Benjamin Dibling

Benjamin Dibling is the Associate Vice Provost for Research & Managing Director of the Penn Center for Innovation (PCI) at the University of Pennsylvania.4 He was recently promoted to this role in early 2024, taking over from John Swartley who became Penn's inaugural Chief Innovation Officer.12

In his current position, Dibling leads the licensing, corporate contracting, and corporate outreach groups at PCI.3 His team is responsible for working with Penn faculty, staff, and students to evaluate, protect, and commercialize Penn inventions and discoveries, as well as facilitate engagement with industry and startup formations.3

Prior to his current role, Dibling served as the Deputy Managing Director of PCI.2 He joined PCI in 2016 as the executive director of licensing.2 Before coming to Penn, he spent over five years at the University of California, Los Angeles, and prior to that, he was at the University of Chicago for more than a decade, initially as a postdoc and then in technology transfer.2

Dibling holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Medicine from the University of Leeds and a Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of Birmingham.3 He is licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is a member of AUTM (Association of University Technology Managers) and LES (Licensing Executives Society).3

Under Dibling's leadership, PCI aims to continue building on its success in commercialization activities at Penn.2 The center has achieved record-breaking outputs in numerous key metrics and is considered one of the leading offices fostering innovation and commercialization across academic institutions and research centers.2