Nigerian born Justin PanyaBaba has received the Battelle distinguished inventor recognition during the lab’s annual Innovation Awards on Dec. 1 in recognition of being granted 14 or more United States patents.
He joined three other scientists affiliated with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in receiving the recognition.
The honorees join an elite group of inventors recognized by Battelle, the Columbus, Ohio, research firm that co-manages the lab through the UT-Battelle partnership. Since UT-Battelle began managing ORNL in 2000, 97 ORNL researchers have reached this milestone.
“For scientific advancements to improve society, they must be shared with the broader scientific community or moved into the market,” said ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer. “ORNL’s emphasis on doing that is a critical part of the lab’s identity, and it draws partners to work with us. Patenting is a key step to translating lab research to real-world applications.”
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Justin Baba is an associate research professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University, associate director of the Vanderbilt Biophotonics Center and an Engineering Unleashed Fellow.
Baba’s research and patent portfolio focus on the development and translation of non- and minimally invasive biomedical sensing, diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutic technologies.
He is the founder and chief scientific officer for Yaya Scientific, a Nashville-based engineering start-up that develops diagnostic, therapeutic and integrated hardware solutions for biomedical problems.
Several of his inventions are licensed to industry and have been tested in clinical trials. He worked at ORNL from 2003 to 2018, developing and advancing biomedical applications for DOE’s Office of Science technology portfolio.
During his career at ORNL, he held joint faculty appointments at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Vanderbilt University.
He has been recognized for as an Outstanding DOE Mentor and was named 2006 Most Promising Scientist for his early career achievements by Science Spectrum magazine.
Baba has received several UT-Battelle Technology Commercialization and UT-Battelle Technology Partnerships Awards. Baba, who was born in Nigeria, is the first scientist from ORNL of African origin to be named a Battelle Distinguished Inventor.
An etched portrait of Baba and other new honoree will be added to a wall display at ORNL and at Battelle headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.
The three other 2023 Battelle distinguished inventors include are Brian Davison, James Kiggans, Vlastimil Kunc.
Brian Davison is an ORNL Corporate Fellow and leading researcher in renewable biofuels and biomaterials. His patent portfolio includes bioprocessing and catalysis inventions, with the most recent patents focusing on catalytic upgrading of bioethanol into hydrocarbon fuel blendstocks
James Kiggans is a former ORNL research scientist in metals and ceramics for 44 years who retired in 2020. Kiggans died in January 2022 at the age of 69.
Vlastimil Kunc is a section head for composites science and technology in the Manufacturing Science Division and adjunct professor at Purdue University.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.