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National Academy of Inventors to induct seven fellows from UT institutions

Seven faculty members from five UT institutions have been selected as Fellows to the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional accolade bestowed to academic inventors.

These seven UT faculty members are part of a class of 148 fellows announced this week by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The class of 2018 represents 125 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes worldwide that are named inventors on nearly 4,000 issued U.S. patents.

New fellows from UT institutions include:

  • Hal S. Alper, UT Austin
  • Bernard P. Arulanandam, UT San Antonio
  • Russell R. Chianelli, UT El Paso
  • Alex Qin Huang, UT Austin
  • Teik C. Lim, UT Arlington
  • Lalit K. Mestha, UT Arlington
  • Bhavani Thuraisingham, UT Dallas

This year marks the first time a fellow will be inducted from UT El Paso. UT Arlington and UT Austin each had two faculty members selected for induction. And, with a total of 14 NAI fellows named since 2012, UT Arlington has the highest number of any university in Texas. There currently are 37 NAI fellows at UT institutions.

For more information about the UT inductees, visit the websites for UT Arlington, UT Austin, UT Dallas, UT El Paso and UT San Antonio.

“This year’s inductees are entrepreneurs and pioneers in the truest sense, and their induction into the National Academy of Inventors is one more indication that UT institutions are among the best in the nation at driving discoveries that improve the lives of the people of Texas and beyond,” UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken said.

Earlier this year, the UT System was ranked No. 6 by Reuters in its annual “World’s Most Innovative Universities” ranking, which lists both public and private research universities. And in 2017 alone, researchers from UT institutions were granted 219 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, placing the UT System No. 3 in the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents.

Election to the National Academy of Inventors is accorded to 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. Those elected to the rank of NAI fellow undergo a rigorous nomination and selection process.

Altogether, there are now 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.

This year’s fellows will be inducted at the NAI Annual Meeting in Houston on April 11.

About The University of Texas System
For more than 130 years, The University of Texas System has been committed to improving the lives of Texans and people all over the world through education, research and health care. With 14 institutions, an enrollment of more than 235,000 students and an operating budget of $19.5 billion (FY 2019), the UT System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. UT institutions produce nearly 59,000 graduates annually and award more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees and almost two-thirds of its health professional degrees. Collectively, UT-owned and affiliated hospitals and clinics accounted for more than 7.8 million outpatient visits and 1.6 million hospital days last year. Across UT institutions, research and development expenditures total $2.7 billion – the second highest among U.S. public higher education systems – and the UT System is regularly ranked among the top 10 most innovative universities in the world. The UT System also is one of the largest employers in Texas, with more than 21,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates and members of the National Academies – and nearly 85,000 health care professionals, researchers, student advisors and support staff.

News Contact Information

Karen Adler: kadler@utsystem.edu • 512-499-4360 (direct) • 210-912-8055 (cell)