NAI Fellows
Election to National Academy of Inventor (NAI) Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.
About 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.
The Office of Research Commercialization works with select, prestigious NC State faculty inventors each year to prepare a nomination packet for submission under the NC State Chancellor’s signature.
Call for Nominations
Nomination Period
A call for nominations is typically sent to NC State department heads, deans, and associate deans for research in May of each year.
These stakeholders are asked to submit preliminary nomination materials to commercialization@ncsu.edu prior to the specified deadline.
Nomination Requirements
A letter 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; and how the nominee has supported and enhanced an environment of innovation in Universities or the nonprofit 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.
This letter should utilize the NAI Fellow Nomination Template and be no more than one (1) 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.).
NC State NAI Fellows
2025 Inductee & William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor
2025 Inductee & Professor
2024 Inductee & Professor
2024 Inductee & PowerAmerica Executive Director & CTO
2023 Inductee & Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor
2023 Inductee & William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor
2022 Inductee & Distinguished Emeritus Professor
2021 Inductee & M.C. Dean Distinguished Professor
2020 Inductee & Associate Dean for Industry Research and Extension, William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor and Executive Director, NWI
2020 Inductee & J.C. Raulston Distinguished Professor
2019 Inductee & Professor of Food Science, Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Scholar in Probiotics Research
2019 Inductee & CTO at Cisco Systems, Adjunct Lecturer for Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
2019 Inductee & William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, Emeritus
2018 Inductee & Emerita Professor and Senior Associate Dean
2018 Inductee & Professor of Biomedical Engineering, William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina
2017 Inductee & Distinguished University Research Professor
2017 Inductee & Professor
2017 Inductee & Lampe Distinguished Professor
2017 Inductee & Director, Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina
2016 Inductee & Distinguished University Professor
2016 Inductee & Frank Hawkins Kenan Distinguished Professor
2016 Inductee & Professor Emeritus, 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
2014 Inductee & John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor
2013 Inductee & Distinguished Research Professor
2013 Inductee & Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina
2013 Inductee & Distinguished University Professor and Director of Graduate Programs
2012 Inductee & Nobel Laureate, Weatherspoon Eminent Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina
2012 Inductee & Walter and Ida Freeman Distinguished Professor