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About the Event

Bearers of Innovation: A One Cornell Celebration is an annual gathering honoring the Cornell researchers and inventors whose work took a meaningful step forward, whether by disclosing a technology for the first time or reaching a licensing milestone.

The May 2026 celebration recognized inventors from FY2024 and FY2025, bringing together milestones from two years across Cornell campuses in Ithaca, Geneva, Cornell Tech and Weill Cornell Medicine.

From the moment a researcher identifies a discovery worth protecting, to the filing of a patent, to a licensing agreement or the launch of a company, every step in the commercialization journey represents a deliberate choice to move science forward. This event exists to recognize those choices, to celebrate the inventors who made them, and to inspire the broader Cornell community to take that first step.

2026 Event Snapshot

82

Lead inventors recognized for a first-time disclosure

306

Inventors recognized for a licensed technology

2

Fiscal years celebrated: FY2024 and FY2025

Who is recognized

First-time disclosures

Lead inventors who submitted their inaugural invention disclosure to CTL during the recognition period. They took the first step in the commercialization journey.

Licensed technologies

Inventors whose technologies were licensed or optioned during the recognition period. They reached a major milestone in potentially bringing their research to market.

2026 Celebration

Event opening by Alice Li and Lisa Placanica

CTL leadership in Ithaca and NYC at Weill Cornell Medicine

Welcome remarks by Krystyn Van Vliet

Vice President for Innovation and External Engagement Strategy at Research & Innovation

Keynote by Robbert Van Renesse and Hakim Weatherspoon

Professors of Computer Science at Cornell Duffield College of Engineering and co-founders of Exostellar

Fireside chat with Jason Spector

Chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of Fesarius Therapeutics

Are you ready to be the next Bearer of Innovation? Learn more about the technology commercialization journey →