Sos Agaian:
UTSA’s 2014 Innovator of the Year By Brian Willeford
I
n certain disciplines within academia there is a shifting paradigm. No longer are educators only expected to conduct research and to teach. Instead, more and more of them are expected to show that their work has commercial value. As the world evolves and research goes hand-in-hand with inventions and commercialization, a new breed of educator should be recognized— educators like Sos Agaian. Agaian, a Peter T. Flawn Distinguished Professor of electrical and computer engineering at UTSA and UTSA’s Innovator of the Year 2014, is known for his brilliant mind and tireless work ethic. He is also one of the San Antonio Business Journal’s Tech Titan award winners for 2014. Since arriving in 1997, Agaian has worked hard to earn a reputation as one of the most prolific inventors the university has ever seen. He has 31 patents and invention disclosures, and three of his innovations have been licensed to startup companies. These companies work closely with the university and the researcher to 49
Discovery
develop mutually beneficial products and services. And Agaian believes startup companies will be the benchmarks for future educators. “Currently, professors are evaluated on the number of publications or citations they receive. I believe, in the future, they will be evaluated on the number of startups they create,” Agaian said. “Cornell just opened a new campus, and startups are the requirement for their new professors.”
“My work has been recognized by earning fellowships and awards, and it was all earned at UTSA.” In addition to his startups, patents, and disclosures, Agaian has been published more than 450 times, with each article bearing the UTSA name and logo. This is remarkable because when he arrived, few citations
made mention of the university—now, there are more than 500 citations from UTSA annually. “Before, it was hard to get citations. I could see my citations go up as the university’s name went up. There was a direct correlation. Now, as the university name goes up people say, ‘Oh, this is a good university,’” Agaian said. “My work has been recognized by earning fellowships and awards, and it was all earned at UTSA. I didn’t come here with them.” Agaian, as well as other university researchers and innovators, have a valuable ally when it comes to protecting their work. The Office of Commercialization and Innovation (OCI) works with UTSA professors and researchers who disclose the results of their research that may result in new inventions. The office determines how to protect the intellectual property and works with the inventors to develop and commercialize these new technologies by marketing them. The new inventions may be licensed to an established company or a startup company which may include the inventors as participants. The intellectual property continues to be managed by OCI including both the patent preparation and prosecution, as well as the licensee tracking and the distribution of resulting royalties. “The OCI works closely with UTSA innovators to make their inventions successful,” said Jacquelyn Michel, director of technology transfer for the OCI. “Since many of the inventions are in a very early stage they may require further development to be of interest to a company. “Proof of Concept”—evidence the technology works is essential to either a successful license or a startup. We protect our inventors intellectual