Dartmouth engineering faculty elected senior members of the National Academy of Inventors

Two Dartmouth Engineering professors have been named to the National Academy of Inventors’ (NAI) 2021 class of Senior Members: Charles Sullivan, professor of engineering, and Karl Griswold, associate professor of engineering. NAI Senior Members are active faculty, scientists, and administrators from NAI member institutions who have demonstrated remarkable innovation producing technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society. They also have proven success in patents, licensing and commercialization.

Sullivan, who also serves as director of the Power Management Integration Center, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), has published more than 200 technical papers in magnetics, power electronics, electric machine modeling and control, and energy efficiency. Other career honors include being named the recipient of an NSF CAREER award and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power Electronics Society Modeling and Control Technical Achievement award, and being named an IEEE Fellow. Sullivan also holds 43 patents and is a co-founder of Resonant Link, a wireless power transfer startup.

“I’m grateful to be at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, where not only is innovation encouraged and supported, but also interdisciplinary interactions bring different approaches to important problems,” said Sullivan. “One of the most important challenges facing us today is climate change. I’m pleased that some of my inventions have contributed to improved energy efficiency. More exciting is to see engineering students going on to develop and deploy key improvements in energy technology, and I hope to inspire more to do so.”

Griswold’s research has resulted in the development of innovative high throughput screens for evolutionary protein engineering, new strategies for protein deimmunization, enhanced protein expression systems, and powerful antibacterial agents to treat drug-resistant infections. His collaborative research at Dartmouth has inspired the spinoff of several affiliated biotech startups that employ proprietary protein design and engineering platforms to create the next generation of safer and more effective biotherapies. Griswold’s other honors as a Dartmouth faculty member include an award in Translational Biomedical Engineering from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, a Granite State Technology Innovation Award from the New Hampshire Innovation Research Center, and a Teacher of the Year award from Dartmouth Engineering. He has coauthored more than 60 peer-reviewed papers and is an inventor on six issued US patents and one foreign patent; he also has numerous US and foreign patents pending.

“It is an immense honor to be elected to the NAI as a Senior Member,” said Griswold. “The culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at Dartmouth was a key factor in my joining the faculty many years ago, and I am thrilled to now be a contributing member of this translationally oriented community. While this NAI recognition has been given to me, I emphasize that it more broadly reflects the creativity and determination demonstrated by all of my co-inventors, and it further highlights the impact of Dartmouth’s deep commitment to intellectual property development and technology transfer. My sincere thanks to colleagues in Technology Transfer and everyone at Dartmouth who makes such achievements possible.”

This latest class of NAI Senior Members, comprised of 61 academic inventors, represents 36 research universities, governments, and non-profit research institutes. They are named inventors on 617 issued U.S. patents.

“NAI Member Institutions support some of the most elite innovators on the horizon. With the NAI Senior Member award distinction, we are recognizing innovators who are rising stars in their fields and the innovative ecosystems that support their work,” said Paul R. Sanberg, NAI President. “This new class is joining a prolific group of academic visionaries already defining tomorrow.”

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Following a nomination for NAI Senior Member, individuals undergo a rigorous selection process by the NAI Advisory Committee, which is composed of elected NAI members and other professionals considered pioneers in their respective fields. Senior Members are elected biannually.

A full list of NAI Senior Members is available on the NAI website.