GW Inventor of the Year
Call for Nominations
The Office for Faculty Affairs will begin accepting nominations on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 for the 2024 Faculty Honors Ceremony. Individuals nominating a faculty member for this award should submit the nomination form using InfoReady.
- Nomination form due: Thursday, November 30, 2023
- NOTE: Clicking on "Submit a Nomination" below will take you to the InfoReady platform. Once there, click on "Nominate Here," at the top, to proceed.
- Log In → "Login for George Washington University Users" → Login with your @gwu.edu email and password
- NOTE: Clicking on "Submit a Nomination" below will take you to the InfoReady platform. Once there, click on "Nominate Here," at the top, to proceed.
- Nomination package due: Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Under the leadership of the Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) within Faculty Affairs, this award recognizes a regular, full-time faculty member’s outstanding impact on society through transferring technology from academia to the commercial sector. It is presented annually along with a $1,000 prize to be used for professional development. It provides a tangible symbol of the George Washington University’s commitment to translating research outputs to useful products that impact lives.
Faculty may nominate a regular, full-time faculty member for this award. The University will honor the recipient at the annual Faculty Honors Ceremony.
Award Criteria
This award is presented annually to a member of the regular, full-time faculty that has made significant impact on society by inventing new technology and working with the TCO to patent, license, and transfer the technology to a business partner. The committee will consider:
- The nominee’s invention(s) and its impact or value to the field and society;
- The nominee’s contribution to the University and the field; and
- The nominee’s innovative creativity and commitment to impact as demonstrated by the invention(s) itself and commercialization history.
Selection Process
The GW Inventor of the Year is nominated by faculty, endorsed by the TCO, and then voted upon by committee.
The process:
- Nominators must complete the nomination form by November 17, 2023.
- To endorse the nomination, the department will be asked to submit the following supporting materials electronically via InfoReady by January 8, 2024:
- GW Inventor of the Year Award - Cover Sheet
- Letter in support from nominator;
- Letters in support from department chair and vice or associate dean;
- Statement of endorsement by TCO;
- In consultation with TCO, a list of licensees of nominee’s patents, including a short description of the significant patents licensed, development status (on sale, scaling up, clinical trial, prototyping, proof of concept), and nominee’s relationship (Founder, CXO, advisory board member, consultant);
- In consultation with TCO, a list of granted and pending US patents and patent applications;
- A statement of impact on public welfare and economic impact (jobs created, lives touched) (200 words maximum);
- Optional external (outside of GW) support letters (e.g., patent licensee) (two maximum); and
- Optional citations to publications related to inventions.
The submission package should be a maximum of 25 pages, not including the required cover sheet and nominee's CV; materials beyond the 25-page limit will not be considered.
More information on how to submit via InfoReady will be sent after the call for nominations has closed.
Deadlines
- Nomination form due: November 30, 2023
- Nomination package due: January 16, 2024
For more information about criteria and how to apply, please direct inquiries to [email protected].
2023 Inventor of the Year Award Winner Video