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The Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority honored optical sciences professor Jim Schwiegerling with two awards: Inventor of the Year on October 6 in Tucson at the Southern AZ Tech + Business Expo, and Innovator of the Year - Academia on October 13 at the Governor's Celebration of Innovation in Phoenix. 

Tech Launch Arizona has kicked off a new UArizona program to recognize inventors who are named on issued patents. “The goal is to recognize the contributions of each inventor,” said TLA Assistant Vice President Doug Hockstad, “as well as elevate the visibility of patents and the impact of commercialization throughout our campus community.” 

On September 28, 2021, Tech Launch Arizona hosted its eighth annual I-Squared Awards and Expo event. Along with honoring the top inventors and entrepreneurs dedicated to commercializing UArizona inventions, the evening included an expo of innovations and startups hosted by entrepreneurial, innovative UArizona teams. 

University of Arizona researchers have developed a new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease designed to restore cognitive function in early-stage patients. The therapy, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center for Innovation in Brain Science, is now proceeding through a Phase 2b clinical trial and has been licensed to startup NeuTherapeutics, Inc. 

From July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, the university achieved a record 124 license agreements, launched 17 new companies, and grew the number of inventions disclosed and patents filed.

A new study, published in the journal Cell Reports, found that the stiffness of the breast tumor microenvironment can cause changes to cancer cells that make them more aggressively spread to bone. The concept of a “mechanical memory” or “MeCo score” that describes this aggressiveness has driven the foundation of startup MeCo Diagnostics, LLC. 

University of Arizona startup Paramium Technologies, founded to commercialize a precision metal plate forming technology invented by researchers in the Steward Observatory, has demonstrated how a small company can achieve big things with the support of a strong innovation ecosystem.

The new ranking represents continued growth for UArizona. In 2020, a total of 81 patents were issued to UArizona and the Arizona Board of Regents for inventions developed at the university, 19 more than the previous year. 

Through a challenge organized in collaboration with Arizona FORGE, Tech Launch Arizona is funding the development of five winning software projects aiming to make a real societal impact. Learn all about the teams and their proposals. 

Since 2013 and the creation of TLA, the university has been growing its impact by licensing inventions to companies. Most often, a company takes an exclusive license so the resulting product is uniquely theirs in the marketplace. But sometimes the best path for an invention is to license it over and over again to as many entities as possible, and the impact can be immense.

UArizona researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the BIO Instutute have developed a harmless bacteria strain to battle bad breath in our furry friends. University startup uPetsia has licensed the invention to develop it and take it to the marketplace.