CTO Jennifer Pagán Receives Bayh-Dole Coalition Award for Inventive UV-C Water Disinfection Technology

AquiSense CTO and Co-Founder, Dr. Jennifer Pagán Receives Bayh-Dole Coalition Award for Inventive UV-C Water Disinfection Technology

• Jennifer Pagán began her UV-C LED research at UNC Charlotte when working toward her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering.
• The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 enabled Pagán’s technology to be licensed to Dot Metrics
  where she joined them in 2005 to help commercialize her work.
• Pagán received support from UNC Charlotte and Federal funding to push her innovation with Dot Metrics forward.
• Pagán Co-Founded AquiSense with Oliver Lawal, Founder and CEO in 2015.
• AquiSense UVC-LED systems are used in residential, commercial, industrial and municipal applications to disinfect and provide clean water to a wide range of uses and industries.

Kentucky, US – AquiSense, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, Dr. Jennifer Pagán received the 2025 Bayh-Dole Coalition American Innovator Award in Washington, D.C. on June 4th for her groundbreaking work with UV-C LED water disinfection technology created as a PhD. student at UNC Charlotte.

Dr. Pagán was featured in the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s 2025 “Faces of American Innovation” report honoring researchers, entrepreneurs, and administrators, whose innovation is made possible by the Bayh-Dole Act, impacting millions of lives both in the United States and around the globe. 

https://bayhdolecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-Faces-of-American-Innovation-Report.pdf.  

Dr. Jennifer Pagán had the opportunity to meet with members of Congress to discuss water quality and enforcing the Minimata Convention ruling to eliminate the use of mercury. “It was a privilege to present the AquiSense success story to members of Congress, their staff, and key policy stakeholders. Our mercury-free, U.S.-manufactured water treatment systems exemplify how domestic innovation can drive both environmental stewardship and sustained technological leadership.”

Dr. Pagán invented a water disinfection technology that uses UV-C LED light, offering a compact and energy-efficient alternative to traditional mercury-based methods while pursuing her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at UNC Charlotte. Using funds from the federal Small Business Innovation Research program, she worked with UNC Charlotte spinout Dot Metrics Technologies to develop and commercialize the world’s first UV-C LED water disinfection system. In 2015, she became the co-founder and chief technical officer of AquiSense Technologies, now AquiSense Inc, whose water disinfection systems have since been deployed around the world — from the United States to Antarctica and even the International Space Station.

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About Bayh-Dole Coalition

The Bayh-Dole Coalition is a group of innovation-oriented organizations and individuals committed to celebrating and protecting the Bayh-Dole Act, as well as informing policymakers and the public of its many benefits.

About UNC Charlotte

The UNC Charlotte Division of Research Office of Research Commercialization and Partnerships supports UNC Charlotte’s R1 research enterprise and has been ranked by the Milken Institute as one of the top 50 technology transfer departments in the United States. Since 2019, UNC Charlotte has secured 86 new patents, underscoring its strong commitment to innovation and real-world impact.

About AquiSense

AquiSense stands as the global leader in UV-C LED systems design and manufacturing, delivering innovative solutions for water, air, and surface disinfection. As the world’s largest supplier of UV LED disinfection systems, we are committed to protecting public health through chemical-free, mercury-free technology.

With decades of collective experience in UV disinfection, our team brings together deep expertise in UV LED research, reactor design, and engineering. This comprehensive knowledge enables us to develop the industry’s most advanced, energy-efficient disinfection systems while maintaining the highest safety standards.

Our strategic position between LED device manufacturers and market-specific original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) allows us to serve as a crucial bridge in the UV LED market, delivering tailored solutions across multiple industries.

AquiSense Inc. is a privately held company, For more information about AquiSense products, visit the company’s website at https://aquisense.com/

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Syrene Lawal

Public Relations Director

+1 859 630 5345

Syrene.Lawal@aquisense.com

Konrad Kowalk

Marketing Manager

+1 859 869 4700  

Konrad.Kowalk@aquisense.com