News
Welcome to the Innovation News page. This is where all the top and recent news articles will be displayed, as well as all the news from 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Top News
Early on the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, the flood waters from Hurricane Katrina cascaded into the Murphy Oil Refinery in Chalmette. An above-ground storage tank holding 65,000 barrels of oil stood in the water's path. The oil alone weighed 19.5 million pounds, but the flood surge easily shrugged aside the tank. It ruptured, and oil poured into the surrounding neighborhood. More than 1,700 homes were damaged. Cleanup and damages cost Murphy Oil around $500 million. Sabarethinam Kameshwar, an assistant professor in LSU's Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, wants to make sure these kinds of spills never happen again. He is working on software to create a tank anchoring system, and his 2023 I-Corps IdeaLaunch training is helping him turn his idea into a business.
Cremmjoy's soft serve ice cream and frozen confections technology is roughly 18 months away from hitting the commercial market, company officials said, and disrupting a billion-dollar global industry whose technology remains frozen in time.
An LSU-created system for growing breast cancer tumors mimics the way tumor cells grow and interact to drive drug resistance, offering scientists a faster and more effective way to test new cancer treatments.
Recent News
LSU's Pipeline Leak Detection Technology Could Save Energy Companies Millions
A fiber optics-powered breakthrough discovery could quickly and accurately identify pipeline leaks, preventing potentially significant environmental damage and saving the oil and gas industry billions of dollars a year. "Oil and gas pipeline leaks have enormous economic and environmental costs. The energy industry spends more than $3 billion each year on leak detection, but costs, labor and accuracy limit the current methods," said Jyotsna Sharma, LSU petroleum engineering professor. "The most common way to detect leaks is with pressure gauges, but this method is unable to localize and detect small leaks."
LSU-Developed Vaccine Could Save U.S. Cattle Industry $1 Billion Annually
An LSU researcher has developed a new vaccine against bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and related illnesses that kill around 8 million calves each year and cost the U.S. cattle industry more than $1 billion.
LSU Professor Kermit Murray Selected Senior Member of National Academy Of Inventors
Roy Paul Daniels Professor of Chemistry Kermit K. Murray has been selected a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors.
LSU's Maas Named Chair of Global Nonprofit AUTM
Andrew J. Maas, associate vice president for research overseeing the LSU Office of Innovation & Ecosystem Development, has been named board chair of AUTM, a global nonprofit whose members support the commercialization of academic research.
LSU-led Team Wins Largest Grant Ever Awarded by U.S. National Science Foundation
A statewide effort led by LSU with more than 50 public and private partners has won the largest and most competitive grant ever awarded by the U.S. National Science Foundation – up to $160 million over the next 10 years. The NSF Engines grant will support Louisiana’s energy industry, create jobs in the energy sector, develop innovative solutions to energy challenges and help train the world’s energy workforce. The NSF announced the award earlier today in Washington, D.C.
Charlie D'Agostino: A life dedicated to fostering growth and entrepreneurship, a legacy of kindness and optimism
He didn't know everyone. It only seemed like he did, and that everyone was his friend. But he made the lives of everyone in the Baton Rouge area, and beyond, better. Charlie D'Agostino - C Dag because no one called him Charles - passed away on Dec. 29, 2023, after a five-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He served as executive director of LSU Innovation Park for 30 years, from its founding to the technology park's current incarnation: 200 acres, more than 40 tenants with 475 employees and an annual payroll of $21 million.
National Academy of Inventors Selects Two LSU Innovators
LSU Professor Emeritus Robin McCarley and former LSU Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Kevin Kelly have been elected as fellows to the National Academy of Inventors, or NAI. They are among 162 newly elected fellows.
LSU Wins $600,000 EDA Grant to Help Technology Entrepreneurs
LSU has been awarded a $600,000 U.S. Economic Development Administration grant to boost technology entrepreneurship in the Capital Region. The Baton Rouge Initiative for Development, Growth and Entrepreneurship, or BRIDGE, program will use the EDA funding to support entrepreneurs and their startups through technical support, a mentorship program with local mentors and executives-in-residence based on an analysis of their needs.
LSU RANKS AMONG TOP 75 UNIVERSITIES IN THE NATION GRANTED U.S. UTILITY PATENTS
LSU ranked No. 75 among universities granted U.S. utility patents in the National Academy of Inventors’ 2022 Top 100 Listing. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, there are approximately 2,637 undergraduate degree granting institutions in the nation, and the National Academy of Inventors ranks the top 100 of those using the number of patents received by their faculty in a single year.
LSU Names Innovation & Technology Commercialization Director
The LSU Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization has named its new director, technology licensing and commercialization veteran Spencer Rogers.
LSU-led Team Named Finalist for $160 Million Federal Grant
An LSU-led statewide team of universities, community and technical colleges, agencies and industry has been named a finalist for one of five $160 million National Science Foundation grants. The team’s goal is to support energy transition and decarbonization through technology and talent development across Louisiana’s industrial corridor.
LSU Experts Patent Self-Powered Lights that Could Ignite Algae Industry
Two LSU faculty members have been awarded a U.S. patent for a miniature, self-powered light that boosts the production of algae used for health supplements, food, dyes and biofuels.
LSU Names Robert Twilley Vice President for Research and Economic Development
Today, LSU named Robert Twilley the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, pending approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors. Twilley has been serving as the Interim Vice President since October 2022, and is widely known as an expert in the field of coastal and environmental sciences
LSU, BRAC, NexusLA Present New Startup Accelerator
LSU, BRAC and NexusLA are partnering to create Startup City Launch, a new, 10-week training program to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into scalable businesses.
LSU'S ANDREW MAAS NAMED CHAIR-ELECT OF AUTM, A GLOBAL NONPROFIT
Andrew J. Maas, associate vice president for research, LSU Office of Innovation & Ecosystem Development, has been named chair-elect of AUTM, a global nonprofit whose members support the commercialization of academic research.