Dr. Kamal Ali, chair of Jackson State University’s Department of Industrial Systems and Technology, is among the new class of Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The induction ceremony was held in Boston earlier this month at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
“We are justly proud of Kamal, his leadership, his inspiration to our students and all of us as an inventor and this wonderful honor,” said Dr. Richard A. Aló, dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology.
Ali, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, has made important contributions to the invention of Hardware in the Loop Simulator for autopilots. His current research focuses on the educational STEM pipeline.
He holds one U.S. patent and has two other patents pending.
According to the NAI website, “Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded solely 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.”
There are currently 757 Fellows representing the NAI Fellows Program worldwide from more than 229 universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutions combined.
Ali was one of more than 90 inductees and among 400 constituents who convened in Boston for the three-day NAI conference that featured keynote speeches by Andrew H. Hirshfeld, U.S. Commissioner for Patents, Lisa Seacat DeLuca, an inventor at IBM and H. Robert Horvitz, Nobel Laureate and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He has over 70 publications covering a wide range of subjects, including solid state physics, psychology, neural networks, artificial intelligence, unmanned aerial and ground systems, embedded systems and electronics. Additionally, Ali is the recipient of several awards and fellowships and has served as a reviewer and panelist for a number of scientific journals and organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Society for Electrical Engineers (ASEE).
Collectively, the Fellows hold more than 26,000 issued U.S. patents, which have generated more than 8,500 licensed technologies and companies and created more than 1.1 million jobs. In addition, over $100 billion in revenue has been generated based on NAI Fellow discoveries.