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Every weekday of the year, on average, one Pitt faculty, postdoc or student declares that their research has resulted in an innovation with the potential to make a real-world impact by to the University. That’s about to become an easier experience than ever.Ìý

A recent week in June included submissions for advanced designs for magnet motors that don’t require rare earth metals; a mobile app for tracking cognitive changes in cancer survivors; a tissue stretcher that supports high-resolution imaging of live cells; a serum for treating dry eye disease; and a way to cut blood vessels during endoscopic vein harvesting.

Disclosures like these go to the , an operating unit of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship responsible for intellectual property management, licensing and startup company creation. A new and improved version of that portal will include several changes to make it more efficient and user-friendly.

The most significant change to the portal is how it’s accessed — users will be able to sign in using existing Pitt Passport credentials without having to create a unique username and password. The new form is available in a single page and allows users to include co-inventors in the form easily with the Microsoft Outlook lookup feature. And attachments to the form, including videos, presentations and other material, can be up to 40 megabytes in size.

The changes are set to take effect at 9 a.m. on July 17. If you have already begun a disclosure in the current portal, please complete it by then, as you will be unable to access it after that time.

Contact the Innovation Institute with questions at innovate [at] pitt.edu.

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— Mike Yeomans, photography by Tom Altany