(JACKSON, Miss.) – Jackson State University biology professor Dr. Ernest B. Izevbigie has been named a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly 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.
The 98 innovators elected to NAI Fellow status represent 54 universities and non-profit research institutes. Together, they hold more than 3,200 U.S. patents.
Included in the charter class are eight Nobel Laureates, two fellows of the Royal Society, 12 presidents of research universities and non-profit research institutes, 50 members of national academies (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine), 11 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, three recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, four recipients of the National Medal of Science, and 29 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows, among other awards and distinctions.
Izevbigie, a NAI charter member, has earned two patents, including one for a formula he created from a Nigerian herbal shrub called Veronica amygdalina, or bitter leaf. Izevbigie’s research led to the formation of the JSU-initiated company EdoBotanics, which sells dietary supplements to boost the immune system and help with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. The government of Nigeria gave the company its approval to manufacture and sell the dietary capsules in the country.
The NAI Charter Fellows will be inducted as fellows by the U.S. Commissioner for Patents, Margaret A. Focarino, from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, during the 2nd Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors on Feb. 22 in Tampa, Fla., at the Embassy Suites Hotel in the University of South Florida Research Park. Fellows will be presented with a trophy and a rosette pin.
The NAI Charter Fellows will be recognized in a full-page advertisement in The Chronicle of Higher Education on Jan. 18, in the Jan. 2013 issue of Inventors Digest, and in a future issue of Technology and Innovation – Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors.
Academic inventors and innovators elected to the rank of NAI Charter Fellow were nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to innovation in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society, and support and enhancement of innovation.
The NAI Fellows Selection Committee is comprised of 14 Members from the national academies, recipients of national medals, a National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee, and senior officials from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association of University Technology Managers, the United Inventors Association and University Research Leadership.