Monthly news, events & updates | |
Building a Rainforest in the Desert | December 2025 | | Advancing Innovation Together: Why Work with UNM Rainforest Innovations | | UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) connects groundbreaking research with businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors through a collaborative, transparent, and business-friendly approach to commercialization. As the technology transfer and economic development arm of The University of New Mexico (UNM), we work to protect and commercialize technologies developed at UNM by filing patents and copyrights and transferring them to the marketplace. | | |
Supporting University of New Mexico Inventors at Every Stage
For UNM faculty, staff, and student inventors, we offer a collaborative and transparent commercialization process where your input is valued at every stage. From the moment your invention is disclosed, we work to evaluate market potential, protect intellectual property, and match your technology with companies, entrepreneurs, and investors.
Inventors also benefit from professional recognition, financial incentives, and a wide variety of entrepreneurial resources from startup support through the Cecchi VentureLab to funding opportunities such as the Wellborn Gap Fund and Rainforest Accelerator. Showcase events and ecosystem connections help UNM researchers gain visibility and build meaningful industry relationships.
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Supporting Businesses, Entrepreneurs, and Investors
The economic development function for UNM is organized under the management of UNM Rainforest Innovations. We provide a flexible, business-friendly approach that makes it easy to explore and license UNM technologies. Our team offers responsive communication, streamlined negotiations, and personalized guidance from Innovation Managers who serve as single points of contact. We help partners connect directly with inventors, navigate intellectual property, and access the resources they need.
Through the Cecchi VentureLab and our broader innovation ecosystem, partners gain access to mentorship, hands-on startup support, investor introductions, and funding and investment opportunities through the UNMRI and UNM Foundation Co-Investment program.
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Whether you are a UNM inventor seeking to protect your discoveries and explore commercialization, or a business, entrepreneur or investor looking for innovative technologies, UNM Rainforest Innovations provides the guidance, resources, and connections to help you succeed.
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UNM Rainforest Innovations 2026 Calendar Has Arrived
The UNM Rainforest Innovations 2026 calendar is now available! Twelve UNM faculty members from both HSC and Main Campus are highlighted with information on their technologies and research areas. Congratulations to our featured inventors!
We will be mailing out these calendars to our UNM inventors and business community. To ensure that you receive a calendar or if your address has changed, please contact: Savanah Romero at sromero@innovations.unm.edu.
| | Rainforest Accelerator Program Concludes 2025 Fall Cohort | | |
The Rainforest Accelerator Program wrapped up its fall cohort, showcasing teams of entrepreneurial researchers advancing their innovations. The Rainforest Accelerator Program, administered by UNM Rainforest Innovations, supports teams of University of New Mexico faculty and post-doctoral or graduate students to go outside of their laboratories and into the marketplace where they can learn first-hand about entrepreneurship.
The outcomes of program include a recommendation based on an assessment of the viability of the overall business model and substantial first-hand evidence for or against product-market fit, with a definition of the customer segments and corresponding value propositions.
Projects supported during the fall cohort included:
- NanoFit by Jorge Canales and Cecilia Perla Isabel Quinto Ramos
- VIT map by Ahmed Mohamed
- Nuclear Microreactor by Minghui Chen
- TalentSync by Solomon Gbara
- Sonus Separations by Ruben Trujillo
- Sodium Plus by Hao Nguyen
- NoTo HP by Andres Sanchez
- Aniey by Roman Balayar
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In the Spotlight - Featured UNM Inventor | | | | |
Suzanne Burns, PhD, ORT/L
Associate Professor
Division of Occupational Therapy
School of Medicine
The University of New Mexico
Dr. Burns' research areas include:
- Stroke rehabilitation and recovery
- Mobile app development and user experience testing for people with disabilities
- Technology-enhanced interventions for under-invested communities
- Accessible design
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Hosted by UNM Innovation Academy and UNM Rainforest Innovations
We invite family, friends and community supporters to attend the final round of the 2025 Pitch Deck Competition at the Lobo Rainforest Building on Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 3:30 p.m. to hear the five finalists pitch to investor judges.
Finalists will present a 10-minute pitch deck with 5 additional minutes of question and answer in front of a panel of judges.
The 2025 Pitch Deck Competition is an early-stage pitch competition bringing together university entrepreneurs from all over New Mexico for chance to win $20,000 (sponsored by UNM Rainforest Innovations) in cash prizes for promising business models. The cash prizes are: winning team, $10,000, second place team, $5,000, and third place, $2,500 and 2 finalists, $1,250 each.
We hope to see you there!
| Japanese University Group Trains with UNM Rainforest Innovations on Technology Transfer | |
A group of six university technology transfer professionals from Japan visited UNM Rainforest Innovations for a weeklong training program beginning November 10. Throughout the week, participants learned about best practices in university technology transfer as well as strategies for supporting economic development initiatives.
The group was organized and led by Eri Hoshi, the Co-Founder of KOSEI LLC (Knowledge Transfer of Sports, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation). Durin their visit, the group attended presentations on a wide variety of topics, including invention disclosures, commercialization, anatomy of a license agreement, marketing, intellectual property, economic development, finance, communications and design, and other topics.
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New UNM Course for Students Led by Lisa Kuuttila: Technology Commercialization
From Idea/Invention to Market
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Join this course to explore the development and commercialization of an idea or invention. You do not need an idea or invention in advance to join. Learn from a variety of experts on aspects of developing and protecting an idea, deciding whether you have a viable business model and how to modify your idea, preparing your pitch, forming a company, and many associated details about commercialization.
Entrepreneurs and investors will also be invited to share their stories on what is important in creating a successful product and business. Whether you already have an idea or are simply interested in exploring the topic, this course will provide students the knowledge and expert guidance needed to take an idea from inception to commercialization.
| | Reflections on the Purpose and Impact of Tech Transfer from the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s Executive Director | | |
We would like to share an important message from the Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, Joe Allen, and his reflections on the importance of technology transfer and the privilege of being a part of a field that improves lives, upholds strong ethical values, and carries forward a legacy of innovation.
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Our success in tech transfer is directly tied to improving lives both here and around the world.
- The profession has high standards of ethical conduct.
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Our partnerships only work if both parties are successful. Many years ago, Niels Reimers (who developed the "Stanford licensing model") told me that he always tries to ensure the other party gets at least 51% of the benefits so they want to work with him again.
- The vast majority of the time, we get to deal with people we truly like, not just tolerate.
- We get to work in an area that is truly important, though little understood.
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Indigenous Entrepreneurs Podcast | | | The Indigenous Entrepreneurs podcast aims to tell the story of the Entrepreneur’s Journey, specifically that of the indigenous entrepreneur, through candid conversations featuring successful indigenous entrepreneurs. | | Native American Business Roundtable - City of Santa Fe Economic Development | | |
UNM Rainforest Innovations is collaborating with the City of Santa Fe Economic Development Department to bring this roundtable event to Santa Fe for Native American owned-businesses and entrepreneurs.
These monthly gatherings create space for Native American entrepreneurs, artists, and business owners to connect, share resources, and build pathways to success.
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Mark your calendar—this roundtable will meet monthly, 10:00 a.m. at the Santa Fe Business Incubator!
Scheduled Dates for Roundtable Events:
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Tuesday, December 9th
- Tuesday, January 13th
- Tuesday, February 10th
- Tuesday, March 10th
| | SCORE Mentors Available for One-on-One Meetings | | |
Meet with SCORE mentors at the Lobo Rainforest Building or on Zoom! Mentors are available for one-on-one, confidential discussions and mentoring to inventors, students, and start-up companies.
SCORE mentors are successful business people and entrepreneurs who want to give back to the community by helping other entrepreneurs become and stay successful. SCORE has been helping small businesses start and grow in the Albuquerque area for over 50 years through mentoring and workshops and seminars. SCORE is the largest National resource partner of the Small Business Administration (SBA) with about 11,000 SCORE volunteers sharing their time and talents to help America's small businesses.
Interested? Contact Cara Michaliszyn at cmichaliszyn@innovations.unm.edu to arrange.
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