Category: Inventor of the Year Award

Brian Schwartz, professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is recognized for exceptional success in developing commercially impactful turfgrass cultivars that have transformed industry practice. As lead turfgrass breeder at UGA’s Tifton campus, Schwartz plays a central role in one of the world’s premier public warm-season turfgrass breeding programs. Schwartz is co-developer of TifTuf hybrid bermudagrass, a drought-resistant cultivar that has become the most successful and highest revenue–producing release in the program’s history. TifTuf has generated more than $13 million in gross licensing revenue, is licensed to five companies worldwide, and is supported by more than 110 sublicensed growers who have sold approximately 3 billion square feet of sod across the globe. Schwartz has also led the development of newer cultivars, including Tif3D bermudagrass, Australis zoysiagrass, and TifShade zoysiagrass, and contributed to widely adopted varieties such as TifElite centipedegrass and SeaStar and SeaScape seashore paspalums. His work demonstrates how publicly developed intellectual property can drive large-scale agricultural innovation.

Inventor of the Year 2025

Kelly Dawe, Distinguished Research Professor and UGA Athletic Association Professor in the Franklin College departments of Plant Biology and Genetics, has revolutionized maize breeding through a novel haploid induction system. His patented technology enables the efficient production of haploid maize plants—plants with a single set of chromosomes instead of the usual two—allowing breeders to develop pure, genetically stable crop lines in half the time of traditional methods. This innovation dramatically enhances the precision and speed of plant breeding, with significant implications for global agriculture. An international agricultural company licensed Dawe’s technology for worldwide use, integrating it into high-efficiency crop improvement programs. In collaboration with this company, Dawe and the UGA Research Foundation have filed 24 utility patent applications internationally, with one issued to date. Since the exclusive license agreement was signed in 2021, the technology has generated nearly $1.5 million in licensing revenue. Dawe’s work exemplifies the transformative impact of molecular genetics on commercial agriculture and food security.