About NAI

Benefits of Joining the National Academy of Inventors

Primary Benefits:

• Honors, encourages and publicly recognizes academic inventors who hold patents, including faculty, graduate students, staff, alumni and affiliates.
• Encourages the disclosure of intellectual property.
• Encourages the translation of inventions by members to benefit society.
• Encourages invention, innovation and getting patents at the university.
• Promotes and enhances the development and commercialization of university patents and innovations
• Provides a vehicle by which to encourage change in the culture at the university (if having a patent does not currently count toward promotion and tenure).
• NAI connection with the USPTO, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM).
• Provides a mechanism for potentially enhancing innovation both locally and nationally
• Promotes interdisciplinary groups for fostering new ideas.
• Provides the opportunity for faculty members (not just inventor members) to publish in the journal of the NAI,Innovation and Technology – Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors, now in its 2nd year, published quarterly.
• Provides a mechanism for developing relevant invention-based activities, such as workshops or symposia on innovation and invention, in collaboration with the university's technology transfer, Patents & Licensing administration.
• Encourages creative thinking and a spirit of innovation.
• Puts the chapter in a position to provide advice and guidance to new and existing inventors in their work.
• Enhances the visibility of university technology development, promotes entrepreneurship and provides a means to be advocates for university innovation in the local community.
• Creates a resource for the local university area community to facilitate greater industry research contracts and interactions with companies and organizations in order to increase economic impact.
• Increases awareness of intellectual property at the university by mentoring, fostering and encouraging faculty, staff and students to develop their intellectual property and inventions.
• Helps shape society by being in a position to understand the translational use of inventions at the university and elsewhere; and to be a role model in such endeavors for students, staff and faculty.
• Provides social networking among members.
• Listing of chapter members names on the website including listing members’ patents.
• Provides a means to recognize and honor others important to innovation at the university through honorary membership.
• Provides an opportunity to educate and mentor innovative students.
• National publicity via press releases through the NAI about the chapter.
• Specially designed NAI lapel pins provided for all inventor members.

Secondary Benefits:

• Provides social networking among members.
• Listing of chapter members names on the website including listing members’ patents.
• Provides a means to recognize and honor others important to innovation at the university through honorary membership.
• Provides an opportunity to educate and mentor innovative students.
• National publicity via press releases through the NAI about the chapter.
• Specially designed NAI lapel pins provided for all inventor members.