New Materials Institute Faculty Recognized with UGA Research Awards for 2026

Three members of the University of Georgia New Materials Institute faculty received honors at the 2026 UGA Research Awards, held annually during Honors Week.

Hitesh Handa was awarded the Lamar Dodd Creative Research Award for his work on nitric oxide-releasing biomaterials for medical devices. Drawing on fundamental materials design and clinically relevant animal models, his laboratory creates bioinspired surfaces that mimic the body’s natural nitric oxide production, improving hemocompatibility and antimicrobial performance. Handa is a professor in the UGA College of Engineering and 2025 Regents’ Entrepreneur of the Year.

The M3X (Materials, Manufacturing & Machine Learning Nexus) International Team, led by Kenan Song in partnership with Qatar University, received the International Collaborative Research Award. This team has produced high-impact, jointly authored research and secured funding from U.S. and international agencies, translating fundamental discoveries into scalable technologies. The partnership also supports graduate students and postdoctoral scholars through shared mentorship, international exchange, and professional recognition. Song is an associate professor in the College of Engineering.

Kevin Mis Solval received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his entrepreneurial leadership skills and success in translating sustainable food process engineering into a sustainable commercial innovation. Mis Soval is co-founder of JellyCoUSA, which utilizes collagen peptides from cannonball jellyfish—an underused resource commonly found along Georgia’s coast and often viewed as a nuisance species—for new line of skincare products. The company’s efforts are helping to revolutionize Georgia’s Blue Economy by providing new economic opportunities for fishers and coastal fishing communities. Mis Solval is an associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.