Princeton creates Office of Innovation to enhance ecosystem for research, start-ups, tech transfer and industry collaboration

Building on a decade of rapid growth in innovation and entrepreneurship, Princeton has launched the Office of Innovation, a bold step to facilitate, cultivate and elevate the University’s expanding innovation pursuits.

The office will be a key resource for faculty, researchers and entrepreneurs who want to be involved in building a collaborative ecosystem that will spur real progress on society’s most pressing challenges and create pathways for brilliant ideas to find their place in the world to change lives.

Craig B. Arnold, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and vice dean for innovation, has been named Princeton’s first University Innovation Officer and heads the new office.

“This new office is founded on the principle that innovation at Princeton should be integral, inclusive and impactful, with a commitment to elevating innovation across all fields to match Princeton’s renowned excellence in teaching and fundamental research.” said Arnold, an inventor with 17 granted patents and founder of three companies based on his Princeton research. “Our mission is clear: we seek to nurture and support an environment where bold ideas take root, interdisciplinary collaboration thrives and new ways of thinking challenge established norms.

“We stand at a pivotal, generational change for innovation at Princeton, as we cultivate the leaders, thinkers and problem solvers who will shape the future across every discipline — not only through products or technology, but through transformative impact.”

Arnold added that in recent years, the University has created new funding opportunities to support innovation, expanded programming in academic spaces and built an infrastructure to enhance connections with corporations, among other developments. Increasing numbers of faculty are engaging with industry, collaborating across divisions, filing patents, licensing intellectual property and starting commercial and non-profit organizations. 

The innovation office is part of the Office of the Dean for Research.

“The goal in creating the Office of Innovation is to organize the infrastructure to support innovation under one collaborative umbrella with focused leadership,” said Dean for Research Peter Schiffer, who is also vice president for Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the Class of 1909 Professor of Physics.

The office also engages in Princeton's broader efforts to contribute to and develop the New Jersey and regional economic ecosystems. For example, the office is playing a role in developing a New Jersey AI Hub, an initiative announced last year by the University and state, which will continue to deepen and expand connections with corporate, government, academic and nonprofit partners.

The Office of Innovation, based at 34 Chambers St. in downtown Princeton, includes three departments: Strategic Partnerships and Engagement, Technology Licensing and New Ventures, and Innovation Infrastructure and Programs.

Strategic Partnerships and Engagement is under the leadership of Executive Director Coleen Burrus. The team is dedicated to building collaborations with industry, nonprofits, alumni and government, and includes a newly formed innovation communications team.

The Technology Licensing and New Ventures team, led by Executive Director John Ritter, works with faculty members and focuses on facilitating the transformation of their scientific and technological discoveries into products and services for societal benefit.

The Innovation Infrastructure and Programs (IIP) team will encompass multi-state, multi-institution consortiums such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Hub for the Northeast region, which Princeton leads and includes 11 other public and private universities. IIP includes NSF-funded development planning for a potential Advancing Photonics Technologies engine. IIP will also provide support for Princeton Innovation Center Biolabs.

The innovation office will be highlighted at the annual Celebrate Princeton Innovation event on campus Oct. 10.

“We are genuinely excited about the opportunities these changes bring,” Arnold said. “We are eager to see how they drive lasting and meaningful contributions to the innovation landscape of New Jersey and beyond in the years to come.”