Introducing Our Ambassadors

Charleson S. Bell, PhD is the National Chair of the NSF National Innovation Network, the Hub Director of the NSF I-Corps Hub, Mid-South Region (“Mid-South Hub”), Program Director of the NSF ExLENT Coalition Responsible for Excellence in Skills Training (CREST), and State Lead of the NIH Mid-South Research, Evaluation, and Commercialization Hub (REACH) Hub. He is a Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Director of the Vanderbilt Innovation Corps unit at Vanderbilt University, and Associate Director of the Medical Innovators Development Program in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Dr. Bell is a “Triple ’Dore” earning his Bachelors in Engineering, Masters in Science, and Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering – the first African-American to earn a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt. Dr. Bell’s Department of Defense funded research seeks to improve point-of-care deployability, interoperability, and smartphone-compatibility. Dr. Bell has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit and embraces new endeavors and innovations with great enthusiasm and passion. The first graduate student at Vanderbilt to receive an investment of venture capital to launch a startup while in school, Dr. Bell uses his innovative mind to combine his engineering knowledge to create novel technologies of great impact. He has garnered multiple patents across many fields and co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications. Most importantly, he is a staunch believer that the value and practice of convergent innovation is critical to optimize the way innovators empathize with humanity and ideate solutions that create positive change across the world.

Almesha L. Campbell, Ph.D. is the Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University (JSU). In this capacity, she supports the Vice President with overall responsibility for the Division of Research and Economic Development. For over 12 years, she has served as the Di

Almesha L. Campbell, Ph.D., RTTP, currently serves as the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University (JSU). In this capacity, she oversees Sponsored Programs, Research Development, Grants and Contracts, Research Compliance, Federal Relations, the Office of Innovation Management (Tech Transfer), JSU Global (International Programs), and all TRIO programs.

Dr. Campbell is an exemplary leader in research, technology transfer, innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development. She has secured and managed numerous federal grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of War, Leidos, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Delta Regional Authority. She plays a pivotal role as principal investigator (PI) and co-PI on several national programs, including the NSF Mid-South I-Corps Hub, NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program, and the NIH Mid-South REACH Hub – advancing innovation, commercialization, and research translation across the region.

She co-developed the JSU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to leverage the institution’s STEM, business, and entrepreneurial strengths to drive talent development and economic impact. Her initiatives, including the JSU Innovation Fellows Program, micro-credential programs, AI and Data Science for Cybersecurity Certificate, the JSU AI Multi-Disciplinary Education Hub, and the integration of virtual reality into STEM education, are preparing students for the future of work and positioning JSU as a leader in innovation.

Dr. Campbell served as Chair of the AUTM Board of Directors (2023–2024) and serves on the advisory board of the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS). She is affiliated with national organizations such as the Licensing Executives Society and the Society of Research Administrators International, and she is an honorary member of the National Academy of Inventors. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies from the University of Central Florida, a Master of Science in Mass Communications, and a doctoral degree in Public Policy from Jackson State University.

James Conley is an inventor who serves as a faculty member in the Operations Group and the Kellogg Center for Research in Technology & Innovation.  He also serves as a Faculty Fellow at the Northwestern University Segal Design Institute.  He is a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and has served presenting at workshops hosted at the National Academy of Sciences.

In 2004, 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2016, he received the Professor of the Year award from the Master of Product Development program at Northwestern University.  In 2011 and 2013 he received the Professor of the Year award from the Master of Science program at the WHU in Germany.

His academic research investigates the strategic use of intangible assets and intellectual properties to build and sustain competitive advantage. Research sponsors have included the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Chicago Biomedical Consortium, US Department of the Treasury IRS, Microsoft, National Science Foundation, NASA, FAA, NIST, the Department of Defense, Motorola and others. His publications have been recognized with “Best Paper” commendations from the American Foundry Society, the Society of Automotive Engineers, The Rapid Prototyping Journal and others. Mainstream outlets for his scholarship include the Wall Street Journal, the Sloan Management Review and the California Management Review.

Beyond Northwestern, he serves as an expert and author for the UN based World Intellectual Property Organization and has served as an appointed member on the United States Department of Commerce Trademark Public Advisory Committee to the Patent and Trademark Office.  He also serves on the board of several companies and the US Intellectual Property Allliance and the Illinois Intellectual Property Alliance.

He has been called to offer testimony on intellectual property related matters in legal and policy forums including the International Trade Commission, US Federal District Court, US Federal Tax Court and at International Tribunals in Asia and beyond.  Further, he is appointed to serve as an external Ph.D. examiner by Abo Akademi in Finland.

He is serving as Senior Editor of Technology and Innovation and serves on the editorial boards of the California Management Review and The Journal of the National Academy of Inventors.

Carmine Denisco is a respected leader and advocate in the inventor community, known for his long-standing commitment to supporting innovators at every stage of development. In his current role as President of the United Inventors Association, Carmine has played an instrumental role in advancing education, resources, and opportunities for inventors and Innovators across the country and the world.

With decades of hands-on experience in product design, development and manufacturing, Carmine has dedicated his career to helping inventors and Entrepreneurs navigate the often complex journey from idea to marketplace. Through mentorship, speaking engagements, and industry leadership, he continues to empower innovators of all ages, fostering creativity, protecting Inventors, and promoting ethical invention practices.

Andrew Inesi is the Vice President & Global Head of Policy and Business Affairs at Dolby,  where he has worked for over 13 years. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the  company’s worldwide government affairs and public policy initiatives, and for monitoring and  advising on geopolitical developments. 

Mr. Inesi specializes in bringing order to new and complex areas. Prior to his current  position, he held a diverse series of roles at Dolby, from transactional lawyer, to new business  legal liaison, to legal operations lead. Most recently, he spent several years helping develop  Law Department strategy and thought leadership, and in facilitating the effective  communication of both. 

He joined Dolby in October 2013 after an 8-year tenure at Mattel, Inc., where he served as  the lead technology lawyer after establishing an office in Bermuda focused on intellectual  property, tax and corporate legal issues. Prior to his corporate legal career, Mr. Inesi was an  entrepreneur, founding a company that expanded to over 30 employees with offices in Los  Angeles and Milan, Italy. 

Mr. Inesi holds a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, a masters of law from UC Berkeley.

Ishwar K. Puri is vice president of research and professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Southern California. He oversees the USC Office of Research and Innovation that guides the university’s research programs.

Puri is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is the author of over 200 archival publications and books that have been cited over 7,500 times on Google Scholar with an h-index of 49. Puri ranks among the top 2% of scientists globally based on the citations of those published between 1965 and 2019. He has founded and mentored startups, most recently Celerite Labs, a company that produces a rapid printer for cells and tissues.

Before his USC appointment, Puri was dean of the engineering faculty and a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was one of eighteen members of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, an appointment made by the governor general of Canada. In addition, Puri served as chair of Engineering Deans Canada. He was previously the N. Waldo Harrison Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he served as department head from 2004 to 2013.

He began his teaching career at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, eventually rising to the rank of professor. Soon after, he served as associate dean for research and graduate studies and as executive associate dean of engineering. Before UIC, he was an assistant research engineer at the University of California, San Diego.

Puri holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Delhi’s College of Engineering and obtained his master’s degree in engineering science (applied mechanics) and PhD from the University of California, San Diego.

He serves on the editorial board of Scientific Reports, a Nature Group journal, and is an associate editor of Research, a Science partner journal.

Anna has >35 years of experimental physics research and development engineering in cryogenic and superconductor materials, devices and electromagnetic systems. She founded the Cryogenic Exploitation of Radio Frequency (CERF) Laboratory at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, creating a group of innovative scientists and engineers who publish and patent prolifically. Technical breakthroughs and technology transition into the Naval Fleet at CERF brought national attention at every level of the DoD. To continue to push technology in new ways, since retiring from Federal Service in 2022, she is serving as an Entrepreneur in Residence for the UC San Diego Office of Innovation and Commercialization and founded Quantum Vector Inc.  She is a Board Member for Ambature, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and a Senior Member of the IEEE with 22 patents and 57 publications.  She serves her community as member of several technical committees and boards including the Superconductivity Global Alliance, the Applied Superconductivity Education Foundation and the National Academy of Inventors.

Mihri Ozkan is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), where she leads interdisciplinary research at the intersection of advanced materials, sustainable energy technologies, artificial intelligence, and innovation. She received her graduate education at Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), where she developed the interdisciplinary foundation that continues to shape her research and innovation leadership. Her work spans next-generation batteries, sustainable AI infrastructure, carbon management technologies, and the translation of scientific discoveries into technologies that create societal and economic impact.

Professor Ozkan is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and has been selected as one of the inaugural National Invention Ambassadors, a national leadership initiative established through a five-year partnership between the National Academy of Inventors and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The initiative seeks to strengthen America’s innovation ecosystem by expanding intellectual property education, accelerating research commercialization, fostering mentorship, and building stronger partnerships among academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector. 

As a National Invention Ambassador, Professor Ozkan leads the Bridging Innovation Initiative, a national effort to strengthen university innovation ecosystems through data-driven benchmarking and evidence-based analysis. Working directly with university presidents, chancellors, provosts, technology transfer leaders, and innovation offices, she develops frameworks that evaluate research translation, commercialization pathways, innovation efficiency, and institutional best practices. Through campus engagement and collaboration, the initiative helps universities identify opportunities to strengthen their innovation ecosystems while accelerating the transformation of research discoveries into societal and economic impact. This work closely aligns with the mission of the National Invention Ambassadors Network to strengthen the nation’s invention-to-impact pipeline through intellectual property, commercialization, collaboration, and innovation leadership. 

Professor Ozkan holds approximately 50 issued U.S. and international patents, has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, and her work has been cited more than 15,000 times. Her research has been supported by federal agencies, industry, and international collaborators. She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of MRS Energy & Sustainability (Springer Nature) and has received numerous national and international honors recognizing her contributions to innovation, engineering research, and technology commercialization.

Through research, invention, education, and public engagement, Professor Ozkan is committed to advancing intellectual property awareness, mentoring the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs, strengthening America’s innovation ecosystem, and accelerating the translation of research discoveries into technologies that improve lives, enhance economic competitiveness, and address global challenges.

Jamie Renee serves as the Executive Director for the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Before assuming the role as Executive Director, she served for two years as the Senior Advisor to the Academy’s Founder and President, Dr. Paul Sanberg, overseeing strategic partnerships, Board engagement, and team development. As Executive Director, she is committed to growing the impact of NAI through strategic partnerships and intentional member engagement and making strides in reaching and involving underrepresented populations in the innovation and invention ecosystem.

Jamie has a heart for humanity and a mind for business. Korn Ferry ranked her business acumen in the top 2.5% of executive leaders worldwide. She has more than 25 years of corporate and nonprofit experience, having served in leadership roles within Home Depot, OAI, The Children’s Home, United Way, and Habitat for Humanity. An alumna of the University of North Florida, Jamie is certified in Strength-based Professional Coaching from Gallup, Social Responsibility Planning from Yale, and Culture Creation from Harvard.

Before her appointment at the Academy, Jamie founded Good Day Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and culture alignment. Her firm worked with organizations and leaders committed to leveraging best practices that put people first and build a culture of inclusivity, trust, and cohesion. Jamie is passionate about bringing out the best in individuals and teams. She is committed to measuring and celebrating what matters and helps leaders identify and prioritize the key activities aligned with achieving success.

She has extensive experience developing and implementing strategic plans, leadership and team coaching, and project implementation. Having overseen multiple mergers and acquisitions, her passion for building cohesive teams and inspiring positive change helps take teams and operations to new levels.

Jamie is an avid life-long learner and loves to teach what she learns. As part of her commitment to “be the good in the world,” she founded Engage364, a nonprofit focused on mobilizing business leaders to engage with at-risk youth to help them discover and make a plan for their purpose.

Dr. Paul R. Sanberg is the former Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Enterprise at University of South Florida, and currently Distinguished University Professor of Medicine, Engineering, and Business.

His innovations have been instrumental in translating new pharmaceutical and cellular therapeutics to clinical trials and commercialization for ALS, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and Tourette syndrome.

He is an inventor on 167 U.S. and international patents; author of over 700 scientific articles and 14 books, with over 40,000 citations. He has served on editorial boards for numerous scientific journals, is co-editor-in-chief of NAI’s journal Technology and Innovation, and has received numerous scientific awards, including the AIMBE Advocate Award; Australian Alumni Award (ANU); Bryden Alumni Award (York U); UBC Alumni Award; Fulbright Specialist; McGovern Science & Society Award (Sigma Xi); Ove Ferno Prize; IEEE George F. McClure Award; Florida Academy of Sciences Medalist; Florida Inventors Hall of Fame inductee and Pioneer Award recipient; Fellow of AAAS, ACNP, AIMBE, BMES, IEEE, Sigma Xi, the Royal Societies of Biology, Chemistry, Medicine and Public Health; AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador; and  Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars inductee.

He served twice on the nomination evaluation committee for the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation; and advisory board for the APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Economic Prosperity. He was the first in his family to graduate college, and has been an airplane enthusiast most of his adult life, becoming a master flight instructor and  Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is a NAI Charter Fellow and recipient of the NAI Founders Award (2021) and President’s Award.

Paul Sohl is CEO of the Florida High Tech Corridor, an organization serving a 23-county region anchored by three of the country’s largest research institutions: the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. The Corridor’s mission is to converge and catalyze the capacity of high tech, innovation, and bright minds to generate a global ripple effect that advances the lives of people in the communities it serves.

As CEO, Sohl facilitates connection and collaboration between the three universities and their partners in academia, industry and economic development.

He also oversees The Corridor’s portfolio of programs supporting research, marketing, workforce and entrepreneurship. This includes its cornerstone Matching Grants Research Program, which since its inception in 1996 has generated over $1 billion in verified downstream impacts;
Cenfluence — a clustering initiative in partnership with the governments of Orange County, Seminole County, the City of Orlando and Duke Energy; STEM outreach; and Small Business Innovative Research facilitation.

Sohl joined The Corridor in June 2020, following more than three decades of service in the U.S. Navy. In his last command, Sohl led over 500 civilian and military personnel at the Navy’s Operational Test & Evaluation Force in Norfolk, Virginia, where he directed the operational testing and evaluation of all Navy warfighting systems and capabilities.

He has also commanded the Naval Aviation Fleet Readiness Center enterprise headquartered in Patuxent River, Maryland, where he was responsible for a workforce of over 16,000 and an operating budget of $2.9 billion; the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and Naval Test Wing Pacific in China Lake and Point Mugu, California; and the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida. Sohl has extensive experience in simulation and training as a program director and test pilot and has served two tours overseas for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sohl holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford University.

Brad Watts, senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC), oversees the center’s  day-to-day  operations. He also leads the development and implementation of the Chamber’s U.S. and global intellectual property (IP) agenda to foster a political, legal, and economic environment where innovators and creators can invest in the next big thing for the benefit of Americans and the world. 

Watts previously served as the Republican chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.  There he was responsible for planning and implementing Senator Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) and the Republican party’s legislative portfolio on all aspects of IP law. 

In the 116th Congress, when Senator Tillis was chairman of the subcommittee, Watts served as majority chief counsel and staff director for the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.   He was responsible for implementing the senator’s legislative and oversight agenda on all aspects of America’s innovation economy. 

During Watts’ tenure as majority chief counsel, the subcommittee held 17 legislative and oversight hearings and multiple staff briefings on IP issues, ranging from the state of patent eligibility law in America to reforming the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Under his leadership, the subcommittee passed the CASE Act, the Trademark Modernization Act, and the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act, three landmark bills that collectively represent the largest changes to IP law since the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. 

Earlier, Watts was chief immigration counsel to then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA). He began his career with former Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as a legislative counsel on the Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, handling civil rights and civil liberties law, general tort law, bankruptcy, telecommunications, and IP issues for the senator.

Phil has led VentureWell since its founding in 1996 and today serves as President and CEO. By  developing and expanding VentureWell’s programs on a national and global scale, he has  guided VentureWell in its mission to solve global challenges through science- and technology driven innovation and entrepreneurship. He accomplished this goal by designing and  overseeing a suite of programs that encourage and support the deeper engagement of higher  education and research institutions in curricular innovation, developing and strengthening  innovation communities and supporting emerging science and technology innovators. Phil is  committed to sharing VentureWell’s learnings and resources to support the creation of inclusive  and more equitable pathways for innovators to succeed in venture creation. Under his  leadership, VentureWell has partnered with key science funding agencies, major philanthropies,  and hundreds of universities to train and support thousands of emerging students, researchers  and faculty innovators. After celebrating VentureWell’s milestone 25-year anniversary in 2021,  he has accelerated work to fortify the broader innovation ecosystem and the launch of  groundbreaking innovations. 

Phil attended the University of Massachusetts where he was a co-founder of a biotechnology  company developing naturally occurring pest control products. He is a Founder and Past Chair  of the ASEE Entrepreneurship Division, and a recipient of the 2008 Price Foundation Innovative  Entrepreneurship Educators Award, the 2014 Engineering Entrepreneurship Pioneers Award  from ASEE, and the 2016 Deshpande Symposium Award for Outstanding Contributions to  Advancing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education.

Dr. Scott Whalen is a Chief Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), where he loves developing new manufacturing technologies. His team is pioneering the development of Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE), a breakthrough technology that is changing how metals are made. From transforming “dirty” scrap metal into high-performance products to enabling next-generation semiconductors, ultraconductors, and advanced magnets, ShAPE is redefining what is possible in advanced manufacturing. Scott is driven by the belief that innovation has the greatest impact when scientific discovery moves beyond the laboratory to solve real-world challenges.

Scott is especially passionate about helping the next generation of scientists and engineers discover the joy of inventing. Whether he’s judging a science fair, speaking at a career event, giving students a tour of his manufacturing laboratory, or mentoring interns and university students, he enjoys sharing the excitement of discovery and helping others recognize their own potential to become inventors.

As a lifelong inventor, Scott holds 23 U.S. patents and has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications describing both the scientific foundations and industrial applications of ShAPE. His work has been recognized with honors including the U.S. Department of Energy and National Academy of Inventors Innovator of the Year Award, Distinguished Inventor of Battelle, PNNL Inventor of the Year, PNNL Engineer of the Year, and two R&D 100 Awards. He earned degrees from the University of Idaho, Texas A&M University, and Washington State University before beginning his career at Sandia National Laboratories. Over the past 15 years at PNNL, he has focused on developing technologies that strengthen U.S. manufacturing and competitiveness.

When he’s not in the lab, Scott’s favorite role is at home where he considers his greatest accomplishments to be 30 wonderful years of marriage to his wife and the privilege of helping raise their three amazing children. He also enjoys the occasional challenge outside the laboratory, once solving the Rubik’s Cube in 19.62 seconds after learning and practicing over 100 algorithms.

Craig J. Zamary is an executive leader and commercialization expert with 20+ years of experience launching ventures and building high-impact innovation programs across industry, academia, and government. He has founded and scaled multiple companies, including successful exits.

Craig currently serves as Director of HSWERX, a DEFENSEWERX Innovation Hub supporting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he leads public-private partnerships that accelerate technology transition and operational adoption to address national security and homeland security challenges at scale—supporting outcomes that impact a DHS workforce of 250,000+ employees and mission partners across government. He has launched and led multimillion-dollar initiatives and is known for high-leverage pilots that produce outsized operational results; for example, one targeted effort costing approximately $255,000 supported outcomes estimated at approximately $100M/year in annual cost savings for TSA.

Craig has also contributed to entrepreneurship and innovation efforts with organizations including the Kauffman Foundation, Cleveland Clinic, SBDC, XPrize Foundation, university commercialization programs, and has served as a U.S. Fulbright Specialist and on the Advisory Council for the National APEX Accelerator Alliance.