The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has announced its 2023 Class of Fellows, which includes 16 Indian American inventors among the 162 academic inventors selected. Being elected as an Academy Fellow is considered the highest professional distinction exclusively for inventors. The honorees will receive their medals at the NAI 13th Annual Meeting on June 18, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a senior official of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will present the awards. This year’s class emphasizes diversity, with underrepresented inventors making up 33% of the fellows.
The list of Indian American inventors in the 2023 class features prominent names such as Arvind Agarwal, Sanjoy Banerjee, Ashok Gadgil, Prashant Kumta, and others. The NAI Fellows program, established in 2012, has consistently grown and now includes 1,898 researchers and innovators. These fellows collectively hold over 63,000 US patents and have contributed significantly to science, society, and the economy. The diversity in this year’s class is not only reflected in underrepresented inventors but also in regional representation, with fellows from 35 US states and 10 countries.
The NAI, recognizing the importance of innovation across disciplines, sees this class as a testament to its commitment to diversifying innovation. The fellows represent 118 research universities, governmental, and non-profit research institutions worldwide. Among them, 89 individuals are from the Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions, and 128 individuals are from R1 universities with very high research activity. Collectively, the 2023 Fellows hold an impressive number of over 4,600 issued U.S. patents.
The impact of the NAI Fellows extends beyond patent numbers, with their inventions contributing to major advancements in science and consumer technologies. The fellows, with their dedication to translating research into commercial technologies, have generated over $3 trillion in revenue and created one million jobs. The 2023 Fellow class includes 2 Nobel Laureates, 3 National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees, and 22 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, reflecting their remarkable contributions to the field of innovation.
As the NAI continues to celebrate and recognize outstanding inventors, the 2023 Fellows stand out for their achievements, leadership, and societal impact. The formal induction ceremony will take place at the NAI’s 2024 Annual Conference in the Research Triangle of North Carolina.
