National Academy of Inventors
The National Academy of Inventors is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 2010.
Starting in 2012, the NAI has inducted 757 Fellows into the organization. Fellows must be named as an inventor on at least one US patent and are selected by the NAI Fellows Committee. Past members of the selection committee have included audio engineer and record producer Sir George Martin.
The NAI also includes colleges and universities as institutional members, beginning with 12 such institutions in 2012: the University of South Florida, Georgetown University, Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, University of Akron, University of Cincinnati, Auburn University, Boston University, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and the Stevens Institute of Technology. While most of these institutional members are in the United States, there are institutional members in seven other countries.
Since 2013, the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association have released an annual report listing the top 100 universities by the number of US patents. The University of California has topped the list each year.
The NAI has held a yearly national conference since 2011. Keynote speakers have included former U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.
In 2017, US Representative Dennis A. Ross introduced the bill HR 976, which would provide the NAI a federal charter like those held by other US National Academies.
