Dec. 16, 2014 – Faculty members in electrical engineering, medicine and metallurgical engineering have been elected as fellows of the National Academy of Inventors.

The three newly named fellows are:

– Cynthia M. Furse, professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate vice president for research

– David R. Hillyard, MD, professor of pathology in the school of medicine and medical director for molecular infectious diseases at ARUP Laboratories, a nonprofit enterprise of the U.

– Jan D. Miller, Ivor D. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Metallurgical Engineering, College of Mines and Earth Sciences.

The honor is “accorded 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,” in the words of the academy.

The three Utah faculty members are among 170 new fellows of the academy. They will be inducted on Mar. 20, 2015, during the 4th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations Andrew Faile will give the keynote address for the induction ceremony.