Monthly news, events & updates
Building a Rainforest in the Desert | January 2021
18 U.S. Patents Issued for UNM Technologies in Quarter 2
In Case You Missed the Webinar Featuring USPTO Director Andrei Iancu
UNM I-Corps Site Program Trains Fall 2020 Cohort
UNM Rainforest will be Closed January 18 in Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Upcoming Events
UNM Inventor Elected 2020 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors
Dr. Larry Sklar, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology at the University of New Mexico, has been named a 2020 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The NAI announced that it has chosen a cohort of 175 inventors from around the world for election as 2020 NAI Fellows.

Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.
In the Spotlight - Featured UNM Inventor
Sang Eon Han, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Center for High Technology Materials
The University of New Mexico

Dr. Sang Eon Han’s research areas include: Fundamental understanding of light scattering physics in biological materials and computational evolution of their nanostructures; Solar rejecting white coatings for building heat management; and Development of efficient silicon solar cells using symmetry-controlled light trapping structures and heat-removing architectures.
Transitioning to the New Economy - Start or Expand your Business Online
The University of New Mexico's Innovation Academy and UNM Rainforest Innovations are offering a special course to help New Mexico businesses at this critical time for our state's economic recovery. This is made possible through a grant from the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration called the NM EDA Rainforest University Center.

  • Course runs from January 19 - March 12, 2021
  • Open to anyone in the community and available completely online
  • Flexible - content is completed on your own time; no set course time
  • Cost to enroll is $17
University Center Webinar



Product Design- Making it Real
Presented by Denise Pliskin, mechanical designer and project manager for Speck Design. She will discuss a phase-based approach to product design and development - from ideation and research, concept design and refinements, to the steps to commercializing a product. Denise will also talk lightly about other non-design issues for entrepreneurs to consider.
Lobo Rainforest I-Corps Site at UNM Now Accepting Applications for Spring 2021 Cohort
Receive Entrepreneurial Training, Mentoring & $3,000!

Do you have an idea for a technology? Explore the transition of your technology to the marketplace through this entrepreneurial training program to help determine if your technology is ready for the market. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this program’s purpose is to teach UNM faculty and students to identify market or product opportunities that can emerge from academic research or student ideas.

The online program will run on Mondays, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. from February 22, 2021 – May 10, 2021 via Zoom meetings. No meeting will occur on March 15, 2021.

Deadline to apply to the Spring 2021 I-Corps program is February 7, 2021. 
UNM Rainforest Innovations Showcase
February 3 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. (MST)
UNM Rainforest Innovations is hosting its second virtual Innovation Showcase to feature the latest developments in research and technology from the University of New Mexico. Six researchers will present spanning life-science and physical-science technologies. This virtual event will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and industry representatives to learn more about commercialization opportunities.

Agenda details coming soon.
Open to all New Mexico university students enrolled in the spring 2021 semester.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
March 26, 2021
Attend Upcoming Virtual Open Office Hours Providing Mentoring for Your Startup/Idea
Stacy Sacco
Mr. Stacy Sacco teaches entrepreneurial studies at the Anderson School of Management, serves as the Director of the UNM Small Business Institute and is President of Sacco Connections, a management consulting firm.

Mr. Sacco will be available for one-on-one mentoring where he will give guidance, coaching and perspective to enhance entrepreneurship and provide connections to resources at UNM and in the community. There are many resources available to those who have ideas that they may want to turn into a business!

Upcoming Rainforest Mentoring Office Hours:

January 22, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (MST)
These are virtual office hours, click Sign Up below to select the time frame you plan to attend and a Zoom link will be emailed to you.
Larry A. Sklar, Ph.D.
For over twenty years, Dr. Larry Sklar has dedicated himself as an inventor to making high-throughput flow cytometry the benchmark for flow cytometry technology. For nearly as long, as the director of the UNM Center for Molecular Discovery, he has made New Mexico internationally known as a hub for flow cytometry research and technologies. HyperCyt-based systems are now finding their way into mainstream screening labs. In doing this, he has given a tool to researchers everywhere to discover more effective ways to understand and treat cancers, infectious diseases and many other biological applications, and built multiple teams of inventors and innovators along the way that are reflected in his patent portfolio and commercialization activity.

Meet with Rainforest Innovation Fellow Larry Sklar, Ph.D. for virtual 1:1 office hours to discuss your ideas, research, entrepreneurial, and biotechnology pursuits.

Rainforest Innovation Fellow in Residence Virtual Office Hours:

January 25, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Click Sign Up below to select the appointment time frame for a 45-minute virtual appointment and a Zoom link for your meeting will be emailed to you.
UNM Rainforest Innovations | Website