On December 5, 2023, PCI hosted its annual Celebration of Innovation, where special awards were presented for exceptional commercialization accomplishments (see below) and Penn researchers named as inventors on patents awarded to Penn over the course of the prior fiscal year were recognized.
In addition, Vijay Kumar, PhD, the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, delivered an inspiring keynote speech about research, innovation, and startup creation at Penn.
Special awards:
- Deal of the Year Award: BioNTech SE
- Startup of the Year Award: Carisma Therapeutics
- Emerging Inventor of the Year Award: Firooz Aflatouni, PhD, Associate Professor, Electrical & Systems, Penn Engineering
- Paul. D. Sehnert Memorial Partner of the Year Award: McCooe & Associates
- Inventor of the Year: Shu Yang, PhD, Joseph Bordogna Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering, Penn Engineering