Innovation met opportunity at the inaugural Rutgers Innovation Showcase, where hundreds of innovators, including Rutgers researchers who have launched their own startups, converged with industry leaders, investors, and venture capitalists to accelerate the next wave of Rutgers‑born discoveries.
Click here to view images from the event.
“The turnout of this inaugural event is a powerful demonstration that Rutgers leads research in New Jersey, drives the future of innovation, improves lives, and fuels economic growth across the region,” said Michael E. Zwick, PhD, senior vice president for Research at Rutgers, who provided the opening remarks. “This event opened the door to advancing innovation from ideas to impact.”
Close to 400 attendees had the opportunity to listen to a series of lightning talks from 11 Rutgers research teams and 12 Rutgers startups, as well as poster sessions featuring 73 research teams working in areas such as agricultural technology and food, life sciences and health, physical sciences and engineering, software and data/artificial intelligence. Eight Rutgers core facilities also presented posters, highlighting the ways in which Universitywide Core Services supports researchers inside and out of the university, through access to specialized labs with state-of-the-art equipment run by experts.
“The inaugural Rutgers Innovation Showcase provided Rutgers researchers a fantastic opportunity to present their work to potential investors and collaborators, and they all did a fantastic job,” said Deborah Perez Fernandez, PhD, MBA, executive director of the Technology Transfer unit within the Office for Research, which supports researchers through entrepreneurial processes like patenting, licensing, and commercializing innovations. “This event was the result of a fully collaborative effort, and I am especially proud of the hard work and dedication from the Office for Research staff in making this event an absolute success.”
“The Office for Research, through its New Ventures and Technology Transfer units, are proud to facilitate such a great opportunity for both current and former Rutgers researchers as well as local, national, and international industry representatives to work together to advance the important work that is happening on a daily basis at the university,” said Vince Smeraglia, JD, executive director of the New Ventures unit within the OfR, which works with Rutgers startups before and after their launch, including help finding funding opportunities. “We look forward to the results of these partnerships and collaborations.”
To read more about the 2026 Rutgers Innovation Showcase, including the lightning talks and poster presentations, visit go.rutgers.edu/RIS2026.
