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Released annually, the Top 100 U.S. Universities list highlights and celebrates academic institutions that play a significant role in advancing innovation through the critical step of securing their intellectual property via patents. By protecting their intellectual property, these universities translate their inventions into commercial technologies, creating tangible societal and economic impact.
Pitt innovators were issued 107 U.S. utility patents in calendar year 2025. The announcement follows NAI’s release of its worldwide patent ranking in February, which showed that Pitt rose two spots to No. 26 globally.
“The culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at Pitt has never been stronger, which is reflected in the number of patents issued to our talented faculty, staff and students,” said Evan Facher, Pitt’s vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and associate dean for commercial translation at the School of Medicine. “Pitt innovators are tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges in the health sciences, energy, quantum computing and much more. They are showing the world what is possible at Pitt when collaboration and determination combine to drive innovation.”
The Top 100 U.S. Universities list was introduced in 2023 to provide a more focused view of the national innovation landscape and the contributions made by U.S. academic institutions. Collectively, the universities on the 2025 Top 100 U.S. list secured more than 6,700 patents during the 2025 calendar year, and more than 6,000 of those patents are attributed to NAI Member Institutions.
“These universities and their inventive faculty are at the forefront of driving national innovation and competitiveness,” said NAI President Paul R. Sanberg. “By moving their ideas to market and protecting their IP with patents, these institutions are ensuring that the U.S. not only remains competitive on the global stage but directly shapes the future of innovation.”
Photography by Aimee Obidzinski