Two faculty members from the Texas A&M University College of Engineering were among 54 academic inventors named to the spring 2019 class of senior members by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The new senior members include Dr. Robert Balog and Dr. Balakrishna Haridas. Balog is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Haridas is a professor of practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and executive director for technology commercialization and entrepreneurship for the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station.
NAI Senior Members are active faculty, scientists and administrators from NAI member institutions with success in patents, licensing and commercialization. They have produced technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society.
“We congratulate our outstanding faculty, Dr. Robert Balog and Dr. Balakrishna Haridas, for their election as senior members of the NAI. Both are researchers at the top of their fields and leaders in engineering innovation,” said Dr. M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&M Engineering.
Senior members also foster a spirit of innovation within their communities while educating and mentoring the next generation of inventors.
Following a nomination for the NAI Senior Member class, individuals undergo a rigorous selection process by the NAI Senior Member Advisory Committee comprised of elected NAI members and other professionals considered pioneers in their respective field.
Senior members are elected biannually, and nominations are accepted on a rolling basis. Nominations are currently being accepted for the third senior member class on the NAI website.
“NAI member institutions support some of the most elite innovators on the horizon. With the NAI Senior Member award distinction, we are recognizing innovators that are rising stars in their fields,” said Paul R. Sanberg, NAI president. “This new class is joining a prolific group of academic visionaries already defining tomorrow.”
A full list of NAI Senior Members is available on the NAI website.