTR and participated in the I-Corps program in fiscal year 2024.
Learn more about this year’s Innovation Awards recipients
Patents issued in FY24
U research community members were issued 23 patents in the fiscal year. The patents represent numerous collaborations between departments on campus and institutions around the world.
Each person named on a patent received a personalized U patent mug with the patent they were issued, and first-time patent recipients took home a special travel mug to celebrate the milestone.
pdf View all 23 patents (117 KB)
Ascender Grant recipients
The Ascender Grant is one of the ways the Technology Licensing Office advances technologies for the U. The grant helps inventors bridge the funding gap between research and commercialization by providing support for technology development, proof of concept and additional investment. On Monday, we recognized five PI’s who completed their Ascender Grant milestones in the fiscal year:
Robert Hitchcock
Matthew Rondina
Jesse Rowley
Jan Kubanek
Massood Tabib-Azar
Learn how to apply for the Ascender Grant
I-Corps teams
The University of Utah is proud to be part of I-Corps Hub West and support our teams of faculty and students as they progress through the program and learn more about entrepreneurship. The following teams successfully completed regional I-Corps programming and are working toward Nationals.
Sethera
Karsten Eastman
Vahe Bandarian
EnduraCure
Grant Musgrave
EAS Sensing
Mary Jeppson
Bobby Mohanty
NOVUS-AT
Dhruv Patel
Marc Porter
Interested in I-Corps? Learn more
SBIR/STTR recipients
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are the nation’s largest source of early-stage, high-risk funding for startups and small businesses. These federal programs support the development of cutting-edge technologies and help startups bridge the funding gap needed to bring innovations to market.
The following PIs received SBIR/STTR funding in FY24:
Florian Solzbacher
Commercial translation of high-density carbon fiber electrode arrays for multi-modal analysis of neural microcircuits – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Hamid Ghandehari
Topical Eyedrops Increasing Lysyl Oxidase Activity to Control Myopia – SBIR NIH, Phase 1
Andrew Zayachkivsky
Temperature-Controlled Recording System for Wireless Data Acquisition from Immature Rodents – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Rebecca Simmons
Implementation of support tools to promote safety in the prescribing of oral contraceptives – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Steve Blair
High density chronic optogenetic interface for primate brains – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Edward Cazalas
Radiation-Resistant Stepper Motor – SBIR DOE, Phase 1
Shinduk Lee
Ultra Wideband Fall Detection and Prediction Solution for People Living with Dementia – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Gabor Marth
A state-of-the-art web platform for collaborative, longitudinal genome diagnostics – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Berardi Sensale-Rodriguez and Rajesh Menon
Development of Novel Lens Technology for Next Generation Laser Manufacturing – NSF, PFI-TT
Mark Mahan
Restoration of muscular function following direct muscle neurotization - STTR NIH, Phase 1
Jake Abbott
The development of the 3D Resident Object in Space Inspection (3DROSI) technology - STTR DOD, Phase 2
Jacob Hochhalter
Human-interpretable machine learning for certification and sustainment of fatigue-critical additively manufactured - STTR DOD, Phase 2
Jacob Hochhalter
Method development to correct inaccuracies in stress intensity factor models and improve reliability estimates - SBIR DOD, Phase 1
Innovation Ambassadors
TLO has tapped 3 researchers to serve as Innovation Ambassadors to their colleagues. These ambassadors are liaisons between our office, university departments and researchers across campus.
Bobby Mohanty
Jess Tate
Jay Kim