NEWS > PRESS RELEASE Five New Jerseyans will also be Honored for Lasting Impact on State’s Innovation Economy
At November Celebration
Chatham, N.J. – Today the Research & Development Council of New Jersey (R&D Council) announced the honorees and winners of the 2024 Edison Patent Awards, the state’s highest recognition for inventors and innovation. This year, 14 patents created by 66 inventors and five individual award winners will be honored during the 45th annual Edison Patent Award Ceremony and Reception on November 21, 2024 at Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ.
Computer science pioneer Brian Kernighan, Ph.D., New Brunswick Development Corporation President Christopher Paldino, Rowan University Provost Anthony Lowman, Ph.D., New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology Executive Director Judith Sheft, and Hackensack Meridian Health’s Center for Discovery & Innovation researcher Olivier Loudig, Ph.D., will all be honored with individual awards at the ceremony for their extensive contributions to innovation in the Garden State.
2024 Edison Patent Award winners are BASF Environmental Catalyst ad Metal Solutions, Bristol Myers Squibb, Colgate-Palmolive Company, ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering Company, Merck & Co., Nokia Bell Labs, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Qualcomm Incorporated, Rowan University, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Siemens Technology, and the U.S. Army. The recognized patents range from a surgical robot designed for femur fractures to technology that improves mobile communications.
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.
“This year’s theme of ‘Jersey Innovates, The World Takes,’ a nod to the iconic Lower Trenton Bridge slogan , celebrates New Jersey’s research community’s global impact. From the inventions of the lightbulb to transistors to antibiotics, New Jersey has been – and continues to be – in the forefront of life-altering innovations,” said Colleen Ruegger, RPh, Ph.D., Chair of the R&D Council Board of Directors and Executive Director, Technical Research & Development at Novartis. “We are thrilled to celebrate these 14 patents, 66 inventors, and five innovation leaders as they continue to make a transformative impact on the world from right here in New Jersey.”
The R&D Council will award its highest honor, the Science & Technology Medal, to computer science pioneer Dr. Brian Kernighan. Dr. Kernighan will receive this honor for his work in developing computer languages and authorship of the first book on the C programming language, leading C to being the most dominant computer language in the world. Dr. Kernighan is a Princeton professor and retired Bell Laboratories researcher. The Science & Technology Medal is awarded annually to a New Jersey leader for extraordinary performance in bringing an impactful innovation to the marketplace.
The Visionary Award will go to Christopher Paladino, President of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco) and CEO of HELIX NJ. Mr. Paladino is being honored for his work in developing HELIX NJ into a world-class innovation and technology hub. The Visionary Award goes to someone who showcases exceptional and transformational leadership in uniting industry, academia and the state in pursuit of creating a research-based economy in New Jersey. The Visionary Award was formerly known as the Chairman’s Award in previous years.
The 2024 Educator of the Year Award will be presented to Dr. Anthony Lowman, Rowan University Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs. Dr. Lowman has been instrumental in Rowan University becoming the fastest-growing public research institution in the country. The Educator of the Year Award is presented to an individual for their achievements in the advancement of science and technology education and workforce development across New Jersey.
In recognition of New Jersey’s evolving innovation landscape, the R&D Council is introducing two new individual awards during its 2024 ceremony: the Catalyst Award and the Emerging Tech Award. The Catalyst Award honors an individual who significantly supports the innovation ecosystem within New Jersey and the Emerging Tech Award is presented to a New Jersey individual, team or organization whose early stage inventions or innovations have the potential to make a significant impact on the marketplace.
The inaugural Catalyst Award will be presented to Judith Sheft, Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology, where she strengthens the state’s innovation economy by stimulating academic-industrial collaboration, and encourages and supports entrepreneurs and inventors. Hackensack Meridian Health’s Center for Discovery & Innovation Associate Member Dr. Olivier Loudig will receive the inaugural Emerging Tech Award for his innovative efforts in biomarker discovery in breast cancer.
The 45th annual Edison Patent Awards Ceremony and Reception will take place on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at Bell Works. During the ceremony each award winner will have a special tribute film premiere in their honor. For information on sponsorship, ads, and tickets, please visit www.rdnj.org/patent-awards. For more information on the award winners, the event, or the R&D Council, please contact R&D Council Executive Director Kim Case at 908.875.7167 or email kcase@rdnj.org. This release can also be found online at www.rdnj.org.
###
As the Research & Development Council of New Jersey, we collaborate among industry, academia, and government to grow and strengthen STEM in education, innovation, and the economy. The R&D Council is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose membership includes representatives from academia, government, and industry, including several Fortune 500 companies. More information can be found at the R&D Council’s website: www.rdnj.org.
Growing STEM. Advancing Innovation. Impacting the World.
2024 Edison Patent Award Winners
| Organization | Category | Patent Name | Inventor Names |
| BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions | Environmental | TWC System for Fuel Cut NOx Control
US 11,904,299 B2 |
Xiaolai Zheng, Patrick L. Burk, Jinwoo Song, and
Jun Lee |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | Pharmaceutical | Carbamoyloxymethyl Triazole Cyclohexyl Acids as LPA Antagonists
US RE49,352 E |
Peter Tai Wah Cheng, Robert F. Kaltenbach, III, Jun Li, Jun Shi, Yan Shi, Shiwei Tao, Hao Zhang,
Suresh Dhanusu, Kumaravel Selvakumar, Ramesh B. Reddigunta, Steven J. Walker, Lawrence J. Kennedy, James R. Corte, Tianan Fang, and Sutjano Jusuf |
| Colgate-Palmolive Company | Consumer | Oral Care Compositions and Methods
US 10,918,580 B2 |
Shaoyi Zhang, Carl Myers, Guofeng Xu, and Saide Tang |
| ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering Company | Enabling Technology | Mitigation of Catalyst Inhibition in Olefin Polymerization
US 9,382,344 B2 |
Suzzy C. Ho, Jo Ann M. Canich, Machteld M. Mertens, Periagaram S. Ravishankar, Patrick S. Byrne, and Lisa B. V. Stefaniak |
| Merck & Co. Inc. | Animal Health | Process for Preparing Large Size Isoxazoline Particles
US 11,858,904 B2 |
Luke Ryan Schenck, Athanas Koynov, George X. Zhou, and Aaron Cote |
| Nokia Bell Labs | Telecommunications | Programmable System Architecture for Routing Data Packets in Virtual Base Stations
US 10,079,755 B2 |
Nakjung Choi, Binh Nguyen, and Marina Thottan |
| Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | Energy | Planar Coil Stellarator
US 12,009,111 B2 |
David Gates |
| Princeton University | Computing Technology | Configurable in Memory Computing Engine, Platform, Bit Cells and Layouts Therefore
US 11,669,446,B2 |
Naveen Verma, Hossein Valavi, and Hongyang Jia |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | Communication Technology | RACH Conveyance of DL Synchronization Beam Information for
Various DL-UL Correspondence States US 11,026,261 B2 |
Nazmul Islam, Sundar Subramanian, Junyi Li, Navid Abedini, and Bilal Sadiq |
| Rowan University | Medical Technology | Surgical Robot
US 10,603,122 B2 |
Mohammad Abedin-Nasab |
| Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | Medical Diagnostics | Anti-LAM and Anti-PIM6/LAM Monoclonal Antibodies for Diagnosis and Treatment of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infections
US 10,729,771 B2 |
Abraham Pinter and Alok Choudhary |
| Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | Industrial Processes | Nickel Phosphide Catalysts for Direct Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Hydrocarbons
US 10,676,833 B2 |
G. Charles Dismukes, Anders Laursen, Martha Greenblatt, and Karin Calvinho |
| Siemens Technology | Emerging Technology | Physics Informed Neural Network for Learning Non-Euclidean Dynamics in Electro-Mechanical Systems for
Synthesizing Energy-Based Controllers US 2021/0089275 A1 |
Biswadip Dey, Yaofeng Zhong, and Amit Chakraborty |
| United States Army | Defense | Continuous Process for Producing Foamable Celluloid
US 11,780,141 B1 |
Nikolaos Ioannidis, Zohar Ophir, Viral Panchal, Philip Abbate, Francis Sullivan, Young Ming-Wan, and Costas G. Gogos |
