National Academy of Inventors, UConn Chapter inductees. Front row: Professors Catherine Wu, Radenka Maric, Faquir Jain, Robert Kelly, Lakshmi Nair (Chapter Vice President), Steven Suib; back row: Professors George Wu, Fotios Papadimitrakopolous, Bahram Javidi, Cato Laurencin (Chapter President), Gregory Sotzing, and Douglas Adamson. Also inducted, but not pictured: Professors Mark Brand, Thomas Chen, Martin Freilich, Puxian Gao, Jon Goldberg, Robert Kelly, Bruce Liang, Augustus Mazzocca, Krishna Pattipati, Pramod Srivastava, Geoff Taylor, and Dennis Wright.

 

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) established a UConn chapter on Friday, September 29, in an induction ceremony at The Lyceum in Hartford.

In his introduction to the NAI, Prof. Cato Laurencin, Chapter President and NAI Fellow, recognized the achievements of the inventors and stressed their importance as drivers of innovation and economic development in Connecticut.

“The University of Connecticut is the state’s ‘Public GE’. It is the state’s ‘Public United Technologies,’” said Dr. Laurencin. “It is a driver of innovation while at the same time it’s an economic business engine in its own right.  Moreover, in training and graduating extraordinary students, rooted in innovation, it provides the life’s blood for business and technology for our state. It is a formidable state asset and treasure.”

Prof. Radenka Maric, Vice President for Research, presented the chapter, saying, “UConn’s NAI chapter provides a great opportunity to bolster the University’s strong history of innovation by facilitating forums for established inventors to share their knowledge and experience with aspiring student and faculty inventors.”

The School of Engineering was well represented in the first class of inductees and included: Professors Cato Laurencin, Biomedical Engineering (BME), Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE), and Orthopedic Surgery (OS); Lakshmi Nair, BME, MSE, and OS; Ki Chon, BME; Faquir Jain, Bahram Javidi, Krishna Pattipati, and Geoff Taylor, Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Puxian Gao and Radenka Maric, MSE. Other departments with inductees in the UConn NAI chapter include Chemistry, Immunology, Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Pharmaceutical Science, and Reconstructive Sciences.

The goals of NAI include recognizing and encouraging inventors, enhancing the visibility of academic technology and innovation, educating and mentoring innovative students, and translating the inventions of its members to benefit society.

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