Two NJIT Engineers are Elected 2020 Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors
Two pioneering researchers, Rajesh Davé, a distinguished professor of chemical and materials engineering, and MengChu Zhou, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, were recently elected fellows of National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Davé and Zhou join 173 other academic innovators, together representing 115 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes, in this year’s class of fellows. Collectively, the group holds more than 4,700 issued U.S. patents. Davé has 15 U.S. patents and Zhou has 14.
Davé is a problem-driven inventor whose groundbreaking methods for re-engineering tiny particles have fueled advances in such diverse areas as weapons safety and drug delivery systems.
Drawing on physics, chemistry and engineering, his research into the behavior of particles is fundamental and his methods for adapting them, widely applicable. For example, by shaking granular or particulate materials along with nanomaterials, which form a thin coating around them, he is able to optimize their flow, among other processing improvements.
Most recently, Davé has been re-engineering drug particles to enhance the effectiveness of medications in a variety of ways: by increasing the absorption rates of drugs with poor water solubility, delaying the release of medications that degrade in the acidic environment of the stomach and masking the bitter tastes of drugs to make them more palatable for children as well as for adult patients who have difficulty swallowing.
MengChu Zhou is a pioneer in automation science and engineering who optimizes systems, from manufacturing, to data centers, to transportation, to glean efficiencies and improve outcomes.
Zhou uses Petri nets – mathematical models that track discrete events in distributed systems – plus the internet of things, big data analysis and machine learning to build smart systems. He is currently working on information and control flows in semiconductor manufacturing that will increase productivity with cost- and time-saving improvements, among others.
On the efficiency side, Zhou is exploring methods to realize net zero energy data centers, which require vast amounts of electricity to run their systems and to cool them, by accurately predicting the timing of tasks and scheduling them optimally to computing servers. He is also working with mechanical engineers on technology that would use inexpensive, highly-scalable heat sources to power potentially huge vacuum generators. Applications include water treatment facilities at hydraulic fracturing sites and tunnels for extremely high-speed trains.
“I’m so pleased to welcome this year’s class of outstanding NAI Fellows who have shown great dedication, creativity and perseverance in the advancement of academic technology and innovation,” NAI President Paul R. Sanberg said in a release earlier this month. “This year especially, we have seen what a critical role academic research plays in supporting society. I look forward to working collaboratively with the new NAI Fellows in growing a global culture of innovation.”
With the election of the 2020 class, there are now 1,403 NAI fellows worldwide, including nine from NJIT, representing more than 250 universities and governmental and non-profit institutions. To date, NAI fellows hold more than 42,700 issued U.S. patents, which have generated over 13,000 licensed technologies and companies and created more than 36 million jobs, according to the Academy.