2012 NAI Charter Fellows
The National Academy of Inventors is proud to announce the inaugaural class of NAI Charter Fellows. Our distinguished Fellows Selection Committee confirmed 101 innovators to NAI Charter Fellows status, representing 56 prestigious research universities and non-profit research institutes. Collectively, the new Fellows hold more than 3,200 U.S. patents. Charter Fellows were inducted by the U.S. Commissioner for Patents, Margaret A. Focarino, from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 22 February 2013, in Tampa, Florida.
Included in the Charter class are eight Nobel Laureates, two Fellows of the Royal Society, 14 presidents of research universities and non-profit research institutes, 53 members of the National Academies (NAS, NAE, IOM), 11 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, three recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, four recipients of the National Medal of Science, and 31 AAAS Fellows, among other awards and distinctions.
View Full List of Charter Fellows
About the NAI Fellows Program
Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.
Nominees must be a named inventor on at least one patent issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and must be affiliated with a university, nonprofit research institute or other academic entity.
Academic inventors and innovators elected to the rank of NAI Charter Fellow are nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to innovation in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society, and support and enhancement of innovation.
The nomination packets are reviewed by the NAI Fellows Selection Committee. The number of Fellows elected each year is dependent on the quality of the nominations submitted. Committee members may not vote on a nominee from their institution. Decisions of the Selection Committee are final. If a nominee is not elected to Fellow status, he or she may be nominated and selected at a future time.
