TXST News
Texas State launches a National Academy of Inventors chapter and hosts a former NSF director on innovation
On 16 September, Texas State launched a chapter of the National Academy of Inventors, then hosted the “Texas Powered Innovation” fireside chat with former National Science Foundation Director Dr. Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan.
Who was on stage
| Who | Role |
|---|---|
| Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan | Former NSF Director; now professor of technology and innovation at Arizona State University |
| Dr. Edwin Piner | Chair of Physics at Texas State and director of the CREST Center for Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor Device Materials |
| Susan Davenport | President and CEO, Opportunity Austin; moderator |
| Dr. Stephen Davis | Texas CHIPS Office, on the state’s semiconductor priorities |
Dr. Panchanathan’s central message: no university can build an innovation economy alone. Ideas gain power when universities, industry, government and communities share responsibility for putting them to work.
“Our job is to connect discovery with the people and partners who can put it to work. Great ideas need strong networks to become real-world solutions.”
SHREEK MANDAYAM, VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCHThe line most worth hearing for students
Dr. Panchanathan urged students to build an entrepreneurial mindset grounded in curiosity, problem-solving, teamwork and critical thinking — and was clear that starting a business is one outcome, not the only measure of success.
That is especially true for international students, for the reason below.
What the ecosystem includes
According to the university, since 2011 Texas State has built an innovation and commercialisation pipeline for people at every career stage — from undergraduates to seasoned researchers and entrepreneurs:
BobCatalyst
The university’s entrepreneurship programme.
NAI chapter
Launched 16 September 2026.
Office of Innovation, Commercialization and Engagement
Intellectual property protection and technology licensing.
STAR Park
The university’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research park.
Through these, innovators can test ideas, learn from peers, protect intellectual property, license technologies, and launch and grow companies.
See also: an NSF CAREER award with commercialisation training for doctoral students · research at Texas State.
Source: TXST brings partners together for next phase of innovation and commercialization, news.txst.edu, 30 September 2026 (all event details, quotations, photographs). Cover photo, from left: Dr. Edwin Piner, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Susan Davenport. The original’s photo caption reads “Edward Piner” and its body “Edwin Piner”; NSF award records give Edwin, which we use.
Interested in engineering, science or technology?
See Texas State’s programme list at every level.
See the programme list
