Two inventors from Texas A&M University were recently elected to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 2023 Class of Fellows. Recognition as a NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact to society.

The honorees are Mark Benden, PhD, CPE, professor and department chair for the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, where he also serves as director of the Ergonomics Center, and Balakrishna Haridas, PhD, professor for the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Texas A&M College of Engineering. Learn more about these inventors and their contributions. 

As Texas A&M Innovation looks forward to 2024, reflecting on the past year is a reminder of what we accomplished in 2023. The Chief Innovation Officer, Pete ONeill, shares that the team has taken significant steps towards establishing a foundation for future progress. “We still have a lot of work and improvement we need to do, but I’m proud of our team and excited for the trajectory of progress we’ve established.” Click the link to read more. 

The nature of our work in commercializing A&M technologies ultimately aims for the result of positively impacting society, but this is not the only way we can serve the community and deliver on this core Aggie value. This year, Texas A&M Innovation participated in volunteer and community service programs to give back and remind ourselves that we are part of the local community. 

Scotty's House, a local Child Advocacy Center, provides services to victims of child abuse and their families. During the holiday season, our staff partnered with Scotty's House to provide clothing, household supplies, and gifts to one local family to help meet needs and brighten their holiday season. Our staff also joined the mission to end hunger in the Brazos Valley by collecting food donations for the Brazos Valley Food Bank, and volunteered as a group to sort and assemble food for distribution to the most rural communities in the Brazos Valley. 

Join Texas A&M Innovation on Tuesday, February 6th for the next installment in our Innovation U education seminar series, "Starting a Company as a Pathway to Translating Academic Research." Our panel of experts, including an experienced entrepreneur, an investor, and a business attorney, will share their perspectives on launching a company with a focus on companies based on academic research. The discussion will include topics such as mechanics of company formation, developing market strategy and well-rounded teams, and attracting investors. There are two ways to join, in-person and virtual. Register here. 

The 2023 Higher EDge: Leading Texas' Future conference was held on December 12-13 in Austin. This year’s event honored Texas A&M University as one of five Star Award recipients and featured discussions on artificial intelligence, tech transfer, innovations in digital learning, and more. Texas A&M Innovation chief innovation officer, Pete ONeill, contributed to the conversation as a panelist on the topic, "Engines of Innovation: How Higher Education Drives Economic Growth and Prosperity."

Texas A&M Innovation traveled to San Antonio to host  a seminar on December 12 to faculty within Research & Graduate Studies, led by Dr. Vijay Golla, vice provost at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The session included education on different forms of IP focusing on patents, the benefits of commercialization, inventorship and licensing. Email our team to request a workshop.

Texas A&M Innovation is focused on harvesting new innovations, protecting intellectual property, and facilitating the commercialization process to move Texas A&M University System technologies from the lab to the marketplace. For more information on about how we can partner with you as a university researcher or industry collaborator, please contact us.

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