Published: Feb. 14, 2023

National Academy of Inventors honors CU 色吧亚洲鈥檚 Corrella Detweiler and Wei Zhang as senior members


Two professors at the University of Colorado 色吧亚洲 are being recognized for inventions that could have 鈥渞eal impact on the welfare of society.鈥

Corrella Detweiler, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and Wei Zhang, professor of chemistry and chair of the Chemistry Department, have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the .

Corrella Detweiler, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology

Corrella Detweiler's research听focuses on the discovery of chemicals that interfere with bacterial infection.

Senior members of the NAI are active faculty, scientists and administrators who have been successful in patents, licensing and commercialization and have produced technologies that have been or aspire to be transformational, the academy states, adding:

鈥淭hey are rising stars who foster a spirit of innovation within their communities and institutions while educating and mentoring the next generation of inventors.鈥

Detweiler and Zhang will be inducted at the academy鈥檚 annual meeting in June in Washington, D.C.

Detweiler, whose research focuses on how to disrupt bacterial infections, said is it an honor to be recognized 鈥渇or the hard work of my laboratory members. Our goal is to discover new approaches to treating multi-drug resistant bacteria, which are increasingly taking lives鈥 She added, 鈥淭he excitement of discovering something new that could become useful to others is unbeatable.鈥

Zhang, who studies dynamic covalent chemistry, called the news a 鈥済reat honor.鈥

Wei Zhang, professor of chemistry and chair of the Chemistry Department

Wei Zhang听specializes in dynamic covalent chemistry, energy storage, nanotechnology/materials, self-assembly, self-healing, and synthesis.

鈥淭his is a recognition that not only represents myself, but also the creativity, hard work and all the accomplishments by the Zhang group and our collaborators within the past 14 years or so,鈥 he said. 鈥淭his award has helped us further believe in the great potential of dynamic covalent chemistry, a rapidly developing field in which we have made significant contributions to, in the development of novel functional materials tackling challenges in our environment, energy and sustainable growth.鈥

He said it is rewarding to 鈥渟ee your discoveries turn people鈥檚 heads and realize that it could change someone鈥檚 life. It is not something that only stays in the lab or in the paper but is something that could also transform into real products that people can use and benefit from. Those moments truly make me feel the joy of knowing that 鈥榊es, we can make a difference!鈥欌

Zhang added that he enjoys 鈥渢he journey of making those discoveries, working together with my group members and our collaborators, experiencing successes and failures, sharing happiness and frustrations and eventually getting to the destination.鈥

Detweiler and Zhang are among 430 senior members of the National Academy of Inventors worldwide, and they share this distinction with three other CU 色吧亚洲 faculty members: Mark Rentschler and Gregory Brian Rieker of mechanical engineering and Tin Tin Su of molecular, cellular and developmental biology.

鈥 mission is to recognize and encourage academic inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.