The entrepreneurial spirit of research by Tufts faculty was on full display this week, as faculty were recognized for commercialization milestones of their disclosed inventions, and two School of Engineering professors earned special recognition for the impact of their innovations.
The university’s annual celebration recognized university inventors who in fiscal year 2025 had a first issuance of the first U.S. patent on their disclosed inventions and/or the commercial optioning or licensing of their disclosed invention. At the event, a total of 18 first to issue U.S. patents on a disclosed invention were acknowledged across 20 faculty members, and 15 faculty members were acknowledged for 13 commercial options or licenses.
At the event, Sameer Sonkusale received the Distinguished Innovator of the Year award and Nikhil Nair received the Rising Innovator of the Year award.
The translational research of Sonkusale, professor of electrical and computer engineering, spans biomedical devices, diagnostics, and flexible electronics, and has resulted in over 40 invention disclosures and multiple startup ventures.
Two of his most impactful technologies led to the founding of Anodyne Nanotech, which develops painless microneedle drug delivery systems, and Microvitality, which pioneers ingestible devices for gut microbiome diagnostics. Both of these ventures emerged from collaboration with students in the Tufts M.S. in Innovation and Management program.
