News Releases

TTC Presents Innovation Awards To Three Texas A&M Faculty

Technology Commercialization also honors 53 faculty members and other researchers in The Texas A&M System for securing patents for their inventions during 2018.
By Texas A&M University Research Communications and Public Relations April 19, 2019

Texas A&M Technology Commercialization (TTC) recognized three Texas A&M University faculty members with its 2019 Innovation Awards during its annual Patent and Innovation Awards Luncheon on Thursday, April 18, at the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. The Innovation Awards acknowledge those researchers whose work exemplifies the spirit of innovation within The Texas A&M University System.

In addition, TTC presented 49 Patent Awards to 53 faculty members and other researchers from the A&M System whose inventions received protection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during 2018. This year’s recipients represent Texas A&M, the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Prairie View A&M University and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

Vice President for Research Mark A. Barteau said, “The process of developing and patenting our innovations is integral to how Texas A&M University approaches its mission as a land-grant research institution.  First, patents serve the public by providing a clear path for innovations to move from the laboratory to the marketplace. Second, they provide important revenue streams for the A&M System and our researchers. Third, for every dollar we receive from these revenue streams, we generate $1.40 in research reinvestments.”

TTC presented its 2019 Innovation Awards to:

  • Carolyn L. Cannon, associate professor, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine: Recognized internationally for her work with cystic fibrosis, Cannon is a pediatric pulmonologist who combines her education in both medicine and engineering to work on novel therapies for childhood respiratory diseases. She develops nanoparticle delivery devices to treat lung infections with multi-drug resistant pathogens. Her research has resulted in multiple disclosures and patent applications. She earned her doctorate and medical degree from The University of Texas Medical School.
  • Scott V. Dindot, associate professor, with joint appointments in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, College of Medicine: Dindot works with a specific gene implicated in a rare disorder, Angelman syndrome, and has developed a targeted drug therapy—antisense oligonucleotide—that may provide a solution. He has filed two patent applications for this innovation and has licensed his innovations to GeneTx Biotherapies LLC. He received his doctorate from Texas A&M.
  • Hung-Jue Sue, professor, Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, jointly operated by the College of Science and the College of Engineering: Sue conducts research in nanomaterial synthesis and assembly for nanotechnology applications; mechanical properties of polymers; and scratch behavior of polymers, films and coatings. His work has resulted in 29 disclosures and 85 separate patent filings. Sue has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, given more than 300 invited presentations and trained more than 40 doctoral and post-doctoral students. He earned his doctorate from the University of Michigan.

Dallas-based law firm Winstead served as the event’s underwriting sponsor. Winstead attorneys are Trusted Advisors® and counsel to major higher education institutions in Texas and beyond.

Since 2006, Texas A&M has formally incorporated commercialization into the criteria for granting tenure to its faculty members. TTC works with faculty and other researchers to secure patents to protect their inventions; establish productive relationships with business and industry; negotiate agreements to license innovations for production and distribution; and in some cases establish start-up companies to manufacture and market their inventions.

About Research at Texas A&M University: As one of the world’s leading research institutions, Texas A&M is at the forefront in making significant contributions to scholarship and discovery, including that of science and technology. Research conducted at Texas A&M represented annual expenditures of more than $922 million in fiscal year 2018. Texas A&M ranked in the top 20 of the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development survey (2017), based on expenditures of more than $905.4 million in fiscal year 2017. Texas A&M’s research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting, in many cases, in economic benefits to the state, nation and world. To learn more, visit http://research.tamu.edu.

Related Stories

Recent Stories