The Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge (ERIK) positions Ohio State to expand curiosity-driven research and creative expression activities, further develop our research community, including students, faculty and staff to be leaders both today and in the future, and grow the innovation ecosystem to address societal challenges.
ERIK sponsors several awards annually recognizing faculty for outstanding work in scholarship, research, innovation and entrepreneurial activity:
Distinguished Scholar Award
The Distinguished Scholar Award is among the highest annual honors The Ohio State University bestows on a faculty member in recognition of outstanding scholarly activity, research or creative works.
In recognition of the different phases of a faculty member’s academic career, Ohio State presents two separate awards:
- The Distinguished Scholar Award honors six faculty members who demonstrate scholarly activity, research or creative works which represent exceptional achievements in their fields and who have brought distinction to themselves and Ohio State. Recipients of this award receive a $20,000 research grant and a $3,000 honorarium to pursue their scholarly activity.
- Early Career Distinguished Scholar Award honors three assistant professors and early associate professors who show promise of making significant contributions to Ohio State and their field for years to come. Recipients of this award receive a $20,000 research grant and $2,000 honorarium to pursue their scholarly activity.
Learn more about the Distinguished Scholar Award
Innovators of the Year
The Innovator of the Year and Early Career Innovator of the Year awards recognize Ohio State researchers who are actively working to promote commercialization of university intellectual property, through invention disclosures filed, patents applied for and/or received, technologies licensed or spin-off companies formed. The creation of separate categories for more established researchers and for early career researchers allows cultivation of an entrepreneurial spirit among all of our investigators.
These awards were created in 2022 to support and stimulate entrepreneurial activity among Ohio State researchers.
Learn more about the Innovators of the Year
ERIK also maintains a dashboard sourcing data from Academic Analytics and Academy directories (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences).