The Arizona Bioindustry Association will recognize two University of Arizona faculty members and a startup company that originated at the university at its annual award banquet Oct. 15 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix.

With the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, Startup Wildcats has moved from Tech Launch Arizona to a new home at the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, housed in the Eller College of Management. This move consolidates curricular and co-curricular programming for undergraduates under one central unit, expanding access and amplifying impact for student entrepreneurs.

Every year, 40 percent of the food produced in the United States never makes it to a plate. Kuairu, a startup from the College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences, is using the sun to power a system to turn that waste into a valuable resource.

The company's offering is the result of research led by Brian McKay, a professor of ophthalmology and physiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, and Dr. Robert Snyder, former chair of ophthalmology. Their work uncovered the protective potential of L-dopa and melatonin, both of which have shown promising effects on visual health in past clinical and population studies.

The University of Arizona has broken the university’s previous record for reported inventions, making this its most inventive year for the second year in a row. The UA also had 94 patents issued and launched 13 startups.

Springtime at the University of Arizona is when the Office of the Provost recognizes key faculty members with its annual awards of excellence. This year, two accomplished inventors have received the awards in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship category: George Sutphin and Dr. Marvin Slepian.