University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Professor Jorge Contreras has been named a 2019 Presidential Scholar, an award given out by the Office of Academic Affairs that honors extraordinary research and academic efforts.
Contreras joins Anil Seth, associate professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Kathy Sward, associate professor, College of Nursing; and Micah Drummond, associate professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training in the College of Health in being recognized with an award this year. As Presidential Scholars, each will receive a financial award for the next three years, provided by an anonymous donor, to support their scholarly teaching and/or research initiatives.
Professor Jorge Contreras
Contreras, who is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Human Genetics, is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of intellectual property and technology law, specifically in the areas of technical standardization, science policy, antitrust law and biomedical research. Contreras has edited six books and authored or co-authored more than 100 journal articles and book chapters on these subjects. His research has been published in top legal journals including N.Y.U. Law Review and Georgetown Law Journal, as well as the scientific and technical literature, including peer reviewed publications such as Science, Nature and the Annual Review of Genomics & Human Genetics. Contreras’s work has been cited favorably by courts in the United States and Europe and by the United States Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission. He lectures around the world and is a frequent commentator for the print, broadcast and online media. He has been quoted in the Wall St. Journal, NY Times, Washington Post and Economist, and has been featured on NPR, PRI and BBC radio programs. Contreras recently received the IEEE Standards Association’s 2018 Standards Education Award and has twice been awarded first prize in the Standards Engineering Society’s annual paper competition. He serves on numerous national committees in addition to engaging in bar and professional service organizations. The many awards Contreras has won testify to his depth as a scholar and a teacher.