Five faculty members from the Georgia Institute of Technology have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for 2026. This honor recognizes their achievements in patenting, licensing intellectual property, and commercializing research that has influenced or has the potential to influence society.
Raghupathy “Siva” Sivakumar, chief commercialization officer at Georgia Tech, commented on the recognition: “The election of our faculty members to this prestigious association is a powerful affirmation of the innovative research happening at Georgia Tech. Their work to take research to market reflects the growing importance of invention in addressing society’s most complex challenges. This recognition signals the strength of the commercialization ecosystem at Georgia Tech to advance impactful research, encourage innovation, and prepare the next generation of inventors.”
The newly elected NAI senior members are:
Azoulay is acknowledged for his work in developing new functional materials through polymer synthesis and chemistry. His efforts include advances in electronic, photonic, and quantum materials as well as device fabrication and chemical sensing for environmental monitoring. He holds nine U.S. patents and serves as Georgia Research Alliance Vasser-Woolley Distinguished Investigator with a joint appointment in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Desai has contributed innovations in medical robotics, including steerable guidewires for endovascular procedures, minimally invasive surgical tools, MEMS sensors for cancer diagnosis, and rehabilitation robotics. He is founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Robotics Research and directs the Georgia Center for Medical Robotics at Georgia Tech. Desai holds 16 U.S. and international patents.
Frost’s career bridges civil engineering research with entrepreneurship. He leads studies on disaster impacts on infrastructure and founded two companies: Dataforensics (subsurface data collection software) and Filio (an AI-based platform for asset management). In 2023 he was named a Regents’ Entrepreneur by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents—a designation reserved for tenured faculty who have commercialized their research—and holds four U.S. patents.
Raman is recognized as a physicist and entrepreneur whose work with ultracold atoms supports quantum sensing devices used where GPS fails. He co-invented chip-scale atomic beam technology that enables miniaturized quantum sensors relevant to autonomous vehicles, aerospace, and national security applications. Raman holds six U.S. patents—three issued and two licensed—and founded 8Seven8 Inc., noted as Georgia’s first quantum hardware company.
Young leads research on robotic exoskeletons designed to improve mobility for individuals with impairments or industrial needs. His lab develops intelligent control systems supported by major federal grants from agencies such as NIH; he holds three U.S. patents while working with technology transfer offices to move these innovations toward adoption.
Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization coordinates efforts across units such as ATDC, CREATE-X, VentureLab, Quadrant-i, Technology Licensing, and Velocity Startups to support students’ and faculty’s entrepreneurial activities—from launching startups to managing intellectual property.
The National Academy of Inventors comprises over 4,000 individual inventor members across more than 250 institutions worldwide—including universities like Georgia Tech—aiming to promote academic innovation through patent recognition since its founding in 2010.
Georgia Institute of Technology is part of the University System of Georgia (source). The institution features an urban campus in Midtown Atlanta covering over 400 acres (source) and is known for producing military leaders and innovators among its alumni (source). It generated an economic impact estimated at $5.8 billion for the state (source) while maintaining top rankings among public universities for undergraduate experiences (source).
