By Stephanie Amaya, Texas A&M Innovation – April 29, 2024
2024 Patent & Chancellor’s Innovation Awards
Texas A&M Innovation recently held the annual Patent & Chancellor’s Innovation Awards luncheon on April 12, 2024, at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, recognizing inventors across The Texas A&M University System. Click here to see the award winners.
The A&M System’s commitment to innovation and advancing groundbreaking research took center stage at the luncheon with remarks by Chancellor John Sharp. Sharp expressed his enthusiasm over the tremendous advancements made so far and reinforced his support of translating discoveries to market through additional resources added to accelerate commercialization-related activities.
The event honored many of the A&M System’s leading researchers and innovators with the presentation of patent and plant variety protection certificate awards to 64 inventors. These awards are given in recognition of individuals presently employed by The Texas A&M University System whose inventions were granted patent protection from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or whose plant varieties were granted certificates from the United States Department of Agriculture Plant Variety Protection Office, during the previous calendar year, showcasing the wide spectrum of innovative pursuits within our system. Particularly noteworthy were the patent awards presented to deserving recipients from Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. This recognition holds special significance for Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, as they are integral parts of our system, and these acknowledgments mark significant milestones for their inventors.
“This year’s luncheon is a vibrant celebration of our A&M System’s diverse innovation landscape. It’s not just about recognizing individual accomplishments; it’s about embracing our collective culture of innovation,” said Pete ONeill, Texas A&M Innovation Chief Innovation Officer. “As we honor our inventors from across the System, we reinforce our commitment to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and discovery. Our journey doesn’t end here; these patents are a stepping stone as we work together to translate our technology breakthroughs into products that will impact our society.”
The highlight of the event was the presentation of the 2024 Chancellor’s Innovation Award, which recognizes an individual whose groundbreaking research exemplifies the spirit of innovation within the A&M System. The recipient of this esteemed accolade was Dr. Gerard L. Coté, Professor, Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Coté is a professor in the department of Biomedical Engineering and a worldwide expert in biomedical diagnostic and monitoring research including creation of hand-held and wearable devices for chronic disease applications (e.g. diabetes, cardiac disease, cancer, preeclampsia), infectious disease (e.g. malaria) and other biosensing applications (e.g. blood toxicants). Dr. Coté contributes not only to fundamental research but also to translational research and the innovation ecosystem as the co-holder of several U.S. patents and as a co-founder of three medical device companies namely, BioTex, BasePair BioTechnologies, and Visualase (acquired by Medtronic in 2014).
Photo caption: Dr. Gerard Coté receiving the Chancellor’s Innovation Award. (From left to right) Joe Elabd, Ph.D., Chancellor John Sharp, Gerard Coté, Ph.D., Pete ONeill
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $7.2 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, and the RELLIS Campus, the Texas A&M System educates more than 152,000 students and makes more than 24 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceed $1 billion and help drive the state’s economy.
About Texas A&M Innovation
Texas A&M Innovation at College Station works with a diverse array of partners – including entrepreneurs, investors, technology incubators, and large enterprises – to improve lives by commercializing innovations from The Texas A&M University System. Texas A&M research generates more than 300 new technologies each year, providing abundant and varied opportunities for industry collaboration. Learn more about the Texas A&M Innovation technology portfolio.
