Four College of Engineering graduate students received the Innovation Rockstars Award, which highlights Penn State’s growing pipeline of student and postdoctoral entrepreneurs translating academic research into startup ventures." Credit: Penn State.
Inaugural Penn State Innovation to Impact Awards recipients announced
Honoring people, partners and technologies that turn University research into real world impact, the awards recognize excellence in inventorship, entrepreneurship, commercialization and collaboration
Mar 27, 2026
Editor's note: A version of this article originally appeared on Penn State News.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has named the inaugural Innovation to Impact Awards recipients, recognizing faculty, researchers, entrepreneurs and partners whose work exemplifies the University’s commitment to translating research into real-world impact.
Presented by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research, the awards celebrate achievements in inventorship, commercialization, entrepreneurship and strategic partnerships over the previous year. Honorees were recognized during an awards gala held at the Nittany Lion Inn on March 25.
“We celebrate the inventors and champions of innovation who are advancing knowledge, translating that knowledge into solutions and delivering meaningful benefits to society,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “We are very fortunate that innovation is a Penn State tradition, and we view it as a responsibility. Innovation infuses everything we do, what and how we teach, the questions we ask, the methods we use, the problems we tackle. We foster an interdisciplinary innovation ecosystem where bold ideas are nurtured, cutting-edge research is celebrated, and groundbreaking discoveries translate into real world impact.”
The 2025 awards honored research in materials science, mental health, data analytics, biotechnology and more. The individuals and teams demonstrated how Penn State research improves lives, strengthens industry partnerships and drives economic impact, said Andrew Read, Penn State’s senior vice president for research.
“Here at Penn State, we change lives at scale,” Read said. “We are here to recognize innovation, but let’s not forget its impact on student success. There is nothing more exciting for students than to make a real-world difference, and the sort of teaching that you all do, the sort of experiences you expose our students to make a transformational difference to young people's lives.”
The recipients from the Penn State College of Engineering are featured below.
Innovation Rockstars Award: Josh Reynolds, Kevin Mekulu, Scott Leighow and Ankur Verma
Honors graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and recent graduates who show strong commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. Credit: Invent Penn State
The Innovation Rockstars Award highlights Penn State’s growing pipeline of student and postdoctoral entrepreneurs translating academic research into startup ventures by recognizing Penn State–affiliated startup founders who have participated in regional or national NSF I‑Corps programs and have completed, or are actively pursuing, technology licenses with the University.
The 2025 awardees are:
Josh Reynolds, Atlas Biotech: A doctoral graduate of biomedical engineering, Reynolds co‑founded Atlas Biotech to help accelerate cancer drug development by predicting drug resistance earlier in the preclinical pipeline.
Kevin Mekulu, DementiAnalytics: Mekulu, an industrial engineering doctoral candidate, founded DementiAnalytics to commercialize AI‑powered tools designed to improve early screening and monitoring of cognitive impairment and dementia.
Scott Leighow, Red Ace Bio: Leighow, a doctoral graduate of biomedical engineering, co‑founded Red Ace Bio to commercialize selection gene drive technologies — control devices can be used to outcompete harmful genetic strains by replacing them with engineered variants — aimed at overcoming drug resistance in cancer treatment.
Ankur Verma, Lightscline: Verma, a doctoral graduate of industrial engineering, founded Lightscline to develop AI‑based software designed to significantly reduce the amount of data collected by devices such as drones and satellites. The software enables devices to collect 2-10x fewer data points by only collecting the information companies need for decision-making purposes for industries such as aerospace, robotics and remote sensing.
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