University Launches OHIO Inventors Club

This year, Ohio University launched the OHIO Inventors Club, a selective program of recognition for faculty and staff who have exemplified the objectives of the Dynamic Strategy’s Discover pillar by earning a U.S. patent for the University.

Inductees receive a custom coin and lapel pin, symbolizing their impact and dedication to research, technology and innovation.

“It’s a small way to acknowledge faculty for their hard work,” says Eric Muth, vice president for research and creative activity. “Not everybody gets patents; not everyone even tries. This is one of those ‘above and beyond’ things as a faculty member.”

The club was built on the foundation of the annual Inventors Dinner, organized by Brian Mershon, special projects manager in the University’s Research Division. The 2025 event on Oct. 23 honored and formally recognized the club’s new inductees. The dinner’s keynote speaker, Dr. Frank Papay, AB ’75, HDS ’20, shared inspirational stories of his entrepreneurial journey and referenced the “Ohio University effect,” which Muth likens to the “butterfly effect” theory.

“A butterfly flapping its wings in the wind can have lots of ripple effects,” Muth explains. “Similarly, one’s time at OHIO as a student or faculty or staff member can have immense outcomes, too. This is how we have relevance to society, by getting our science out of the lab and into society.”

The University awarded Papay the 2025 Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship last summer. He is recognized nationally as a top expert in plastic surgery and facial reconstruction and himself holds 24 patents on medical devices.

“Every year, we have new patent recipients,” Mershon says. “This program and event recognize their extraordinary hard work and serve as evidence of the University’s dedication to achievement and discovery.”

Featured image: llustration by Amelia Criswell, BFA ’27. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02