Omenetto elected NAI Fellow

Fiorenzo Omenetto, Frank C. Doble Professor and Dean of Research for Tufts School of Engineering, has been elected to the rank of Fellow by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Omenetto was honored for demonstrating a “highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society,” according to the announcement from the NAI. Election as an NAI Fellow is the highest distinction awarded to academic inventors.

With a primary appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Omenetto’s research interests lie at the interface of technology, biologically-inspired materials, and the natural sciences, with an emphasis on new transformative approaches for sustainable materials for high-technology applications. Under his leadership, Silklab at Tufts has pioneered the use of silk as a material platform for photonics, optoelectronics, and high-technology applications. Recently, Omenetto was one of the four founding researchers in Tufts’ Laboratory for Living Devices, a new initiative bringing together research from across the university.

Established in 2010, the National Academy of Inventors is a nonprofit organization focused on encouraging inventors in higher education. The NAI recognizes inventors with patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and raises the visibility of academic invention. Fellows currently hold more than 38,000 issued U.S. patents.