More than 100 faculty members, administrators, students, and guests gathered on November 6 for the Inventor Recognition Event. The celebration, held in Breed Hall on the Medford/Somerville campus, is an annual Tufts tradition, which recognizes faculty who achieved milestones in the commercialization of their disclosed inventions in the previous fiscal year—including either issuance of the first U.S. patent on their invention and/or the commercial optioning or licensing of their invention. 

For fiscal year 2024, 14 faculty members were recognized for first U.S. patents issued, and 17 faculty members were called out for their commercial options or licenses.

The event also bestows particular recognition on two faculty members. This year, Fiorenzo (Fio) Omenetto and Gili Naveh were the recipients of the Distinguished Innovator of the Year and the Rising Innovator of the Year awards, respectively.

Omenetto, Frank C. Doble Professor of Engineering, is a world-renowned researcher and innovator in material science and optics who focuses on new transformative approaches to develop sustainable materials for high-technology applications. Since arriving at Tufts in 2005, Omenetto has pioneered the development of silk fibroin as a versatile biomaterial platform for diverse industrial applications beyond biomedicine.

Omenetto has disclosed almost 150 inventions and has been listed as an inventor on 50issued U.S. patent applications. These innovations have led to more than a dozen unique commercial option and license partnerships (three of which were finalized in FY24). A professor in the Biomedical Engineering department, he also holds appointments in the Physics and Electrical Engineering departments and is a special advisor to the provost.

Watch the video recognizing the innovations of Distinguished Innovator of the Year Fio Omenetto

Naveh is an associate professor of orthodontics at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Tufts University School of Engineering. She is a co-inventor of an early-stage cavity-sensing biomaterial platform that was initially optioned, and subsequently licensed in 2024, to CaviSense, a Tufts University startup company. 

As a CaviSense founder, Naveh has been instrumental in supporting the company’s successful development of the technology platform and achievement of commercial sales of a first product this past year. That product—a toothpick device that supports early caries detection—enables better caries treatment/reversal without the need for drilling or filling. CaviSense is currently being utilized in pediatric dental clinics and has received substantial support from practicing clinicians who attest to the product’s addressing an important unmet need.

Watch the video recognizing the work and approach of Rising Innovator of the Year Gili Naveh

“Innovation is at the heart of our mission as a research institution. It fuels progress, drives solutions to global challenges, and empowers the next generation of thought leaders,” said Bernard Arulanandam, vice provost for research, of the annual tradition. “This celebration is a testament to the relentless curiosity of our community—and its commitment to making a meaningful impact.”

The event also included a fireside chat that featured Dynocardia, a Tufts University and MIT spinout in the field of cardiovascular health. That discussion, moderated by Dean of Graduate Education Karen Panetta, featured Mohan Thanikachalam, Dynocardia cofounder and research assistant professor in public health and community medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Dynocardia advisor Kenneth Wolfe.

The event recognized as well the 2023 launch of the university’s chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). In addition to its support for the NAI mission, the Tufts chapter was established to celebrate the diverse contributions of academic inventors across all disciplines within the Tufts community and to foster an environment where groundbreaking ideas realize their potential and transform into tangible solutions that address real-world challenges. Also recognized were six Tufts faculty members who were elected as NAI senior members and the naming of Stern Family Endowed Professor David Kaplan as an NAI fellow.