System Inventors Recognized With Patent And Innovation Awards

The Texas A&M University System’s Office of Technology Commercialization recognized the achievements of 39 of the A&M System’s leading researchers during the annual Patent and Innovation Awards Luncheon. The honors included 11 patent awards and five plant variety protection awards for inventions and creations that were granted protection by the United States government in 2009.

The annual event also featured four Innovation Awards presented to scientists and inventors whose research exemplifies the spirit of innovation within the A&M System.

Innovation Award winners were Jeffrey D. Cirillo, a professor in the Department of Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine; Brett P. Giroir, vice chancellor for research for the A&M System; William L. Rooney, a professor and sorghum breeder in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University; and Ryland F. Young III, a professor of agriculture in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M.

“Each year the number of patents granted to Texas A&M System researchers grows,” said Guy Diedrich, vice chancellor for federal relations and commercialization. “Their discoveries are a result of a quest for excellence, whether they are finding ways to treat diseases, making our highways safer or improving crops. Innovations developed by researchers throughout the Texas A&M System are improving the lives of people around the world every day.”

Patent Award recipients, by institution:

Texas A&M University: Ralph Zingaro.

Texas AgriLife Research: T. Erik Mirkov and Keerti S. Rathore.

Texas Engineering Experiment Station: Hung-Jue Sue, Krishna R. Narayanan, David E. Claridge, William D. Turner, Charles H. Culp III, and Jeff Haberl.

Texas Transportation Institute: C. Eugene Buth, Roger P. Bligh, Hayes Ross Jr., D. Lance Bullard, and Dean C. Alberson.

Texas A&M Health Science Center: Magnus Höök, Darwin J. Prockop, Yi Xu, Jiang Chang, and Maria G. Bowden.

Plant Variety Protection recipients:

Texas AgriLife Research: Jackie C. Rudd, Lloyd R. Nelson, Ravindra N. Devkota, Gary L. Peterson, Rex W. Herrington, Jason Baker, Gaylon Morgan, Russell L. Sutton, Brent W. Bean, Todd A. Baughman, Lloyd W. Rooney, Kevin Crosby, Milton C. Engelke, Richard H. White, Kevin Crosby, and Jim Crowder.

Many of the award winners have joint appointments through Texas A&M and A&M System agencies.