Celebrating Innovation

2024 Award Winners

Commercialization Champions

The category recognizes Virginia Tech faculty members who embody the spirit of innovation and have played an outstanding role in supporting technology translation through technology licensing. 

Rolando Burgos,  professor of electrical and computer engineering whose research focuses on designing novel high-power electronics using wide-bandgap semiconductors and integrating them into electronic networks.

Mike Mollenhauer, division director of technology implementation at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, is developing technologies that can save lives by making vehicles more intelligent and removing drivers and workers from dangerous situations with a high crash risk.

Chris Williams, the L.S. Randolph Professor in Mechanical Engineering, is advancing the processes and materials of additive manufacturing to enable the creation of multifunctional artifacts using novel methods.

Bo Zhang, associate professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, is developing new and improved soybean varieties for mid-Atlantic growers to benefit national and international soybean meal and soy food industries.

Start-up Builders

The category celebrates inspiring Virginia Tech researchers who are visionaries, pursuing start-ups that have potential for societal and economic impact.

Jessica Cunningham, research scientist, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Munson Lab, focuses on using mathematics as a bridge to study metastatic disease at the intersection of clinical oncology and evolutionary ecology. Along with Jennifer Munson and Caleb Stine created start-up,  Carina, Inc.

Joseph Kubalak, research scientist in the the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) Lab, has focused on multi-axis toolpath planning by incorporating manufacturing considerations into a topology optimization routine that allows additive manufacturing fabricated parts to be optimized in the context of both topology and toolpath with his startup Teal Manufacturing.

Feng Lin, associate professor of chemistry, is optimizing electric vehicles through research and development of improved batteries for these machines and other devices through his startup Fermi Energy Inc.

Spencer Marsh, is a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Rob Gourdie’s laboratory whose work with Tiny Cargo Company has led to a new method of drug delivery. This enables oral administration of drugs that previously were not able to be used in the clinic, opening the door to thousands of new drugs to help individuals around the world.  

Jennifer Munson, associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC;  Caleb Stine, senior research associate; and Jessica Cunningham, research scientist and mathematical oncologist, have created a start-up Cairina Inc., which leverages cutting-edge imaging techniques and mathematical modeling to delineate fluid and lymphatic flow patterns. This enables precise forecasting of cancer metastasis and facilitation of treatment strategies.

Webster Santos, professor of chemistry, is developing therapeutics to benefit society that help with diseases such as multiple sclerosis, obesity, chronic kidney disease, and fatty liver disease through his start up S1P Therapeutics Inc.

Caleb Stine, senior research associate, Frailin Biomedical Research Institute, Munson Lab, focuses on using mathematics as a bridge to study metastatic disease at the intersection of clinical oncology and evolutionary ecology. Along with Jennifer Munson and Jessica Cunningham created start-up,  Carina, Inc.

By Example

The award recognizes inventors who are advancing game changing technologies that are or hold the potential to make a significant human impact.

Christopher Arena, associate professor and director of experiential learning, biomedical engineering and mechanics, is developing a wearable device to reduce upper extremity lymphedema for breast cancer patients with this incurable condition that affects nearly 5 million Americans.

Bahareh Behkam, professor, John R. Jones III, faculty fellow, mechanical engineering, developed an early rapid detection system of disease-causing microbes (pathogens) and it advances the current state of the art detection  systems in place. 

Robert Gourdie, professor and director, Center for Vascular and Heart Research, is pioneering new drug targets and methods for heart and reparative medicine.

Eli Vlaisavljevich, associate professor, biomedical engineering and mechanics, develops non-invasive therapies for a wide range of clinical applications through investigation of  physical mechanisms with which ultrasound interacts with tissue.

2024 National Academy of Inventors

The National Academy of Inventors recognizes and encourages inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhances the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourages the disclosure of intellectual property, educates and mentors innovative students, and translates the inventions of its members to benefit society.

Eric Burger, research director, the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, is a pioneer in developing technologies and techniques that have made our networks more expansive, securing wireless communications networks across the globe.

Robin “Rob”  McCarley, executive director, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, has had wide-reaching and life-changing impacts through his focus on new discoveries, including the first investigative procedure for HIV and facilitating nanosensor arrays and DNA sequencing for analysis of isolated circulating tumor cells.

Michael Bartlett, associate professor of mechanical engineering, aims to create advanced, multifunctional materials with novel combinations of mechanical and functional properties. This has led to multiple commercialized technologies and will have far-reaching impacts on society.

Steve Rowson, associate professor of biomedical engineering and mechanics, has contributed to the field of injury biomechanics and ground-breaking work in developing the Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk (STAR) helmet rating system used by the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab.