Category: Inventor of the Year Award

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.

Inventor of the Year 2024

Qingguo “Jack” Huang, professor of crop and soil sciences, studies environmental catalysis and its applications in soil remediation, wastewater treatment, and resource reuse. He developed an electrochemical process to successfully degrade PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals”) that are widely present in water resources from longstanding use in manufacturing and as ingredients in numerous products. The global engineering consulting firm AECOM has licensed the technology and markets it as the DE-FLUORO™ system in Australia, Europe, and the U.S. as a means of eliminating PFAS in water streams. Huang also co-founded a company, Tarazyme, to help commercialize patented technologies using enzymes to solve turfgrass-related problems such as thatch buildup. Tarazyme is collaborating with the agricultural technology company Syngenta on product evaluation and commercialization. During his tenure at UGA, Huang has been an engaged innovator, submitting 13 invention disclosures that have led four issued U.S. patents, two issued Australian patents, and multiple pending patent applications.

Inventor of the Year 2023

Michael Hahn’s research on plant cell walls (PCWs) led to a development of a molecular toolkit for PCW characterization that addresses a critical need in PCW research. Hahn, a professor of plant biology, has used this toolkit to develop a comprehensive experimental approach that allows for simultaneous identification and quantification of carbohydrates present in PCWs—critical information for understanding cell wall biology and optimizing PCW utilization. Hahn’s innovative, monoclonal antibody-based approach is faster and more efficient than prior methods requiring complex, time-consuming chemical analyses. Advanced knowledge of PCW composition enables the design of sustainable and economically viable processes appropriate for use with a specific biomass. Hahn’s invention has been applied to numerous plants, including switchgrass, sugar beet, Arabidopsis, corn blueberries, sugarcane, silvergrass, agave, cotton and multiple hardwood trees. He has developed and licensed over 100 monoclonal antibodies, including to companies specializing in reagents for plant, algal and bioenergy research. More than 30 commercial products have been derived from his research.

Inventor of the Year 2022

Naola Ferguson-Noel studies ways to manage avian mycoplasmosis. Employing surveillance techniques, diagnostics and new vaccines, her work has led to new approaches to combatting mycoplasma strains including Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) in chickens and turkeys. Five invention disclosures from her research have resulted in two issued U.S. patents and an array of foreign patents for protecting poultry domestically and abroad. A MG Live vaccine developed with retired UGA professor Stanley Kleven is licensed worldwide and has earned more than $1.2 million in royalties for UGA since 2009. Ferguson-Noel was the investigator for UGA’s first Industry Express-sponsored research partnership with ECO Animal Health, with the goal of producing an MG vaccine. She also developed an MS vaccine that is undergoing clinical testing. Ferguson-Noel received her D.V.M. from the University of the West Indies, and her master’s in avian medicine and Ph.D. in medical microbiology from UGA.

Inventor of the Year 2021

John Ruter is the Allan Armitage Endowed Professor of Horticulture and Director of the Trial Gardens at UGA. The research he conducts focuses on breeding and releasing herbaceous and woody ornamental cultivars and developing Camellia oleifera as a new oilseed crop for the United States. His program has developed numerous ornamental cultivars with economic impact over the last 14 years, with more than 30 being licensed to companies in Georgia, across the United States, and internationally. Most notable of the licensed plants are Hibiscus and Ilex (Holly) cultivars, with useful ornamental traits for various landscape applications. Previously, Ruter was awarded the D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Research from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Ruter is a Fellow of the International Plant Propagators’ Society and an award-winning author of four books and over 500 scientific and popular publications.

Inventor of the Year 2020

Zheng-Hua Ye, professor in the Department of Plant Biology, developed a trait that reduces lignin content in alfalfa without reducing the cultivar’s strength with funding from the Department of Energy. Lignin allows alfalfa to stand up vertically in the field, but it is not very digestible as forage. The new trait “rewires” how the plant produces lignin, resulting in strong but more digestible alfalfa. The trait was licensed by the University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF) to the Oklahoma-based Noble Research Institute, which commercialized it as HarvXtra® Alfalfa. Noble sublicensed the trait to Forage Genetics International, which sells the product, generating UGARF nearly $1 million in U.S. license revenue. HarvXtra® Alfalfa is the most advanced alfalfa trait on the market and the first genetically engineered trait developed to maximize quality by reducing lignin content. This is the first time UGARF has received a share of a genetic “trait fee” associated with an improved plant cultivar.