PULLMAN, Wash. – Amit Bandyopadhyay, a Washington State University researcher who developed a way to make tools out of moon rock and artificial bone on a 3D printer, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
The second NAI fellow in Washington, he joins an elite group nationwide that includes 21 Nobel Prize winners, 21 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and 10 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Science.
“Dr. Bandyopadhyay is a strong researcher who sees beyond the lab and into lives that his technologies can improve,” said Anson Fatland, associate vice president of economic development. “This is a great recognition that speaks to the quality of faculty and innovations coming from Dr. Bandyopadhyay’ s lab and WSU overall.”
Inventions that enhance life
NAI fellows are academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.
Bandyopadhyay holds 10 patents; he develops materials to enhance the safety and durability of joint implants for people with fractures and bone disorders.
“Dr. Bandyopadhyay is one of the Voiland College’s innovation leaders in the field of advanced materials,’’ said Candis Claiborn, dean of the WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. “His research promises to provide real-world solutions for the critical national challenge of an aging population – and to help to build a stronger economy for the state and region while it positively affects peoples’ daily lives.’’
About the researcher
Bandyopadhyay is a professor in the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and is the Herman and Brita Lindholm Endowed Chair in the Voiland College.
He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Young Investigator Program award from the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. He has received both the best teacher and best researcher awards from the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at WSU.
He is a fellow of four prominent societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Ceramic Society, American Society for Materials and American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
About the NAI fellows
A total of 414 fellows have been named since the fellow program was established in 2012. Those elected are named inventors on U.S. patents and are nominated by their peers.
The Deputy U.S. Commissioner for Patent Operations will induct the fellows at a ceremony at the California Institute of Technology on March 20.
Find more information at http://www.academyofinventors.org.
Contacts:
Angie Funaiole, marketing/communications manager, WSU Office of Commercialization, 509-335-1216, angie.funaiole@wsu.edu
Tina Hilding, communications coordinator, WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, 509-335-5095, thilding@wsu.edu