USC President C. L. Max Nikias has been named a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Election as a fellow in the NAI is a professional distinction accorded to scientists and scholars who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation. Fellows were nominated by their peers for outstanding inventions with a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and societal welfare. The 101 innovators elected to NAI fellowship status represent 56 universities and nonprofit research institutes. All told, they hold more than 3,200 U.S. patents.
Included in the charter class of NAI fellows are eight Nobel laureates, 14 presidents of research universities and nonprofit research institutes, 53 members of the National Academies (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine), two fellows of the Royal Society, 11 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, five recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, four recipients of the National Medal of Science and 31 AAAS fellows, among other major awards and distinctions.