Marc Porter, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), one of the highest honors awarded to academic inventors. The designation recognizes researchers whose work has led to practical technologies used outside the laboratory.
For Porter, the honor reflects decades of work at the intersection of chemistry, engineering and medicine, as well as the many students and collaborators with whom he worked alongside. “Being named an NAI Fellow is a real honor,” Porter says. “It reflects years of collaboration with incredibly talented students and colleagues.”
Election to the NAI is based on how scientific achievements are applied and adopted. That focus closely aligns with Porter’s research philosophy, which emphasizes designing technologies that solve practical problems and work within existing systems.
Much of Porter’s recent work centers on developing diagnostic tests that are faster, simpler and more affordable than traditional lab-based methods. One of the most well-known examples is his work to complete the development of a portable tuberculosis screening test. The test delivers results in about two minutes using a single drop of blood, saliva, urine, or tears, costing only $2 to $3 to produce.
“The earlier a disease is detected, the better the chances for effective treatment,” Porter says. “If testing is easier to access, especially in places with limited medical infrastructure, that can make a difference.”
The technology builds on earlier research Porter conducted for NASA, where he helped develop tools to monitor water quality aboard the International Space Station. At Utah, those ideas expanded into broader diagnostic platforms with potential applications in cancer detection, infectious disease screening, and environmental monitoring.
Although Porter is now a professor of chemical engineering, he is formally trained as a chemist and has spent much of his career working across disciplines. His work brings together chemistry and engineering and relies on close collaboration with clinicians and medical researchers. “For new medical technologies to be adopted, they have to fit into how healthcare actually works,” Porter said. “Our goal is to design tools that help doctors and caregivers do their jobs better.”
That interdisciplinary approach has also shaped Porter’s work as an inventor and entrepreneur. His research has led to numerous patents and the creation of several startup companies that bring university research into practical use.
Porter joined the University of Utah in 2007 and credits the institution’s collaborative culture with supporting innovation. In addition to his election as an NAI Fellow, Porter was recently named the 2025 recipient of the Charles Mann Award for Applied Raman Spectroscopy. As a NAI Fellow, Porter joins a global community of researchers whose work reflects the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering’s commitment to applied engineering research.