Dartmouth Ranks Among Top 100 Universities for Patents

Associate Professor of Engineering Hui Fang and Professor of Engineering Margie Ackerman (Photos by Catha Mayor and John Sherman, respectively)

Dartmouth received 40 patents in 2025, and its inclusion on the NAI list reflects the sustained innovation efforts of faculty, students, and researchers across disciplines. Over the past year, Dartmouth inventors secured dozens of US utility patents spanning fields from advanced medical technologies to engineering solutions and digital platforms, underscoring the university's commitment to research excellence and practical impact.

"Once again Dartmouth shows its strength in research, intellectual property generation, and patents, especially considering that we are not a large university," says Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer and John H. Krehbiel Sr. Professor for Emerging Technologies Eric Fossum. "Our innovative community can be proud of our ranking on a worldwide basis." 

Among the patents issued last year were:

• Medicines and methods to prevent or treat herpesvirus infections in newborn babies, developed by Professor of Engineering Margie Ackerman and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology David Leib and a team that included Iara Backes MED'19 '24 Guarini'22; Chaya Patel, MED'21 Guarini'21; and Anthony Moody at Duke University's Department of Pediatrics;
• Systems and methods for multiplexed amplifiers for brain computer interfaces, developed by a team that included Associate Professor of Engineering Hui Fang. He was named a senior member of the NAI last month.

The NAI rankings, based on data from the US Patent and Trademark Office, illuminate the critical role that academic research plays in advancing technologies that benefit society and fuel economic growth.

"Utility patents are essential to translating promising discoveries into real-world solutions," says NAI President Paul Sanberg. "By recognizing and celebrating institutions that value strong patent portfolios, the NAI encourages innovators and universities to push technologies toward broader societal and economic impact."