MechSE Professor Naira Hovakimyan’s success in patents, licensing, and commercialization has earned entry into the 2023 class of Senior Members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Hovakimyan was recognized for producing “technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society” and for her contributions to the innovation ecosystem at Illinois. She is one of 430 NAI Senior Members worldwide—and the only one from UIUC this year. She will be inducted at the NAI 12th Annual Meeting on June 26 in Washington, D.C.
Hovakimyan’s nomination was based on her groundbreaking development of a class of feedback architectures – summarized under the umbrella of L1 adaptive control theory – that is the foundation of the first successfully implemented manned adaptive flight control system, evidenced, in part, by the flight tests of a Learjet and an F-16 at Edwards Air Force Base, 2015-2018.
The NAI recognizes and encourages academic inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhances the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourages the disclosure of intellectual property, educates and mentors innovative students, and translates the inventions of its members to benefit society.
The list of this year’s Senior Members can be found here.