The Inventor of the Year honors a UArizona innovator who has demonstrated a significant commitment to commercialization throughout their career, with a focus on activity in the past year. Sadhana Ravishankar is a professor of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and the BIO5 Institute. She has been working with TLA on developing natural antimicrobial products for the marketplace, and last year launched a new company – PhytoCentric Solutions – to commercialize inventions developed in her lab.
In her acceptance comments, Ravishankar thanked many who have contributed to her success, including PhytoCentric Chief Executive officer Bibiana Law, Chief Strategy Officer Daphne Prusse, her laboratory staff, and all of her graduate and undergraduate students.
“For a woman entrepreneur to be recognized like this it makes me feel so empowered, and I hope it serves as a motivation to others,” she said. Her message to all women researchers and potential inventors was, “Please do not hesitate to pursue your passion. The sky is the limit. Definitely go for it!”