UCR engineering professor Mihri Ozkan has been named a National Invention Ambassador, joining a national network of accomplished inventors charged with mentoring emerging innovators and strengthening the pathway from research discovery to real-world impact.
The National Academy of Inventors, or NAI, launched its National Invention Ambassadors Network this month as part of a five-year partnership with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. The network brings together inventors, entrepreneurs, researchers, engineers, university leaders, industry executives, and intellectual property experts from across the United States.
The ambassadors selected are inventors who have built companies, advanced scientific discovery, strengthened public institutions, or transformed industries. They will mentor students, researchers, faculty members, and entrepreneurs; deliver keynote presentations and workshops; promote intellectual property education; and work to strengthen connections among universities, industry, government, investors, and nonprofit organizations.
Ozkan said the appointment is an opportunity for her to help researchers navigate a process that extends well beyond the scientific discovery itself.
“Invention has its greatest impact when we help discoveries move beyond the laboratory and into the world, where they can improve people’s lives,” Ozkan said. “I am honored to represent UC Riverside and the University of California in this national network and to have the opportunity to mentor emerging inventors, particularly students and young researchers, as they turn their ideas into innovations that benefit society.”
The network is part of NAI’s American Innovation Campaign, a national effort to expand intellectual property education and accelerate commercialization. Ambassadors represent fields ranging from health care and life sciences to aerospace, energy, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and national security.
“NAI’s National Invention Ambassadors Network will expand opportunities by inspiring future generations of innovators on the frontiers of today’s discoveries,” said John A. Squires, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the USPTO, in a press release. “USPTO is proud to partner with NAI to strengthen our economic competitiveness through the renewal and transformation of American inventiveness into innovations that improve lives and create prosperity.”
Paul R. Sanberg, president of the National Academy of Inventors and distinguished professor at the University of South Florida said the legacy of an inventor is more than the intellectual property and technology they create.
“It includes the people they inspire, mentor, and prepare to achieve great things,” Sanberg said. “Through the National Invention Ambassadors Network, everyone has the opportunity to engage America’s leading innovators, invest in the next generation, and ensure an enduring benefit to society.”
In 2024, Ozkan was named an ambassador in a separate speaking-engagement program NAI ran with the USPTO. The National Invention Ambassadors Network is a new initiative between NAI and the USPTO, announced under the Department of Commerce.
Ozkan is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCR’s Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering.
Her research focuses on green energy technologies, carbon capture, and sustainable systems, including advanced energy-storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors for zero-emission vehicles and wearable technologies. She also works on reducing the carbon footprint of artificial intelligence, an area of growing urgency as data center energy demand accelerates.