Richard Greenwald, Thayer ’88, an adjunct professor at Thayer School of Engineering, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
NAI fellow status is granted to academic inventors “who have demonstrated a highly 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,” according to the NAI website.
(Photo courtesy of Richard Greenwald, Thayer ’88)Greenwald received the distinction for his work in sports injury prevention and medical devices, including the development of technology that monitors the frequency, severity, and location of head impacts in helmeted sports as part of an effort to reduce the incidence and severity of traumatic brain injury.
“This honor is shared equally with my co-inventors, colleagues, and industrial partners who have helped transform the initial ideas that led to our inventions into products that are being used to solve challenging clinical problems across the population,” Greenwald says.
He is co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit National Institute for Sports Science and Safety. Greenwald has led research and product development in a fall-injury prevention system for older adults and in prosthetics related to improved socket fitting systems for lower-limb amputees.
Other faculty who are NAI fellows include Eric Fossum, a professor of engineering and the associate provost for entrepreneurship and technology transfer; Tillman Gerngross, a professor of engineering; Elsa Garmire, the Sydney E. Junkins 1887 Professor of Engineering Emeritus; Robert Dean Jr., an adjunct professor of engineering emeritus; Aaron Kaplan, a professor of medicine and of community and family medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine; and Hany Farid, the Albert Bradley 1915 Third Century Professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science.
The induction ceremony for new fellows will take place April 6, 2017, at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.
The NAI was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.
