Partnership Brings U.S. Patent and Trademark Community Engagement Office to Campus

Alabama A&M University has been selected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as an innovation ecosystem partner, expanding the University’s role in advancing research, entrepreneurship and economic development across North Alabama.

As part of the partnership, the USPTO will establish a Community Engagement Office on the Alabama A&M campus, providing students, faculty, entrepreneurs and innovators across Alabama with direct access to intellectual property education, patent and trademark resources, and commercialization support. The office will also connect inventors with USPTO specialists and resources tailored to their intellectual property needs.

“Alabama A&M University has a long-standing commitment to building partnerships that advance innovation, research and economic opportunity,” said Alabama A&M President Daniel K. Wims. “Establishing a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office presence on campus will provide students, faculty and small businesses with greater access to intellectual property resources and expertise. Such access also serves to drive economic growth in the broader Huntsville area and transform research into real-world solutions.”

The Community Engagement Office will be stood up in August by Vanessa L. Ford, who will relocate from Woodbridge, Virginia to Huntsville on a temporary basis to serve as Acting Director. A native of New Market, Alabama, Ford attended Alabama A&M through a cooperative academic program before completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Alabama and her graduate degree from George Mason University. She brings 26 years of experience with the USPTO specializing in biotechnology and chemistry.

The partnership will help Alabama A&M researchers and innovators across the area move discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace while strengthening ties to North Alabama’s growing aerospace, defense and advanced manufacturing sectors. The benefit the USPTO brings to the broader Huntsville area innovation ecosystem is the gateway to the full range of intellectual property resources.

Dr. Majed El-Dweik, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, said the partnership will strengthen Alabama A&M’s innovation ecosystem while expanding access to USPTO resources throughout the region. “We’re excited because this partnership will help our students understand the value of protecting their ideas and give them the tools to do so,” El-Dweik said. “It also helps our faculty recognize the commercial value of their research and how intellectual property protection can move discoveries toward real-world impact.”

Because the Community Engagement Office will serve the broader Huntsville area, El-Dweik said its benefits will extend well beyond the University. “This will be a tremendous resource for Alabama,” he said. “We look forward to working with universities, entrepreneurs and communities across the broader Huntsville area to expand access to the resources offered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”

The designation recognizes Alabama A&M’s expanding research enterprise and reinforces the University’s commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer. By connecting researchers, inventors and businesses with USPTO expertise, the partnership strengthens Alabama A&M’s position as a regional hub for research commercialization, intellectual property development and technology-driven economic growth.

Photo: From left, Vanessa L. Ford, acting director of the Office of Community Engagement; Dr. Majed El-Dweik, vice president for Research and Economic Development; and Deborah Hunter, coordinator of Research and Economic Development, stand outside the Dawson Building on the Alabama A&M University campus.