Louis Brus, Samuel Latham Mitchell Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, and Elisa Konofagou, Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering, were named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
The fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors. “NAI Fellows are tackling the biggest and most pressing issues of our time,” the academy said in a news announcement about this year’s fellows. “Their success in translating research into products and services that improve lives demonstrates the continuing importance of the U.S. patent system.” The NAI Fellows program was founded in 2012. Since then, 2,253 fellows, who hold more than 86,000 U.S. patents and 20,000 licensed technologies, have been inducted into the program.
Brus, a longtime professor and an alumnus of the University, was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties. In his career, he has focused on experimental chemical physics and nanoscience, coupled with a strong interest in theory.
Konofagou designs and develops ultrasound-based technologies for drug delivery and therapeutics, as well as algorithms to estimate and image tissue mechanics and electromechanics. Her group has also developed novel techniques for using ultrasound to facilitate noninvasive brain drug delivery, as well as modulation of both the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Fellows will be officially welcomed into the academy at a ceremony in Los Angeles, in June.
