NC State Highlights Innovation and Entrepreneurship

NC State University is a national leader in generating impactful research innovations. Our talented faculty and student researchers have made discoveries we’ve helped transform into real-world solutions ranging from new software for mobile phone security to coatings that extend the shelf life of produce. 

For over 30 years, NC State has held an annual Celebration of Innovation. The event recognizes the achievements of faculty inventors and startup founders — climaxing with the Chancellor announcing the award winners of the Innovator of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year. 

This year’s celebration was bittersweet, though, as it marked Chancellor Randy Woodson’s final time as host, after a decade of leadership that championed commercialization and technology transfer  — and ultimately transformed the university’s landscape of research and innovation.

Chancellor Woodson hosted the Celebration of Innovation, now in its 33rd year, on Oct. 8, at his residence on Centennial Campus, The Point. He announced Ahmed El-Shafei as 2024’s winner of the Innovator of the Year award and Jack Wang as the winner of the John S. Risley Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Woodson also recognized the six winning projects of the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, two prominent researchers inducted as prestigious Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, and the 15 research-based startups our faculty and student researchers launched within the last year.

Keep reading to learn more about those recognized.

Innovator of the Year

Ahmed El-Shafei, professor and program director of polymer and color chemistry in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science, was recognized with the Innovator of the Year award for his groundbreaking work in developing a high-impact, sustainable dyeing and finishing technology for the textile industry.

A highly accomplished researcher in polymer and color science, El-Shafei’s most remarkable invention has the potential to revolutionize the dyeing process for cellulosic fibers such as cotton, linen and rayon. 

It is estimated that the textile industry is responsible for up to 20% of global water pollution primarily due to processes like dyeing and finishing, which are resource and time intensive, and the subsequent discharge from these processes that flows into rivers and streams poses a grave environmental threat. El-Shafei’s innovative technology enables the dyeing of cellulosic fibers without the harsh salt or alkali used in conventional methods, resulting in zero harmful discharge. His method represents a 75% reduction in dyeing time which leads to a four times higher throughput, and this improved process results in dramatic savings in material expenses. 

El-Shafei’s technology has been licensed to two prominent U.S. manufacturers who are actively collaborating with partners from across the globe to commercialize the technology for rapid adoption. A third company is also incorporating the innovation to enhance an existing commercial product with exciting results. “Dr. El-Shafei has demonstrated exceptional vision and dedication through his pioneering development in the textile industry,” noted one partner. “His invention represents a true milestone in sustainable textile production, tackling the long-standing effluent problem associated with dyeing cellulosic fabrics. With his innovative approach, Dr. El-Shafei stands to elevate the textile industry to new heights of ecological sustainability and economic viability.”

El-Shafei was nominated for the award by Xiangwu Zhang, Samuel S. Walker Distinguished Professor and associate dean for research for the Wilson College of Textiles.

Entrepreneur of the Year

Jack Wang, associate professor and director of the Forest Biotechnology Group in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, was recognized with the John S. Risley Entrepreneur of the Year award for his work co-founding and growing TreeCo Inc., an NC State startup company revolutionizing the forestry industry through the power of genome editing. 

A molecular geneticist by training, Wang co-founded TreeCo in 2019 with renowned CRISPR researcher Rodolphe Barrangou. Their vision: Combining decades of tree genetic insights with advanced genome editing techniques to breed healthier and more sustainable forests. TreeCo’s innovative approach uniquely utilizes CRISPR technology to enable precise breeding to enhance traits such as tree growth and adaptation at an unprecedented scale and speed. In addition to growing more-resilient trees faster, TreeCo also aims to improve genetic properties that could breed trees with the ideal wood composition  for applications ranging from pulp and paper to biofuels and novel bioproducts. Using a machine learning model his team created, Wang and colleagues have identified key genetic targets for commercially relevant traits and phenotypes — resulting in a comprehensive, valuable intellectual property catalog of insights and know-how that positions the company at the leading edge of innovation.

The startup’s technological advantage and early entry into the market have established TreeCo as a key R&D player in the forestry market. TreeCo has already secured over $50 million in investments and external funding and has shown that it can target multiple genes simultaneously in several tree species. 

Wang was nominated for the award by Erin Sills, head of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. 

Others Recognized

Also recognized at this year’s Celebration of Innovation were recent research team recipients of the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, newly inducted Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and founders of the NC State research-based startup companies launched within the past fiscal year.

NAI Fellows

Craig Yencho, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Horticultural Science and a renowned sweetpotato and potato researcher, was inducted as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2024 for his role in the development of the Covington sweet potato variety which makes up 90% of the sweetpotato crop grown in the state and 20% of the sweetpotatos acreage in the United States, and has generated over $3.5 billion in revenue for North Carolina growers.

Kenneth Adler, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences and a leader in airway disease research, was also inducted as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2024 for his discovery of the role of the MARCKS protein in excessive mucus production in respiratory diseases. Adler developed a peptide to inhibit the function of MARCKS and formed the startup BioMarck Pharmaceuticals, a venture-funded, clinical stage biotechnology company focused on treating patients with inflammatory and immunological diseases, to commercialize the technology for treatment of multiple diseases without effective treatment options.

Chancellor’s Innovation Fund

NC State’s Chancellor’s Innovation Fund provides critical gap funding to early-stage research teams seeking to enhance the commercial viability of their solutions. Awards of $96,500 are given to six teams annually and the 2024 awardees include:

• “Ambient Moisture-Powered, High Energy Density, Biodegradable, Primary Batteries as Sustainable Energy Sources” – Amay Bandodkar
• “Injectable Hydrogel for Localized Cancer Immunotherapy” – David Zaharoff and Siena Mantooth
• “Magnetic Assembly for Percutaneous Cardiac Surgery” – Joseph Tracy, Matt Clary, and Sydney Cook
• “Maize Improvement Using Viral Vectors” – Anna Whitfield and Cesar Xavier
• “Membrane Chromatography Systems for Purification of Biologics” – Ruben Carbonell, Behnam Pourdeyhimi, and Cristiana Boi
• “Prometheus Tool for Computer System Security Analysis” – Samira Ajorpaz

Startups

The fifteen startup companies that were formed within the last year to commercialize NC State-owned intellectual property were also recognized. They are:

• Avex Motion, Inc.
• Biosensys, Inc.
• Ummino
• Flip Biosystems, Inc.
• Mintrition Technologies LLC
• Nicelle Technologies, Inc.
• OA LLC
• Soteria Formulations, Inc.
• Structeryx, Inc.
• TNT Eco Materials Company, LLC
• TNX, LLC
• TerraSafe Materials, Inc.
• Veracity Nuclear, LLC
• WearTech, LLC
• mithrilAI Corp.