Outstanding South Asian-origin scientists named 2018 Fellows by American National Academy of Inventors

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The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) recently named 148 renowned academic inventors to NAI Fellow status. Among them are some 13 of South Asian origin.

The 2018 class of Fellows represent 125 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes worldwide and are named inventors on nearly 4,000 issued U.S. patents. To date, there are over 1,000 NAI Fellows who have generated more than 11,000 licensed technologies and companies, created more than 1.4 million jobs, and generated over $190 billion in revenue, according to a press release from NAI  in December.

According to the Academy, election to NAI Fellow status is the “highest professional distinction” academic inventors could earn. These are individuals “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 NAI says. The 2018 class of NAI Fellows has made an incredible impact in a variety of fields, including biomedical engineering, laser photonics and computer sciences, the press release said. Those of South Asian-origin who were named Fellows, are the following:

Rafi Ahmed, Emory University

Pulickel M. Ajayan, Rice University

Bernard P. Arulanandam, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Pradeep K. Khosla, University of California, San Diego

Lalit K. Mestha, The University of Texas at Arlington

Prakash Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina

Muthukumaran Packirisamy, Concordia University

Apparao M. Rao, Clemson Nanomaterials Institute/Clemson University

Jagannathan Sarangapani, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Vinod Sarin, Boston University

Rahul Sarpeshkar, Dartmouth College

Koduvayur P. Subbalakshmi, Stevens Institute of Technology

Bhavani Thuraisingham, The University of Texas at Dallas