The University of Iowa College of Law recognizes its faculty and their accomplishments in legal education through endowed positions. With the generous support of Iowa Law alumni and friends, the nominations for these positions were made possible. Jason Rantanen was one of seven professors recognized for an endowed position this fall. He was named the inaugural recipient of the Hammer-Boyd professorship.

When asked about his feelings on being named the Hammer-Boyd professor, Rantanen stated, “I'm thankful for what this professorship brings to the law school. As the inaugural holder of the Hammer-Boyd professorship, I want to recognize the tremendous contributions of both David L Hammer and Sandy Boyd and what they have given to the law school through this professorship.”

With a passion for both science and history, Professor Rantanen graduated with an undergraduate degree in history and biology, after which he attended graduate school with the aim of becoming a history of science professor. However, he soon realized that he wanted “more of an active role and impact on the world.” This shift brought him to sit in on a law school class with a friend. It was then that he realized it was where he belonged. From there he decided to attend law school and ultimately decided to become a law professor. His work has enabled him to pass down his teachings as well as author numerous articles and books. His scholarship is cited regularly, and he is a respected scholar in the field.

With a focus on patent law and judicial opinions, Rantanen often has four to five projects going on that are all related to each other. He sees it as an area that is constantly changing and all about cutting edge technology, which he loves. His interest in patent law was sparked by his interest in how science works and his understanding of what drives technological innovation. For him, patent law is a “very natural fit” and it allows him to “think broadly about all of the different forces that drive technological development, many of them legal, many of them social, many of them economic.”

Professor Rantanen’s interests and understanding of technology are also reflected in his teaching. He states “my favorite part about being in the classroom is the opportunity to continue to push myself to better educate my students and help them learn. I particularly like bringing new teaching innovations into the classroom and using them to help students understand the material and different ways of using different kinds of teaching tools.” Throughout the years, he has used ideas like publishing an open-access casebook that is free for students to download and working with a flipped classroom to tailor what is being taught in the course and enable more active learning.

At the College of Law, one of Professor Rantanen’s main service roles is being the director of the Innovation Business and Law Center. While talking about his position, Rantanen stated, “As the director of the Innovation Business and Law Center, my role is to coordinate a range of different types of activities associated with innovation business and law at the law school. So I push and identify new courses that relate to innovation business and law. I organize our speaker series. Every semester we have a speaker series of about six to eight speakers, that is targeted primarily at law students at the college of law, but this year we've been able to broaden that through the magic of the internet and through zoom to encompass a number of people who watch our videos.” He focuses on the presence of thinking and innovation, as well as policy and procedures.

For students who may also be interested in patent law, Rantanen encourages them to read broadly, understand the startup space, and really get to know other people in legal tech to start building networking relationships. He says, “don't just limit yourself to one or two sources of information about patent law, but really try to get a diverse range of perspectives, because you're going to be representing clients with a diverse range of perspectives from a diverse range of backgrounds, and you're going to want to be able to advise them on their problems based on their particular situation.”

On September 30, 2001, the College of Law hosted an investiture celebration for Professor Rantanen at the Boyd Law Building. Remarks were given by Dean Kevin Washburn reflecting on Rantanen’s achievements and Rantanen gave an enlightening speech in which is covered the paradox of how people can be both adverse to change and strive for innovation. The celebration was hosted at the Boyd Law Building and attended by faculty, staff, and families of David L. Hammer and Willard L. “Sandy” Boyd, which made this endowed position possible.