Shahinpoor named National Academy of Inventors Fellow
University of Maine mechanical engineering professor Mohsen Shahinpoor has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Election to NAI Fellow status is a professional distinction awarded 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. Shahinpoor currently is the only NAI Fellow in the University of Maine System.
The 168 peer-nominated academic inventors and innovators elected in 2015 bring the total number of NAI Fellows to 582 — representing more than 190 research universities, as well as governmental and nonprofit research institutions. The 2015 Fellows account for more than 5,300 issued U.S. patents, bringing the collective patents held by NAI Fellows to more than 20,000.
The academic inventors have made a significant impact to the economy through innovative discoveries, creating startup companies, and enhancing the culture of academic invention.
NAI Fellows will be inducted on April 15 as part of the fifth annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia.
Shahinpoor established and directs UMaine’s biomedical engineering and robotics programs. He has had many inventions in smart materials, artificial muscles, ionic polymers, biomimetic soft robotics, advanced nanocomposites, heart assist devices and systems, bionic vision and ophthalmological engineering, and neuro- and endovascular surgical tools and medical implants. His awards include a NASA Space Act Award, Sandia National Laboratories Research Excellence Award and U.S. Society of Professional Engineers Engineer of the Year Award. His work has led to more than 32 patents, mostly in health engineering and medical implants.
Shahinpoor published a textbook on robotic surgery in 2014. He also is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Physics and Royal Society of Chemistry.
NAI is a nonprofit member organization made of U.S. and international universities, and governmental and nonprofit research institutions. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the USPTO, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.