Dr. Yihong Qi, adjunct 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. 3).

Qi is one of 136 inventors elected into the NAI’s 2019 Fellow class. The award is the highest professional distinction given solely to academic inventors. The NAI Fellows Program spotlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating inventions that have a tangible effect on quality of life, economic development and society’s welfare.

“We are proud of Dr. Qi’s contributions to Missouri S&T students and to the world,” says Dr. Richard Wlezien, vice provost and dean of the College of Engineering and Computing. “His work in wireless technology and communication benefits people’s lives every day. We’re fortunate to have him as part of our distinguished community of inventors, researchers and educators.”

Qi is a leader in advanced electromagnetic design in wireless communications and holds more than 400 patents, according to the technical professional organization IEEE. His research in antenna placement in cell phones led to changes that netted millions of dollars in additional revenue for BlackBerry (Research in Motion) and are used in most cell phone designs today. His technical contributions have also benefited wireless testing technologies.

At Missouri S&T, Qi teaches in the Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory and is contributing to advanced development of testing methods for 5G wireless and internet-of-things devices.

Qi joins a Fellow class that includes six recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology & Innovation or U.S. National Medal of Science and four Nobel Laureates. The collective body of research from the 2019 Fellow class covers a range of scientific disciplines including neurobehavioral sciences, horticulture, photonics and nanomedicine.