The University of Notre Dame has earned a spot on the Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2025, a list published annually by the .
The highlights and celebrates U.S. academic institutions that play a large role in advancing innovation through the critical step of protecting their intellectual property through patents. A strong patent portfolio enables and empowers researchers to translate their inventions: bringing important technologies to the marketplace, bolstering the economy and creating impactful societal solutions.
Patents awarded to Notre Dame over the past year include new printable electronics and biosensing devices; highly specific insecticides; new methods for cancer drug development, single-cell capture and nanoparticle assembly; new systems to enable fast flight; novel dyes for bioimaging; new technologies for making wireless communication more secure and more energy-efficient; and more.
鈥淪ecuring a place among top patent grantees requires a robust research and innovation ecosystem, one which we have cultivated here at the University,鈥� said , executive director of the University鈥檚 . 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to empower our researchers to translate their discoveries into impact, and ensure that Notre Dame鈥檚 research does not merely exist in the lab, but is positioned to drive economic growth and improve lives through commercialization.鈥�
鈥淭hese universities and their inventive faculty are at the forefront of driving national innovation and competitiveness,鈥� said Paul R. Sanberg, president of the NAI. 鈥淏y moving their ideas to market and protecting their IP with patents, these institutions are ensuring that the U.S. not only remains competitive on the global stage, but directly shapes the future of innovation.鈥�
The NAI has published the since 2013 and introduced the Top 100 U.S. Universities list in 2023 to provide a more focused view of the national innovation landscape and the contributions made by U.S. academic institutions.
In addition to its institutional rankings, the NAI also recognizes individual academic inventors through its fellows and senior member programs. Current Notre Dame faculty who have also been elected NAI fellows include , the Bernard Keating-Crawford Professor of Engineering and the faculty director of the (ASEND) core facility and the ; , the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Engineering and associate vice president for research; , the Myron and Rosemary Noble Collegiate Professor of Structural Engineering; , the Bayer Corporation Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; and , the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Electrical Engineering.
Recently, three faculty members were : , associate professor in the ; , the Stinson Professor of Nanotechnology; and , the Frank M. Freimann Collegiate Professor of Biomedical Electronics.
Learn more about innovation at Notre Dame on the .
Contact: Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu