Honoring Innovation: UNC Charlotte Hosts Inaugural Invention of the Year Awards

UNC Charlotte hosted its inaugural Invention of the Year Awards on April 7th at The Dubois Center in Uptown Charlotte, celebrating groundbreaking inventions and cutting-edge technology designed to solve the grand challenges of our day.

Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber noted the University’s recent achievement of R1 status, which places UNC Charlotte among the nation’s top research institutions. She also emphasized the significance of the University’s ranking in the U.S. News & World Report as #45 for innovation, and celebrated UNC Charlotte’s placement at #3 in the nation for new startup companies per research dollar.

“Innovation is at the heart of progress,” shared Chancellor Gaber. “Tonight’s celebration is a reflection of UNC Charlotte’s commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and excellence, and reinforces Charlotte’s position as a hub for cutting-edge research and economic development.”

Executive Director of the Office of Research Commercialization and Partnerships, Laura Peter who spearheaded this inaugural event shared, “we celebrate the brilliant minds who manifest their genius in patented inventions.”

Awarding Excellence

Speaking of brilliant minds, this year’s highest honor, the Invention of the Year Excellence Award, was presented to Dr. Kirill Afonin and Ph.D. student Yasmine Radwan for their invention: RNA-DNA Fusomers with Tunable Physicochemical, Mechanical, and Biological Properties for Diverse Biomedical Applications.

This innovative approach to nucleic acid-based therapy has the potential to revolutionize how diseases are treated, offering improved customization and reduced immune response in advanced biomedical applications.

Senator Thom Tillis’ Video Remarks

A special congratulatory message was shared via video from U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. In his remarks, he emphasized that protecting IP is not just about protecting ideas, but it is “about ensuring our nation’s competitiveness in a global economy where innovation is the currency of progress. The success of universities like UNC Charlotte in creating a pipeline of innovation is vital for fueling economic growth and national security,” Senator Tillis explained.

Keynote Address

The evening’s keynote address was delivered by Andrei Iancu, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Iancu highlighted the pivotal role of the patent system in advancing human progress, and reaffirmed that the patent system continues to be a vital force for innovation, ensuring that today’s discoveries become the foundation for tomorrow’s breakthroughs.

Additional Invention of the Year Award Winners

Dr. John Daniels, Vice Chancellor for Research, highlighted the university’s remarkable surge in innovative activity. “We have accelerated patent filings by 200 percent over the past five years,” shared Dr. Daniels before announcing the Invention of the Year Awards with groundbreaking work in four categories:

• Clean Energy and Power Systems:
  Optimized Magnetic Block Structure for Enhanced Coupling Coefficients in Wireless Power Transfer
  Inventors: Dr. Tiefu Zhao, Dr. Shen-En Chen, Dr. Nicole Braxtan,  Mr. Mason Sun, Mr. Jiale Zhou and Mr. Karl Lin
• Information and Data Science:
  ArcNet-Lite: Lightweight Deep Neural Network for Real-Time Series AC Arc Fault Detection
  Inventors: Dr. Tiefu Zhao and Dr. Kamal Paul
• Life Sciences and Health:
  Vitrification Device
  Inventor: Dr. Charles Lee
• Physical and Material Sciences:
  Ceramic Powder Preparation for Additive Manufacturing
  Inventor: Dr. Ahmed El-Ghannam
  

Additional Spotlights

Dr. Deb Thomas, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, led the celebration of this year’s patent award winners:

• UNC Charlotte’s formal induction as a National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Member Institution this past June—an esteemed milestone that highlights the University’s growing impact
• Dr. Ishwar Aggarwal honored as the University’s first homegrown NAI Fellow 
• Students Naz Fathma Tumpa and Aiden Hawkins, placing in the top five finalists in the National Collegiate Inventors Competition
• Dr. Susan Trammell earned third place in the PMU-NAI International Patent Award competition
• UNC Charlotte’s first class of NAI Senior Members announced, recognizing Dr. Kirill Afonin, Dr. James Amburgey, Dr. Glenn Boreman, Dr. Olya Keen, Dr. Jordan Poler, Dr. Susan Trammell, and Dr. Michael Walter for their outstanding contributions to innovation and research.

In a surprise moment, Chancellor Gaber and Dr. Daniels were named Honorary Members of the National Academy of Inventors, in recognition of their dedication and service creating invaluable impact within the innovation ecosystem.

The event closed with a toast and celebration, complete with green carpet photos, a jazz musical performance, and a lively atmosphere. 

As Peter reminded the audience, “Let us take this moment to reflect on the transformative impact of tonight’s honorees and look forward with confidence that patents will continue to fuel the fire of genius and solve the grand challenges of our day—right here at UNC Charlotte.”

A Big Thank-You to Our Sponsors & Industry Partners

Maynard Nexsen, NCInnovation, UNC Charlotte’s Klein College of Science and William States Lee College of Engineering, Bank of America, Myers Bigel, IDiyas, Alston & Bird, Jenkins, Taylor & Hunt P.A. and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

We also want to recognize the industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors who were present as both attendees and judges from organizations such as the Office of Senator Thom Tillis, Albermarble, Ally Financial, AquiSense Technologies, Atrium Health, AUTM, Charlotte Center City Partners, Duke Energy, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Electrolux, Honeywell, Joules Accelerator, Lowes, Meta, NC Department of Commerce, The Glinsky Group, Trane Technologies, USPTO, Wells Fargo, NC Department of Commerce, and many others.

Check out the full photo gallery here.

Written by Arianna Harper, Edited by Barbara Lash