Technology area: Chemistry & Materials
7 pending office actions • 7 art units • 7 examiners • 0 of 7 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 6 patents granted in the last 365 days
The University of Akron has 7 pending office actions within the Chemistry & Materials technology area. These 7 pending office actions are distributed among 7 distinct examiners, meaning every active application is being reviewed by a different individual. The portfolio also spans 7 distinct art units, which suggests a wide variety of chemical and material science research is represented in the current filings. This complete lack of overlap between the 7 distinct examiners and 7 distinct art units indicates a highly diverse prosecution landscape for the university.
Sarah Clinkscales Wistner is the busiest examiner for the university, holding 1 busiest examiner pending office action. This single action is part of the 7 pending office actions total. Each of the 7 pending office actions is being handled by a different technical division, requiring the university to adapt its strategy to the specific nuances of 7 distinct art units within the Chemistry & Materials field. The presence of 7 distinct examiners ensures that each of the 7 pending office actions receives an independent review. Practitioners must manage these 7 distinct art units by addressing the unique standards of each USPTO group.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 2 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §103 only | 1 (14%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (14%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 5 (71%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| WISTNER, SARAH CLINKSCALES | 1 | 26.7% | +73.0% |
| SCHNURR, JOHN R | 1 | 72.1% | +10.7% |
| BAREFORD, KATHERINE A | 1 | 13.9% | +28.6% |
| SCHERMERHORN, JON | 1 | 58.0% | +33.0% |
| NERANGIS, VICKEY M | 1 | 56.6% | +28.9% |
| BARZACH, JEFFREY EUGENE | 1 | 56.9% | +39.2% |
| KUMAR, PREETI | 1 | 31.9% | +43.7% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 5 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18188784 | RUBBER INK FORMULATIONS FOR DIRECT INK WRITING PROCESS | NERANGIS, VICKEY M | 83d |
| 18873457 | CLEANABLE AND SMART AEROGEL WOUND DRESSINGS | WISTNER, SARAH CLINKSCALES | — |
| 18882176 | METHOD OF MAKING WET WIPE FOR RAPID DETECTION OF OPIOIDS | BAREFORD, KATHERINE A | — |
| 18320727 | PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR HEAT EXCHANGE PROCESS | SCHERMERHORN, JON | — |
| 17549099 | Photothermally Responsive Melanin-Based Nanocomposltes | BARZACH, JEFFREY EUGENE | — |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18960123 | OPTICAL IMAGING SYSTEM AND METHODS THEREOF | SCHNURR, JOHN R | 96d overdue |
| 18188784 | RUBBER INK FORMULATIONS FOR DIRECT INK WRITING PROCESS | NERANGIS, VICKEY M | 83d |
| 18873457 | CLEANABLE AND SMART AEROGEL WOUND DRESSINGS | WISTNER, SARAH CLINKSCALES | — |
| 18882176 | METHOD OF MAKING WET WIPE FOR RAPID DETECTION OF OPIOIDS | BAREFORD, KATHERINE A | — |
| 18320727 | PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR HEAT EXCHANGE PROCESS | SCHERMERHORN, JON | — |
| 17549099 | Photothermally Responsive Melanin-Based Nanocomposltes | BARZACH, JEFFREY EUGENE | — |
| 16258556 | BIOFUNCTIONAL MATERIALS | KUMAR, PREETI | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1616 | 1 |
| 2425 | 1 |
| 1718 | 1 |
| 3763 | 1 |
| 1763 | 1 |
| 1731 | 1 |
| 1761 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18873457 | CLEANABLE AND SMART AEROGEL WOUND DRESSINGS | WISTNER, SARAH CLINKSCALES | 1616 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 10, 2024 |
| 18960123 | OPTICAL IMAGING SYSTEM AND METHODS THEREOF | SCHNURR, JOHN R | 2425 | §112DP | Final Rejection | 96d overdue | Pending | Nov 26, 2024 |
| 18882176 | METHOD OF MAKING WET WIPE FOR RAPID DETECTION OF OPIOIDS | BAREFORD, KATHERINE A | 1718 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 11, 2024 |
| 18320727 | PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR HEAT EXCHANGE PROCESS | SCHERMERHORN, JON | 3763 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 19, 2023 |
| 18188784 | RUBBER INK FORMULATIONS FOR DIRECT INK WRITING PROCESS | NERANGIS, VICKEY M | 1763 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 83d | Pending | Mar 23, 2023 |
| 17549099 | Photothermally Responsive Melanin-Based Nanocomposltes | BARZACH, JEFFREY EUGENE | 1731 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 13, 2021 |
| 16258556 | BIOFUNCTIONAL MATERIALS | KUMAR, PREETI | 1761 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 26, 2019 |
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Start Free TrialThe University of Akron has 7 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 7 art units and 7 examiners.
Sarah Clinkscales Wistner has the most, with 1 of The University of Akron's pending office actions.
Mostly Chemistry & Materials (USPTO Tech Center 1700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
