Dr. Jagannathan Sarangapani, Rutledge-Emerson Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Missouri S&T, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the NAI announced today (Tuesday, Dec. 11).

Missouri S&T professor Dr. Jagannathan Sarangapani was named an NAI Fellow for his work as an inventor.

Sarangapani is one of 148 inventors elected into this year’s NAI Fellow class. The award signifies the highest professional distinction accorded solely 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.

“We are proud of Dr. Sarangapani’s work as an inventor, researcher and educator, and we congratulate him on this well-deserved honor,” says Dr. Richard Wlezien, vice provost and dean of the College of Engineering and Computing. “His leadership in advancing our understanding of intelligent control systems, robotics and autonomous systems is known internationally and highly regarded. We’re very fortunate that he is a part of our vibrant community of inventors and researchers.”

Sarangapani holds 20 U.S. patents, and colleagues have cited his work more than 10,300 times, according to Google Scholar. His research on intelligent control systems can be applied to aircraft control, engine control, autonomous systems and robotics, manufacturing systems, automotive and chemical process control, and more. Small businesses and large corporations such as Boeing and Caterpillar have benefitted from these technologies, and Sarangapani has nurtured the next generation of students to pursue their inventions.

With the election of the 2018 class, there are now over 1,000 NAI Fellows, representing more than 250 research universities and government and non-profit research institutes. The 2018 Fellows are named inventors on nearly 4,000 issued U.S. patents, bringing the collective patents held by all NAI Fellows to more than 35,000 issued U.S. patents.

The complete list of NAI Fellows is available on the NAI website.