TAMPA, Fla. – Dec. 18, 2012 – Four University of Texas at Arlington engineering professors have been named charter fellows to the National Academy of Inventors.
They are Khosrow Behbehani, professor and chair of the Bioengineering Department; Nai Yuen Chen, a National Academy of Engineering member and distinguished research professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department; George Kondraske, electrical engineering professor; and Robert Magnusson, the Texas Instruments Distinguished University Chair in Nanoelectronics and an electrical engineering professor.
Ron Elsenbaumer, UT Arlington provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the new fellows are well d eserving of such honor. "These distinguished faculty members truly are leaders in their respective fields," Elsenbaumer said. "They are models of innovation and invention and have shared their passion for discovery to students and colleagues."
Behbehani also was recently named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He has developed sensor devices aimed at helping people suffering from sleep apnea and related respiratory maladies.
Chen worked at Exxon/Mobil for 33 years before joining the University in 2011. He is inventor or co-inventor of 126 U.S. patents on novel catalysts, oil refining, petrochemical and biomass processes.
Kondraske and a graduate student developed a software feature for computers and phones that identifies text and suggests a word to be used. He also is founding director of the UT Arlington Human Performance Institute.
Magnusson's research has applications in drug discovery, diagnostics, medical devices, homeland security and solar cells.
Election to NAI fellow status is awarded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.
The 98 innovators elected to NAI fellow status this year represent 54 universities and nonprofit research institutes. Together, they hold more than 3,200 U.S. patents.
Included in this charter class are eight Nobel Laureates, two Fellows of the Royal Society and many other prestigious award winners.
U.S. Commissioner for Patents Margaret Focarino is scheduled to induct the NAI charter fellows during the Second Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors, on Feb. 22, 2013, in Tampa, Fla.
About The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research institution of more than 33,200 students and more than 2,200 faculty members in the heart of North Texas. Visit www.uta.edu to learn more.
The National Academy of Inventors
The National Academy of Inventors is a 501c3 nonprofit organization comprised of more than 45 U.S. and international universities and nonprofit research institutes with more than 2,000 individual academic inventor members and growing rapidly. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with a patent issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Visit www.academyofinventors.org to learn more.