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2026 Rainforest
Innovation Fellow
Jean-Claude Diels, PhD
This year we are proud to honor Dr. Jean-Claude Diels, a visionary whose career has been defined by a relentless, and occasionally explosive, pursuit of scientific discovery.
UNM Inventor Eric R. Prossnitz, PhD Named 2025 NAI Fellow
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The National Academy of Inventors announced their election of 169 exceptional inventors into the 2025 Class of Fellows.
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ATTENTION INVENTORS!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclaimer: Do not input any proprietary or confidential information, including new invention disclosures or novel aspects of your idea to generate grant proposals, or other similar information into AI systems. Information submitted into AI systems may be regarded as a public disclosure. Examples of AI systems include, but are not limited to, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok.
Welcome to UNM Rainforest Innovations
About Rainforest Innovations
Mission & Vision
Disclosing an Invention
UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) is a nonprofit corporation formed and owned entirely by the University of New Mexico Board of Regents. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with an independent board of directors.
Located at the Lobo Rainforest Building in the heart of the Innovation District in Albuquerque, New Mexico, UNM Rainforest Innovations has proximity to research and development and laboratory facilities and other technology based companies, many of which are the creation of UNM Rainforest Innovations.
Interested in partnering with us? Learn how we support UNM inventors
here
and how we connect businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors with UNM discoveries
here
Our Mission
To foster a Rainforest in the Desert, UNM Rainforest Innovations nurtures innovation and catalyzes economic development.
Our Vision
To play a vital role in New Mexico economic development and to be an innovator in technology commercialization worldwide.
As a New Mexico University Research Park and Economic Development Act organization, UNM Rainforest Innovations does this by
protecting technologies developed at UNM and transferring these technologies to the marketplace, via starting new companies and transferring technologies to established companies;
connecting the business community to UNM for access to expertise, facilities, and research activities; and
facilitating UNM’s role as a contributor to New Mexico’s economic development.
UNM Rainforest Innovations’ dedicated staff is business oriented. Our full-time job is to understand the potential market applications of the wide range of technologies developed at UNM and to efficiently get them to companies that can commercialize them. UNM Rainforest Innovations is committed to securing the best match between a technology and the market.
When and How to Disclose
UNM faculty, staff, and students should disclose an invention before the details of the invention are made public (publicly disclosed); even if it only contains part of the whole invention.
Inventors should consider the possibility of protecting an idea when they are ready to make public presentations or publish an idea in order to retain the best intellectual property rights possible. Common public disclosures include published abstracts, published manuscripts and other publications, poster presentation or displays, seminar and conference presentations and discussions, internet publications of funded grants, articles in local or national press, etc.
Note that information about an invention included in research proposals should be labeled, “Proprietary Information of UNM.”
If there is no pending public disclosure, an invention may be disclosed to UNM Rainforest Innovations as soon as the invention is clearly conceptualized
Conception of the invention does not need to include completed experiments and data supporting it, but it should include your best effort at explaining the experiments that would be done to show it works.
The best course of action is to talk with UNM Rainforest Innovations as soon as possible to discuss what options are available to protect the idea prior to public disclosure. Details and instructions for disclosing an invention are described in the
Commercialization Process
section.
UNM Rainforest Innovations staff
are glad to help and to discuss the disclosure process; it is never too early to call the appropriate party at UNM Rainforest Innovations to discuss if it is the right time to disclose.
Inventor Spotlight
Falko Schoeneweiss, MS, RN, CCRN
Nurse Educator – Simulation
College of Nursing
The University of New Mexico
Read More Here
Recent News
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Jean-Claude Diels, PhD, 2026 Rainforest Innovation Fellow
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Upcoming Events
SCORE Mentor Office Hours
January 9
May 15
2026 Innovation Awards
April 28 @ 5:00 pm
7:30 pm
A Legal Guide to Patentability Versus Freedom to Operate
April 29 @ 11:15 am
1:15 pm
View All Upcoming Events
Our Mission
UNM Rainforest Innovations (formerly known as the STC.UNM and Science & Technology Corporation @ UNM) is a nonprofit corporation formed and owned entirely by the University of New Mexico Board of Regents (UNM). We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with an independent
board of directors
. Located at the Lobo Rainforest Building in the heart of the Innovation District in Albuquerque, New Mexico, UNM Rainforest Innovations has proximity to research and development and laboratory facilities and other technology based companies, many of which are the creation of UNM Rainforest Innovations.
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