University of Arizona Professor Recognized for VR Sight-Enhancing Tech

Hong Hua, an optics professor at the University of Arizona, was among scientists awarded by the Bayh-Dole Coalition for sight-enhancing eyewear that magnifies and projects images onto screens in front of each eye.

A longtime University of Arizona optics professor has been honored along with other scientists who used federal funding to invent life-changing technology — in Hong Hua’s case, helping the nearly blind to see clearly.

Hua, director of the UA’s 3D Visualization and Imaging Systems laboratory, was featured in the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s 2024 “Faces of American Innovation” report for her invention of an optical device that uses virtual- and augmented-reality technology to allow those with significant vision loss to see with up to 20/20 vision.

Hua, one of five scientists honored with the second annual Bayh-Dole Coalition American Innovator Award, traveled to Washington D.C. to receive the award on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The coalition, which includes the UA’s commercialization arm Tech Launch Arizona, is named for the landmark Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, a federal law that allowed universities, businesses and nonprofit organizations to own and profit from inventions created using federally funded research.

Hua said the award is more than a recognition of her past achievements.

“It indeed gives me inspiration for what I can do for people around me, for my community and for the society in large,” Hua said. “This special inspiration will keep me on the path of nurturing innovation among my students.”

The coalition, which includes the UA’s commercialization arm Tech Launch Arizona, is named for the landmark Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, a federal law that allowed universities, businesses and nonprofit organizations to own and profit from inventions created using federally funded research.

Hua said the award is more than a recognition of her past achievements.

“It indeed gives me inspiration for what I can do for people around me, for my community and for the society in large,” Hua said. “This special inspiration will keep me on the path of nurturing innovation among my students.”