Title: Researchers Recognized as Leaders by National Academy of Inventors

Georgetown’s chief technology officer and the university’s computer science department chair have been named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors for their numerous contributions to innovation.

Spiros Dimolitsas, Georgetown’s senior vice president for research and chief technology officer, holds eight patents in the field of data and encrypted mobile communications, while Ophir Frieder, professor and computer science chair in Georgetown College, holds 37 patents in a variety of areas.

The Georgetown researchers are two of 143 innovators and inventors who will be honored as Fellows of the National Academy of Inventorson March 7, 2014, at the U.S. Patent and Trademark headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

“Ophir and I are delighted to be selected for this honor and humbled to be in the company of the other elected Fellows,” Dimolitsas says. “This award, in our case, recognizes innovation in engineering, and given the national focus on STEM education, this recognition enhances Georgetown University’s increased emphasis on science.”

Spirit of Innovation

Academic inventors and innovators elected to the rank of NAI Fellows are nominated by their peers for contributions in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society, and support and enhancement of innovation.

Election to the organization is a high honor bestowed upon academic innovators and inventors who demonstrate a “prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions and innovations that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society,” according to the NAI website.

45 Patents

One of Dimolitsas’ eight patents relates to new ways to connect encrypted data to satellite networks.

Frieder holds the Robert L. McDevitt, K.S.G., K.C.H.S. and Catherine H. McDevitt, L.C.H.S. Chair in Computer Science and Information Processing at Georgetown and is a professor in biostatistics, bioinformatics, and biomathematics at Georgetown University Medical Center. He specializes in scalable information processing systems, information retrieval and communications technology.

His 37 patents include a 2008 and 2009 medical kit and analytical approach to help doctors treat urinary tract infections. Frieder and his co-inventor developed the kit for physicians to analyze information about a patient (age, health history, location, occupation and more) to prescribe patients an antibiotic specific to their physiology. Some of Frieder’s search technology-related efforts were recently acquired by IBM.

Nobel Laureates and More

The 143 innovators elected to NAI Fellow status represent 94 universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutions holding more than 5,600 U.S. patents.

Included in the 2013 class of NAI Fellows are 26 presidents and senior leaders of research universities and nonprofit research institutes, and 69 members of the National Academies – the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Science, the National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering.

Also included are five inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, six recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation, two recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Science and nine Nobel Laureates, among other major awards and distinctions.