FDU President Honored By Research & Development Council of NJ
November 20, 2023 – The Research & Development Council of NJ honored FDU President Michael Avaltroni alongside Jeffrey Schwartz and Ellen Gawalt as recipients of the Edison Patent Award, the state’s highest recognition for inventors and innovation, during the 44th annual Edison Patent Award Ceremony and Reception on November 15, 2023 at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J. Avaltroni and the team represented Princeton University/Biomaterials with the U.S Patent to support Devices with Multiple Surface Functionality.
FDU President Michael Avaltroni (R) pictured with Edison Patent Award winners Ellen Gawalt and Jeffrey Schwartz.
“It was a great night seeing and spending an evening with people who were so integral to my academic life,” said Avaltroni. “It was also fun to remember the work we did in developing something with a potential impact on so many different areas and applications. Most of all, it was a reminder that the tools, skills and things I learned while a student in chemistry are so far from what I do today, yet the ability to apply scientific and analytical thinking is so transferable and so important, even as chemicals have changed into people and experiments have gone from the lab to the campus!”
2023 Edison Patent Award honoring Michael Avaltroni’s contribution to the U.S patent for biomaterials.
2023 Edison Patent Award winners are American Standard Brands, BASF, Bristol Myers Squibb, Consolidated Energy Design, Mentor Worldwide, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson Company, Merck Research Laboratories, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Nokia Bell Labs, Princeton University, Rowan University, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Siemens Technology, and Stevens Institute of Technology. The recognized patents range from a pharmaceutical drug to address cardiovascular disease to a secure data sharing and processing method that enhances cybersecurity.
Winners were selected by a team of R&D Council researchers who evaluated patents for the significance of the problem, utility/socio-economic value, novelty, and commercial impact. All winning patents must have at least part of the technical/scientific work completed in New Jersey.
A complete list of winners, patent names, and numbers can be found here: 2023-Edison-Patent-Award-Press-Release-Winners-August-2023.