Sanjay Krishna appointed to lead Ohio State’s Innovation and Strategic Ventures team

Sanjay Krishna appointed to lead Ohio State's Innovation and Strategic Ventures team

Appointment coincides with reorganization to better serve faculty

Sanjay Krishna has been appointed senior associate vice president for Innovation and Strategic Ventures within the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge. A distinguished researcher and entrepreneur, Krishna currently serves as the George R. Smith Professor of Engineering in the College of Engineering and brings deep experience translating cutting-edge research into real-world impact. He will officially start July 1.

Krishna is widely recognized for his work in infrared detector technology, successfully advancing academic discoveries into defense and commercial applications. His leadership will play a critical role in elevating The Ohio State University's innovation ecosystem and advancing the university's commitment to bringing research to market.

"I'm deeply honored to take on this role at such an important moment for Ohio State," Krishna said. "The university has an incredible foundation of innovation, and I'm passionate about working alongside our faculty, staff and partners to translate discoveries into real-world impact."

Ohio State President Ravi V. Bellamkonda has identified innovation and commercialization as a strategic priority for the university, with a particular focus on increasing the impact of Ohio State research. In alignment with this vision, the university is taking meaningful steps to strengthen how it supports faculty innovators and moves discoveries from labs, studios and offices into practical use.

Over the past year, university leaders partnered with internal teams, including a group of faculty innovators from across Ohio State and the Wexner Medical Center, as well as external collaborators and peer institutions, to take a fresh and comprehensive look at the university's innovation approach.

In response, Ohio State is reorganizing its innovation and commercialization efforts to better serve faculty and researchers throughout the entire innovation lifecycle, not just at the point of intellectual property protection.

As part of the restructuring, the university will unify its licensing teams, currently in two offices - innovation and commercialization and health sciences innovation - into a "one front door" model. This approach will improve coordination, streamline communication and reduce duplication, while maintaining the deep domain expertise needed to support diverse research areas.

The reorganization will also elevate translation and venture development as core capabilities for the combined group. Recognizing that market readiness requires more than patenting, the university will expand support for translational funding, startup formation and early-stage company development. These enhancements will help bridge the gap between discovery and real-world application.

Additionally, Ohio State is positioning itself to take a more active role in supporting promising innovations through strategic funding approaches. The university aims to guide innovations through early stages of development, ensuring they are not stalled due to risk while maintaining alignment with academic values and public impact.

Under Krishna's leadership, Ohio State will continue to build a robust, forward-looking innovation ecosystem that empowers researchers, accelerates discovery and delivers meaningful benefits to society.

"I'm incredibly enthusiastic about this next chapter for innovation at Ohio State," said John M. Horack, vice president for research. "This approach reflects both the strength of our existing team and our commitment to evolving how we support our researchers. Sanjay brings a proven track record as an innovator and leader, and I'm confident that, together with our outstanding team, he will help accelerate the impact of our research and position Ohio State at the forefront of innovation."

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