Preliminary Judging

Preliminary Preliminary judging for all contest entries is performed by the USF Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors on February 1st of each year.  The National Academy of Inventors, with USF as its Founding Chapter,  is the brainchild of Paul Sanberg, USF’s senior associate vice president for Research & Innovation and the holder of 28 U.S. patents including the first patents for using bone marrow and cord blood as a source of neural stem cells for brain repair.   “Inventors embody the creativity and innovation which is a hallmark of a fast-growing research university,” Sanberg said. “I wanted to increase the perception at the university that innovation and patents are important, leading to transfer of technology to our society.”  

Academy members are innovators of a wide array of inventions, from nanotechnology applications to new medical devices to bioengineered cells and clean energy technology. For example, internationally noted Alzheimer’s disease researcher Huntington Potter holds 14 patents – 13 related to medical research and one for a suitcase handle that allows travelers to tilt the bag so it won’t bump the ground while going up stairs. Other patents held by USF faculty include devices that help keep track of people with dementia; ocean sensors used in marine sciences; medical imaging technology and even a transgenic mouse to study neurological diseases.  

The website of the National Academy of Inventors is here. U.S. and international universities and academic research organizations are invited to join as member institutions and form local chapters to recognize and honor their own academic inventors. In addition to forming the academy, the Office of Research & Innovation also edits a multidisciplinary journal that showcases the positive impact of novel technologies discovered in universities.  

The newly renamed Technology and Innovation – Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors (formerly Technology) is published quarterly by Cognizant Communication Corporation (New York). “This is a wonderful way to recognize the extraordinary talent of our faculty inventors and to recognize their contributions to the university and society in a novel way that also captures their talent and enthusiasm to bring visibility to their efforts to stimulate technology development and promote entrepreneurship on the campus and beyond,” said Karen Holbrook, vice president for Research & Innovation at USF.