Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor, and former interim dean, Seth Ablordeppey, Ph.D. is among the 148 renowned academic inventors to receive National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow status.
Ablordeppey is a professor of Medicinal Chemistry and the Director of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division and cites working with students as his motivation for this award. “This award is for my students because over the years they have kept me loving something I have always wanted to do, which is teaching. They have made coming to work exciting as we work together to accomplish not only research goals but also how to share our talents and abilities to positively influence others,” Ablordeppey said.
The 2018 class of Fellows represent 125 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes worldwide and are named inventors on nearly 4,000 issued U.S. patents. To date, there are over 1,000 NAI Fellows who have generated more than 11,000 licensed technologies and companies, created more than 1.4 million jobs, and generated over $190 billion in revenue.
Included among this year’s NAI Fellows are more than 25 presidents and senior leaders of research universities and non-profit research institutes; 5 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology & Innovation and U.S. National Medal of Science; and 3 Nobel Laureates, among other awards and distinctions.
Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. The 2018 class of NAI Fellows has made an incredible impact in a variety of fields, including biomedical engineering, laser photonics and computer sciences.
On Apr. 11, 2019, the 2018 NAI Fellows will be inducted as part of the Eighth NAI Annual Meeting in Houston, TX. Andrew Hirshfeld, USPTO Commissioner for Patents, will deliver the keynote address for the induction ceremony.
Those elected to the rank of NAI Fellow undergo a rigorous nomination and selection process. Once nominated by their peers, the 2018 class of NAI Fellows was evaluated by the 18 members of the 2018 Selection Committee, which encompassed NAI Fellows; U.S. National Medal recipients; AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors; senior officials from the USPTO, AUTM and the Smithsonian Lemelson Center; National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees and board members; and members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
