Princeton University held its annual Celebrate Princeton Innovation event on October 21, 2026, showcasing research discoveries with potential for industry applications. More than 400 faculty members, researchers, students, inventors, entrepreneurs, investors and government leaders attended the event at Frick Chemistry Lab.
The Office of Innovation is Princeton’s central resource for researchers pursuing entrepreneurship, technology translation and industry engagement. This year’s event featured 12 exhibitors from Architecture, Chemistry, Engineering, the Lewis Center for the Arts, Molecular Biology, Physics and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. In fiscal year 2026, Princeton researchers launched nine startups, disclosed 143 new inventions and received 66 U.S. patents, according to the office’s latest annual report.
Vice Dean for Innovation Craig B. Arnold said the work of translating academic discoveries into real-world applications goes beyond startups and patents. “Innovation is not a one-day event,” Arnold said. “It's happening all year round.”
The event also featured Princeton Critical Minerals co-founder and chief scientist Z. Jason Ren, whose research group developed technology to boost mineral production from evaporation ponds. Ren said the ponds generate around 40% of the world’s lithium and most of its naturally occurring nitrate. After four years, the startup has grown to a team of more than 20, raised $20 million from grants and private investment, and opened a field office in Chile.
Duncan Turner of SOSV HAX and Steven Cowley of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory presented the HAX Plasma Forge, a new Princeton facility established by SOSV, the laboratory and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The facility is a hub to commercialize plasma technology; Cowley said the laboratory has grown its industry work to involve more than 25 companies.
