NAI Fellows
The NAI Fellows Program was established to highlight academic inventors who have demonstrated a 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. Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.
About NAI Fellows
The program has 1,060 Fellows worldwide representing more than 250 prestigious universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes. Collectively, the Fellows hold more than 38,000 issued U.S. patents, which have generated over 11,000 licensed technologies and companies, and created more than 36 million jobs. In addition, over $1.6 trillion in revenue has been generated based on NAI Fellow discoveries.
With the induction of the 2018 class, there are now more than 125 presidents and senior leaders of research universities and non-profit research institutes, 502 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; 40 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 57 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation and U.S. National Medal of Science, 34 Nobel Laureates, 3 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering recipients, 304 AAAS Fellows, 200 IEEE Fellows, and 164 Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, among other awards and distinctions.
Call for Nominations
Nomination Requirements:
- A citation of impact from the Nominator containing evidence of the nominee’s outstanding contributions/achievements in innovation, describing the nominee’s work and the impact that their work, inventions, companies and/or products have had on society. No more than one (1) page.
- A description of how the nominee has supported and enhanced an environment of innovation in Universities or the non-profit sector. Please note that only nominations with strong and documentable evidence with regard to this key NAI Fellow selection criterion will be considered for nomination by the Chancellor. No more than one-half (1/2) page.
- Nominee’s CV to include a Full List of U.S. patents.
- Full List of any Startup companies or other companies that the nominee has worked with.
- Full List of any products that have resulted from the nominee’s work.
- List of service activities related to intellectual property and entrepreneurship (ie. involvement with NAI activities and publications, IP organizations such as GAIN, NSF iCorp, etc.).
Submit nominations (in full) to the Office of Research Commercialization at commercialization@ncsu.edu by June 1st.
Current NAI Fellows
2020 Inductee & Associate Dean for Industry Research and Extension, William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor and Executive Director, NWI
2019 Inductee & Professor of Food Science, Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Scholar in Probiotics Research, NC State University
2019 Inductee & CTO at Cisco Systems, Adjunct Lecturer for Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
2017 Inductee & Director, Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina
2016 Inductee & Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina
2014 Inductee & Kenan Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry, Chair, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina
2013 Inductee & Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina
2013 Inductee & Distinguished University Professor and Director of Graduate Programs, NC State University
2012 Inductee & Nobel Laureate, Weatherspoon Eminent Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina
