Welcome to the 2026 edition of “Student Innovation at the U.” The students featured on these pages are proof that curiosity, courage, and a drive to make the world better are alive and thriving on our campus.
At the University of Utah, we believe that a great education is just the beginning. Students here don’t simply study ideas — they act on them. Through our growing network of institutes, programs, and partnerships, students step outside the classroom and into the real world, where they test their knowledge, build new skills, and discover what they’re truly capable of.
In the pages that follow, you’ll encounter an extraordinary range of student innovators. You’ll meet entrepreneurs who are building companies from the ground up, researchers pushing the boundaries of medicine and technology, and community leaders finding creative solutions to the challenges facing our state and our world. Their backgrounds differ, their disciplines differ, and their ideas differ, but they are united by a willingness to take initiative and turn vision into reality.
I hope these stories inspire you as much as they inspire me. To our students: keep building, keep creating, and keep pushing forward. To our faculty, staff, alumni, and community supporters: thank you for fueling students’ ambitions and helping make these achievements possible. Together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.
— Taylor Randall, HBA ‘90, president, University of Utah
More articles like this in ‘Student Innovation @ the U!’
Find this article and a lot more in the 2026 “Student Innovation @ the U” report. The publication is presented by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute to celebrate student innovators, change-makers, and entrepreneurs.
