Carnegie Mellon University's Soft Machines Lab is led by Carmel Majidi, a 2026 Faces of Innovation awardee. Researchers at the lab create novel soft materials, manufacturing methods, and algorithms for robot simulation, learning and control. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University
By Bianca Licitra
The first blood-based diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s disease. Infrared imaging dyes that advance precision in cancer surgery. The chip technology that powers your smartphone camera.
Each of these breakthrough technologies with life-saving global impact was made possible by the Bayh-Dole Act, which enables universities to translate research discoveries into new products, services, and technologies that benefit the public.
Enacted in 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act allows universities, nonprofit research institutions, and small businesses to retain ownership of inventions resulting from federally funded research, while also encouraging those patent holders to partner with the private sector to bring new discoveries to market.
Before Bayh-Dole, discoveries from university-based research conducted on behalf of the American people were rarely translated into viable consumer products. But Bayh-Dole incentivized the transfer of such technology to market; since its enactment, the legislation has led to more than $1.9 trillion in economic growth, created 6.5 million jobs, and launched more than 19,000 startups.
The Bayh-Dole Coalition’s recently issued Faces of American Innovation report celebrates researchers whose federally funded inventions have made a global impact. “This year’s honorees exemplify the vision, grit, and tenacity that process requires — and why the Bayh-Dole Act remains essential in driving American innovation, economic growth, and making lives better here and around the world,” said Joseph P. Allen, executive director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition. Many of these innovations began as early-stage discoveries in university research labs that – with the help of federal funding and industry partnership – later evolved into real-world innovations.
The 2026 Faces of American Innovation report recognizes five innovations, four of which are connected to AAU institutions. The awardees include:
- Dartmouth College Vice Provost of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer and Senior Professor Eric Fossum and co-founder of tech startup TAP Systems, Inc. Sabrina Kemeny, who co-invented the “camera-on-a-chip.” This foundational technology powers modern digital imaging and videos across smartphones, medical devices, space exploration, and more.
- Mississippi State University chemist and associate professor Colleen Scott, who discovered a new class of shortwave infrared imaging dyes that can be used to help surgeons visualize tumors, advancing precision in cancer surgery.
- Randall Bateman and David Holtzman, neurologists and professors at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, who developed the first blood-based diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s disease; these tests allowed for earlier, more efficient, and more accessible diagnosis options.
- Carnegie Mellon University Professor of Engineering Carmel Majidi, who created thermally conductive rubber, or “Thubber;” this material is transforming thermal management in robotics, electronics, and manufacturing systems.
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Professor Robert Dannals and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Professor and Chair of Radiology Martin Pomper, who developed an FDA-approved imaging agent that significantly improved detection of prostate cancer and is now used in hundreds of thousands of scans each year.
Though the Bayh-Dole Act has undoubtedly been successful in bringing university research to the American people, the legislation continues to come under pressure. Last year, United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick proposed imposing a 50% innovation tax on revenues universities earn from licensing their discoveries to the private sector. This proposal would significantly undermine the legislative intent of the Bayh-Dole Act and threaten the nation’s innovation ecosystem.
As the report emphasized, “Bayh-Dole continues to transform federally funded research into innovations that improve and save lives. Protecting this system is essential to ensuring the next generation of breakthroughs reaches the people who need them most.”
Strong intellectual property protections are crucial to the American innovation pipeline. AAU will continue to support policies that bring university research to the market and to the American people.
Bianca Licitra is editorial and communications assistant at AAU.