On December 7, 2023, the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) held its annual Innovation Awards ceremony to recognize UT innovators from across the state who have newly licensed technologies, start-ups created from UT technologies, and recently issued patents. During the ceremony, five start-ups, 40 executed commercialization agreements, and 46 issued patents—many of which include faculty and researchers from the Tickle College of Engineering (TCE)—were celebrated.

 Award winners from TCE by category were:

Start-Ups
Alex Stiles and Dustin Gilmore	Vitriform3D
Licensed Technologies
Ibraham Altarjami, Evangelos Farantatos, Hossein Hooshyar, Yilu Liu, Mehendra Patel, Huanqin Xiao, Chengwen Zhang, Yi Zhao, and Lin Zhu	Technology for damping low-frequency inter-area oscillations in power systems
Issued Patents
Charles L. Melcher, Luis Stand Stracuzzi, Hua Wei, and Mariya Zhuravleva	#11,060,024: Mixed Halide Scintillators Radiation Detection
Camera Foster, Merry Koschan, Charles L. Melcher, Yuntao Wu	#11,230,667: Garnet Scintillator Co-Doped with monovalent Ion
Merry Koschan, Charles L. Melcher, Daniel Rutstrom, Luis Stand Stracuzzi, and Mariya Zhuravleva	#11,339,326: TL+-Based and Mixed Halide A3B2X9-Type Scintillators
Charles L. Melcher, Yuntao Wu, and Mariya Zhuravleva	#11,474,264: Self-Assembled Directionally Solidified Eutectics for Thermal Neutron Detection
Merry Koschan, Charles L. Melcher, and Yuntao Wu	#11,560,515: Lutetium Based Oxyorthosilicate Scintillators Co-Doped with Transition Metals
Samuel Donnald, Merry Koschan, Charles L. Melcher, and Mohit Tyagi	#11,584,885: Codoping Method for Modifying the Scintillation and Optical Properties of Garnet-Type Scintillators
Yilu Liu and Wenpeng Yu	#11,209,469: Timestamp Inconsistency and Shift Detection for Synchrophasor Data Based on Correlation Between Relative Phase Angle and Frequency
Yilu Liu and Yuru Wu	#11,320,893: Systems and Methods for Solar Energy-Based Computation
Yi Cui, Thomas King, Yilu Liu, Wenxuan Yao, and Jiecheng Zhao	#11,372,038: Magnetic Field Based Wireless GMD/EMP-E3 Impact Monitoring Device
Yilu Liu and Jiecheng Zhao	#11,069,370: Tampering Detection and Location Identification of Digital Audio Recordings
Dingrui Li, Yilu Liu, Yi Wei Ma, Ishita Ray, Leon Tolbert, Fred Wang, He Yin, and Lin Zhu	#11,515,702: Methods, Systems and Computer Readable Media for Protecting and Controlling a Microgrid with a Dynamic Boundary
Thomas King, Yilu Liu, Yong Liu, He Yin, Jiecheng Zhao, Wenxuan Yao, and Lingwei Zhan	#11,537,086: Pulsar Based Timing Synchronization Method and System
Yilu Liu, Weikang Wang, Wenpeng Yu, Chujie Zeng, and Lin Zhu	#11,340,271: Forced Oscillation Source Location Determination Based on Oscillation Mode Angle Analysis Using Synchrophasor Data
Chad Duty	#11,199,517: Self-Sensing of Printed Polymer Structures
Handong Gui and Leon Tolbert	#11,404,960: Charge Pump Gate Drive Circuit for Reduction in Turn-On Switching Loss for Mosfets
Fangxing Li and Qingxin Shi	#11,159,020: Hybrid Dynamic Demand Control for Power System Frequency Regulation
Yan Du and Fangxing Li	#11,255,522: Methods, Systems, and Computer Readable mediums for Determining a System State of a Power System Using a Convolutional Neural Network
Uday K. Vaidya	#11,441,001: Process to Manufacture Carbon Fiber Intermediate Products In-Line with Carbon Fiber Production
Zhongguo John Ma, Stephen Sheriff, Dylan Talley, and Uday K. Vaidya	#11,661,741: Non-Corroding Stripping Lifting Inserts for Precast Insulated Panels
Chengxi Liu, Kai Sun, Bin Wang, and Xin Xu	#11,271,398: Voltage Stability Assessment, Control, and Probabilistic Power Flow Based on Multi-Dimensional Holomorphic Embedding Techniques
Edward A. Jones and Fred Wang	#11,342,740: Drain Current Sensing and Fault Protection Circuit Based on Gate Voltage for Gate Current Driven Field Effect
Yiwei Ma, Fred Wang, and Jingxin Wang	#11,467,551: Power Electronics Convertor Based Transformer Emulator
Jens Gregor	#11,455,755: Methods and Apparatus for Neural Network Based Image Reconstruction
Daniel Costinett, Songnan Yang, and Chongwen Zhao	#11,469,618: Multilevel Switched-Capacitor AC-DC Rectifier for Wireless Charging with Power Regulation
John W. Bohling, Peiyong Chen, Xuesong Fan, Peter Liaw, Carl Lundin, and Chanho Lee	#11,511,375: Multi Component Solid Solution High-Entropy Alloys
David Harper, Kokouvi Akato, and Amit Naskar	#11,279,805: Plasticized Terephthalate-Based Polyester Blends Containing Fatty Acids or Esters Thereof
Joseph John Bozell, David Paul Harper, Nicole Labbe, Dayakar Penumadu, Timothy G. Rials, Stephen Andrew Young, Nathan Meek, and Omid Hosseinaei	#11,512,173: Method of Producing Carbon Fibers and Carbon Fiber Composites from Plant Derived Lignin and its Blends
Matthew Kant and Dayakar Penumadu	#11,435,486: Fiber and Bundle Orientations, Matrix Rich Regions, and Mechanical Properties of Fiber Reinforced Composites Using Thermal Digital Image Correlation
Dayakar Penumadu	#11,371,943: Coated Fiber Optic Chemical and Radiation Sensors
Dayakar Penumadu	#11,141,931: Smart Joint for Similar and Dissimilar Materials Including Polymers, Fiber Reinforced Composites, Metals, Concrete, Wood Based Products, and Other Structured Materials
Kevin Sisco	#11,608,546: Aluminum-Cerium-Manganese Alloy Embodiments for Metal Additive Manufacturing
Joseph Warner	#11,421,914: Thermal Storage System with Coupled Tanks
Qiang He, Wei Hu, Baoshan Huang, and Xiang Shu	#11,268,254: Cast in Place Geopolymer Concrete Pile with Heating Unit