GW's inaugural faculty award, Inventor of the Year, goes to Professor. Michael Keidar. This award recognizes his outstanding impact on society through transferring technology from academia to the commercial sector. It is presented along with a $1,000 prize for professional development. Prof. Keidar was honored in the Jack Morton Auditorium at the 13th Annual Faculty Honors Ceremony on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
As a result of his work at GW, patent applications were filed on 32 of his inventions, resulting in 14 issued US patents so far. 16 of his inventions have been licensed to companies. His prolific record of inventorship led to his 2020 election as a National Academy of Inventors Fellow. He came up with innovative uses for plasmas in three very different applications: propulsion for micro and nanosatellites, cancer treatment, and graphene manufacturing. Micro-satellites with his thruster have been launched into space in CubeSat projects with the US Naval Academy and NASA. They promise cost-efficient control and maneuvering.
Prof. Keidar discovered that cold plasma kills cancer cells highly selectively. This discovery was translated into a device to deliver cold plasma to patients following tumor removal, to prevent any tumor cells missed in the surgery from causing remission. The device completed the first human cold plasma for cancer clinical trial in 2021.
Check out the video GW made to highlight our Inventor of the Year for the Faculty Honors Ceremony and learn about Michael Keidar's inventions in the space and medical fields.
Michael Keidar's YouTube video
On behalf of the GW community, we congratulate Prof. Michael Keidar on this well-deserved recognition as the GW Inventor of the Year. His contributions to GW and his fields of study are exceptional, and we are proud to have him in our entrepreneurial research community.