Spark Award

Spark Award

The Bakar Fellows Spark Award is designed to accelerate faculty-led research to tangible, positive societal impact through commercialization.

Through a competitive application process, faculty members are selected as Bakar Faculty Fellows and awarded discretionary research support to fulfill proposed milestones and move their innovative research concepts closer to commercialization.

The call for Spark Award applications takes place annually, with funding decisions made in the spring.

Successful Spark Award recipients join the robust I&E ecosystem that includes faculty, post-docs, students, staff and alumni, as well as campus programs and organizations designed to assist Fellows in introducing discoveries to the market.

During the multi-year Spark Award period, Faculty Fellows will attend Bakar Fellows community events, engage with the Advisory Board, submit annual updates on progress towards goals and participate in relevant learning activities and community building activities.

Bakar Fellows will benefit from customized interactions with the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub, SkyDeck, Haas School of Business, the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, and the Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances (IPIRA), and relevant financial and founder communities.

In the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration, joint projects between UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco faculty are also eligible for the Spark Award starting in 2023.

Additional Funding

Spark Award funded Faculty Fellows who are successful in meeting research milestones and developing intellectual property will be invited to apply for the Bakar Prize.

Examples of successful Spark Award outcomes may include filing invention disclosures or patent applications, licensing intellectual property, establishing new industry partnerships or creating a new company.

Learn more about the Bakar Prize

Faculty Fellows

A new cohort of Bakar Faculty Fellows is invited to join the program each year. Since inception the program has welcomed participants from nearly 20 STEM+ campus departments.

2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
grace gu headshot

Grace Gu

2022 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

Angjoo Kanazawa

2022 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

dan klein headshot

Dan Klein

2022 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

liwei lin headshot

Liwei Lin

2022 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

phil messersmith headshot

Phillip Messersmith

2022 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

james olzmann and scientist staring at computer

James Olzmann

2022 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

wenjun zhang headshot

Wenjun Zhang

2022 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

rebecca abergel headshot

Rebecca Abergel

2021 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

james analytis headshot

James Analytis

2021 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

boubacar kante headshot

Boubacar Kante

2021 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

jay keasling headshot

Jay Keasling

2021 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

cecilia martinez gomez

Cecilia Martinez-Gomez

2021 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

baoxia mi headshot

Baoxia Mi

2021 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

simon schleicher headshot

Simon Schleicher

2021 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

maria paz gutierrez headshot

Maria Paz Gutierrez

2020 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

rikky muller headshot

Rikky Muller

2023 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

kristofer pister headshot

Kristofer Pister

2020 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

jaijeet roychowdhury

Jaijeet Roychowdhury

2023 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

russell vance headshot

Russell Vance

2020 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

norman yao headshot

Norman Yao

2020 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

michael yartsev headshot

Michael Yartsev

2020 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

arash komeili headshot

Arash Komeili

2019 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

markita landry headshot

Markita Landry

2023 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

alessandra lanzara headshot

Alessandra Lanzara

2023 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

roya maboudian headshot

Roya Maboudian

2019 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

niren murthy headshot

Niren Murthy

2022 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

raluca ada popa headshot

Raluca Ada Popa

2019 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

kenichi soga headshot

Kenichi Soga

2022 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

steven conolly headshot

Steven Conolly

2022 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

polina lishko headshot

Polina Lishko

2022 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

david schaffer headshot

David Schaffer

Faculty Director

ming wu headshot

Ming Wu

2021 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

ting xu headshot

Ting Xu

2021 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

jamie cate headshot

Jamie Cate

2017 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

daniel fletcher headshot

Daniel Fletcher

2017 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

lin he headshot

Lin He

2017 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

nicholas de monchaux headshot

Nicholas de Monchaux

2017 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

junqiao wu

Junqiao Wu

2020 Bakar Prize Recipient, UC Berkeley

kathy collins headshot

Kathy Collins

2016 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

james hurley headshot

James Hurley

2016 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

ali javey headshot

Ali Javey

2016 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

jeffrey long headshot

Jeffrey Long

2016 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

jie yao headshot

Jie Yao

2016 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

pieter abbeel headshot

Pieter Abbeel

2015 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

michael lustig headshot

Michael Lustig

2015 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

holger muller headshot

Holger Müller

2015 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

ronald rael headshot

Ronald Rael

2015 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

ke xu

Ke Xu

2015 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

ana claudia arias headshot

Ana Claudia Arias

2014 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

john dueber headshot

John Dueber

2014 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

andreas martin headshot

Andreas Martin

2014 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

shawn shadden headshot

Shawn Shadden

2014 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

laura waller headshot

Laura Waller

2014 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

felix fischer headshot

Felix Fischer

2013 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

daniela kaufer headshot

Daniela Kaufer

2013 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

lydia sogn headshot at woo hon fai hall

Lydia Sohn

2013 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

feng wang headshot

Feng Wang

2013 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

mary wildermuth headshot

Mary Wildermuth

2013 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

jose carmena

Jose Carmena

2012 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

tanja cuk headshot

Tanja Cuk

2012 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

amy herr headshot

Amy E. Herr

2012 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

michel maharbiz

Michel Maharbiz

2012 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

michael rape headshot

Michael Rape

2012 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

neil tsutsui headshot

Neil Tsutsui

2012 Spark Award Recipient, UC Berkeley

Funding

Bakar Prize

The Bakar Prize is a discretionary fund to assist a Bakar Fellow Spark Awardee further with commercialization of research.