RELEASE 12-09-2022: Gupta Elected National Academy of Inventors Fellow

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has elected Prof. Mool C. Gupta as an NAI Fellow. Election as an Academy Fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors and is a tribute recognizing the benefits their inventions bring to society.

Gupta is the UVA Langley Distinguished Professor at the National Institute of Aerospace and a faculty member of the Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Virginia. His research primarily concerns solar energy, high-power laser applications, optical sensors, and photonic devices. As founding director of the NSF Center for Lasers and Plasmas, Dr. Gupta and his students are conducting sponsored research on high-power laser applications. “He and his team are advancing laser processing technology for the efficient fabrication of photovoltaic devices, as well as the use of high-power lasers for solar thermal, thermoelectric devices, control of surface properties, and many other uses for aerospace and other applications.”

“I am very pleased, but not surprised, that Professor Gupta received this outstanding honor!” remarked Doug Stanley, president and executive director of NIA. “His innovative research has been a highlight of our Institute for nearly 18 years, and we are proud to have him in residence at the NIA.” Upon word of the prestigious honor, Gupta expressed his appreciation to NIA and NASA’s Langley Research Center “for providing a creative environment for students and faculty.”

Prof. Gupta joins the new class of Fellows alongside Nobel Laureates and other members of prestigious organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and Fellows of AAAS. NAI notes that the 2022 Fellow class collectively holds over 5,000 issued U.S. patents.

“This year’s class of NAI Fellows represents a truly outstanding caliber of inventors. Each of these individuals have made significant impact through their work and are highly regarded in their respective fields,” said Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, FNAI, President of the NAI. “The breadth and scope of their inventions is truly staggering. I am excited to see their creativity continue to define a new era of science and technology in the global innovation ecosystem.”

The 2022 class of Fellows will be honored and presented with their medals at the 12th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Inventors on June 27, 2023, in Washington, DC. The full list of 2022 NAI Fellows can be found on the National Academy of Inventors website here.

For more information about the National Academy of Inventors,
visit https://academyofinventors.org.

For more information about the National Institute of Aerospace, please visit
https://www.nianet.org.