2019 R&D Council Science & Technology Medal Award Winner Nobel Laureate Arthur Ashkin, Ph.D.

The Research & Development Council of New Jersey hosted the 40th Annual Thomas Alva Edison Patent Awards at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, yesterday evening with 300 guests in attendance. The 15 patent awards represented the broad array of research conducted in the State. Awards were also given to Governor Philip D. Murphy (Chairman’s Award), Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber (Educator of the Year), and Nokia Bell Labs Nobel Laureate Dr. Arthur Ashkin (Science & Technology Medal).

This year’s Edison Patent Awards winners included: Avaya, BASF, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Ethicon, ExxonMobil, Honeywell, Insmed, Merck, NJIT, Nokia Bell Labs, Rutgers University, Siemens Corporate Technology, Siemens Healthineers, and SubCom. The patents ranged from major breakthroughs in pharmaceutical science to establishing the algorithmic foundation for making the internet faster and more efficient. Winners were selected from nominations that were reviewed by a team of R&D Council researchers who evaluated patents for significance of the problem, utility/socio-economic value, novelty, and commercial impact. Each winner was introduced by a unique tribute film, and dinner was served after all of the awards were presented.

New Jersey is recognized for its many Nobel Laureates. The R&D Council honored Bell Labs alum Dr. Arthur Ashkin, who received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics at age 96. Dr. Ashkin is considered the father of optical tweezers that grab particles, atoms, molecules, and living cells with laser beam fingers. The tweezers use laser light to push small particles towards the center of the beam and to hold them there. Through his research, Dr. Ashkin succeeded in capturing living bacteria without harming them and now optical tweezers are widely used to investigate biological systems. Dr. Ashkin received the Council’s highest award, the Science & Technology Medal.