The UA has named Douglas Hockstad to fill the position held by David Allen, effective April 28, 2018. Allen, who is retiring, was appointed as TLA vice president in 2012 to reinvigorate the UA’s research commercialization activities.

A team of researchers at the UA College of Optical Sciences have invented a new breed of spectrometer capable of rapidly analyzing the chemical makeup of materials. Their first target market? Natural products and pharmaceuticals, including cannabis.

Urbix Resources has licensed a portfolio of lithium-ion battery and related materials technologies invented at the UA. Dr. Palash Gangopadhyay, inventor and formerly an adjunct research professor at the UA College of Optical Sciences, is now the full-time CTO at Urbix.

Startup GUIA has licensed a mining communication and sensor platform developed in the College of Engineering and Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. In addition to mining, the company is looking to apply the technology to other high-risk environments.

In collaboration with the College of Science, TLA has hired Laura Silva as the licensing manager for the college. She will be working with faculty, researchers and graduate students to identify, protect and commercialize inventions stemming from research at the college.

Dr. Roger Angel, Regents’ Professor at the University of Arizona, has been named as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for his many contributions, from telescope mirror design to his ideas around sustainable energy.