2023 Newsletter: July-September

September 30, 2023

Franklin Pierce Students Attend IPO Annual Meeting

During the IPO Annual Meeting opening session, Foundation Officer Buck de Wolf, General Electric, shared about the activities of the Foundation including a new pilot mentor program with University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce. The Foundation invited the five students as well as Dean Megan Carpenter and Assistant Dean Neil Sirota, below, to attend the conference. The goal of this program is to expand the students’ network among IP professionals and to give insight into the IP careers available to them. Student Joshua Sprague Oliviera said “there are so many different paths that can be navigated, so getting exposure to folks that have this amazing experience already in their careers and using that to inform my own path forward is an invaluable experience.”

(Photo by Michael Chansley Photography)

Join Us December 6 for the Annual Awards Celebration

IPO Education Foundation’s annual Awards Celebration will be held in-person on December 6, 2023 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Join us to celebrate innovation and IP by purchasing a ticket or becoming a sponsor! This annual event celebrates accomplishments in the fields of IP, innovation, and creativity. IP practitioners, IP professionals, government officials, and attendees from all over the world take part in this fundraising event to support the work of IPOEF to further efforts of promoting innovation and creation by, within, and for underserved, diverse populations. The honorees for this year’s event include:

Inventor of the Year

Dr. Cato Laurencin, University of Connecticut

Dr. Cato Laurencin is being honored for his pioneering contributions in the field of Regenerative Engineering. His work has led to innovation in the novel use of polymeric biomaterials to repair tissue and bone. A decorated leader in his field, Dr. Laurencin has received several top awards including the Priestley Medal for Chemistry, the Von Hippel Award for Materials Science, and the Jay Bailey Award for Biological Engineering.

Executive of the Year

Sandra Leung, Bristol Myers Squibb Co.

Sandy Leung is being honored for her commitment to the creation, promotion, and protection of intellectual property. Ms. Leung is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Bristol Myers Squibb Company and leads the company’s worldwide Law Department.

IP Champion

Irwin Jacobs, Qualcomm (retired)

Irwin Jacobs, Founding Chairman & CEO Emeritus Qualcomm, is being honored for his extraordinary leadership in advocating for the value of intellectual property to stimulate the progress of innovation. Dr. Jacobs co-founded Qualcomm with 7 others from Linkabit. As CEO through 2005 and Chairman through 2009, he led the growth from startup to Fortune 500 Company, now with over 50,000 employees worldwide.

Inspiration Award

Audrey Larson, University of Connecticut

Audrey Larson is receiving the second Inspiration Award for her contributions to promoting and championing IP rights for, and on behalf of, members of underrepresented communtiies. She is a junior at UCONN studying material science engineering and holds three patents, two for inventions that she created in high school.

Why Didn’t I Think of That?

“Why Didn’t I Think of That?” is a new IPOEF program in partnership with Invention Convention, a K-12 STEM and invention education initiative. The goal of this program is to provide information and resources to students who want to take their ideas to the next level. Students will compete for the chance to win prizes such as one-on-one coaching from industry professionals like inventor and CEO Louis Foreman (Enventys), Director of Incubation Enablement Elizabeth Scallon (HP Inc.), and businessman and strategist John Underfer (Worldwide IP Solutions). In addition to innovation coaching, students will be featured in a communications campaign to reach media outlets about the importance of intellectual property. The Review Committee is evaluating nearly 50 applications and will be asking for your help to pick the winners. Stay tuned for more information!

Thank You Program Sponsors

HP Inc, Procter & Gamble Co., and Worldwide IP Solutions

Strategic Positioning and Future Vision Survey

IPO Education Foundation Committee Pilots IP Toolkit for Students

The Educate and Enable Committee was created to support the strategic pillars of IPO Education Foundation and its mission to promote innovation and creation by, within, and for underrepresented communities. The committee developed a beta toolkit to teach students about patents, trademarks, and copyrights and has piloted the presentation to over 100 students in person and virtually this summer. Committee members who presented the toolkit are IPOEF Board Member Dena Ehrich (3M Innovative Properties Co.), Joe Funston (Caterpillar), Karen Harding (Johnson & Johnson), and Megan Hedrick (Dinsmore & Shohl). The presentation includes an interactive game to identify trademarks and fun examples of patents for scooters or a backyard water slide to review with the kids. The committee plans to make this toolkit available to all IPO members later this year.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to implement this toolkit for groups in your community, please contact Deputy Executive Director, Kristen Lurye, klurye@ipo.org.

Strategic Positioning and Future Vision Survey

Thank you to those who provided input for IPO Education Foundation Strategic Positioning & Future Vision Survey. The Foundation Board is conducting strategic planning to prioritize Foundation activities for the next three years. The survey results will be aggregated to help the IPO Education Foundation Board of Directors better understand how its stakeholders engage with IPOEF and value the organization’s mission. This will also provide insight into the evolving opportunities related to intellectual property. We look forward to sharing more about our strategic initiatives in the coming months.

Thank You Silver Donors!
Visit IPOEF.org to become a donor or to view a full list of IPOEF supporters.