Expanding pathways for faculty, researcher and student innovators to bring research discoveries to market while cultivating a new generation of scientist entrepreneurs
Innovation is gaining momentum across Stevens Institute of Technology — from a record number of invention disclosures to growing interest in technology commercialization and a new generation of graduate students exploring entrepreneurship.
Innovation has long been central to a Stevens education. Now, a growing number of Stevens innovators are taking the next step — exploring how their discoveries and innovation can become technologies, products and companies that create impact through commercialization.
Invention disclosures on the rise
That momentum is reflected in a sharp increase in engagement with Stevens’ Office of Technology Commercialization, led by Shintaro Kaido, Director of Technology Commercialization and New Ventures. Stevens recorded 39 invention disclosures in fiscal year 2026, the highest number in the university’s history. This momentum has continued into FY27, with 11 invention disclosures recorded to date.
The growth reflects a broader effort to reimagine Stevens’ innovation enterprise around the needs of today’s innovators and the evolving landscape of research and commercialization. New programs, including Stevens Express Startup License and Stevens Innovation Access, are giving innovators additional pathways to move promising discoveries toward commercialization while reducing barriers along the way. Stevens started to re-imagine its innovation enterprise in FY26 with industry best practices and cutting-edge innovation to support the innovative and entrepreneurial endeavors of our innovators.
“At Stevens, we are very much focused on the creation of societal impact from research,” said Kaido. “The increase of faculty and student engagement for commercialization is intimately tied to future success of the Stevens research enterprise.”
The initiative supports the expansion of Stevens’ impact through research and innovation, one of the four key strategic priorities outlined in the strategic plan, Stevens 2032: Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology, and serves as a critical bridge between Stevens and the industry and research community.
A new generation of entrepreneurs
At the same time, Stevens is investing earlier in the innovation pipeline — helping graduate students develop the entrepreneurial skills and mindset needed to translate discoveries into real-world solutions.
The Graduate Workshop Series for Scientist Entrepreneurs, launched in fall 2025 in collaboration with the Office of Graduate Academics and Student Success, drew more than 100 graduate students to its first two sessions. The strong response has helped shape an expanded program planned for FY27, with dedicated programming for first- and second-year Ph.D. students as well as more advanced sessions focused on specific aspects of entrepreneurship and startup development.
The program has already attracted students from across Stevens, with participants representing every engineering department as well as the School of Business, underscoring the interest in entrepreneurship across the university.
Research from Osage University Partners, a major investor in university spinouts, points to an unexpected finding based on the firm’s analysis of over 14 years of investment data: Ph.D. graduates and postdoctoral researchers outperform other demographics as CEOs in the firm's tech portfolios.
For Kaido, that finding offers an important message to the next generation of Stevens researchers — their deep technical expertise can be an asset not only in the laboratory or the classroom, but also in building companies around discoveries with the potential for societal impact.
“A discovery that stays in the lab — no matter how brilliant — is an incomplete story,” said Stevens President Nariman Farvardin. “These initiatives remove the friction that too often stand between a promising idea and real-world impact, giving our faculty, postdoctoral researchers and students clearer and faster pathways to bring their work to market. Stevens 2032 calls on us to boldly amplify our innovation enterprise in service of humanity. These programs answer that call decisively.”
