Richard J. Bolte Sr. Award for Supporting Industries
Whether it’s by providing laboratory space, moving freight around the world, or creating software to assist with research, supporting industries make much of the science we rely on possible.
The Richard J. Bolte Sr. Award for Supporting Industries honors those who provide products or services vital to the continuing growth and development of the chemical and molecular sciences community. Created in 2006 and named after the award’s first winner—BDP International founder and chair Richard Bolte—the medal is presented each spring.
2025 Awardee: Lita Nelsen
The 2025 Bolte Award will be presented to Lita Nelsen during the Science History Institute Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 7 at the Institute in Old City Philadelphia.
Lita Nelsen spent 30 years at MIT’s Technology Licensing Office (TLO), 25 of them as director. During that time, the MIT TLO licensed more than 500 startup companies based on MIT research technology. She was also invited to lecture and consult on technology transfer and university-based entrepreneurship in over 20 countries around the world.
Nelsen is the author of many articles and book chapters on technology transfer. She cofounded Praxis (now Praxis-Auril), a U.K. nonprofit company that trains tech transfer professionals, which earned her a Member of the Order of the British Empire medal from the U.K. government. Other honors include lifetime achievement awards from Xconomy and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.
After retiring from MIT in 2016, Nelsen now serves as a consultant for startups licensing technology from universities, an advisor to Good Growth Capital’s venture funds, and an advisory board member for several biotech companies. She also volunteers for the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program, where she mentors student entrepreneurs.
Nelsen received a BS and an MS in chemical engineering from MIT, and an MBA as a Sloan Fellow from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Prior to joining MIT’s Technology Licensing Office, she worked in R&D, consulting, and venture management in medical devices and membrane separations companies.
Previous Winners of the Bolte Award
- Kenan E. Sahin (2024)
- David C. Jukes (2023)
- Barry Siadat (2022)
- Steven Holland (2021)
- Frederick Frank (2019)
- W. Graham Richards (2018)
- Peter Young (2017)
- Roy Eddleman (2016)
- Abdulaziz Al-Zamil (2015)
- Atsushi Horiba (2014)
- Alan G. Walton (2013)
- G. Steven Burrill (2012)
- Lawrence Evans (2011)
- Berdon Lawrence (2010)
- David and Alice Schwartz (2009)
- Jerry Sudarsky (2008)
- Eugene Garfield (2007)
- Richard J. Bolte Sr. (2006)
