Two U of A researchers named fellows of inventors' academy

Two University of Arizona faculty members were elected fellows of the National Academy of Inventors in 2024, bringing UA’s number of faculty fellows in the academy to 20.

Shibin Jiang, an adjunct research professor in the James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, is “recognized globally as a pioneer in photonic glasses, fiber amplifiers and lasers.”

Abhijit Mahalanobis, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering, conducted research focused on “video and image processing” for defense applications, weapons, sensors systems and automatic target recognition.

“Being elected to the National Academy of Inventors is a distinguished honor recognizing both technical innovation and its impact in the world,” said UA President Suresh Garimella, also an NAI fellow, in a UA news release.

The honor will be bestowed on Jiang and Mahalanobis at the academy’s annual conference on June 26 in Atlanta. Overall, the NAI 2024 class of fellows includes 170 members from 135 research universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutions worldwide.

Jiang, who holds 52 U.S. patents, developed erbium (Er3+)-doped phosphate glass fiber to enhance fiber’s ability to amplify light, a technology which was licensed to NP Photonics, one of the many companies he founded and co-founded.

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Jiang’s “patents in fibers enhanced with rare-earth elements have enabled the creation of high-peak-power fiber amplifiers and lasers able to deliver high power in short pulses, which are integral to ultrafast lasers, wind detection, space applications and coherent lidar able to determine an object’s velocity and distance,” according to the news release.

“It was the hard work of the scientists, engineers and technicians I worked with that earned me this significant award,” said Jiang. “I surely will continue to work hard, hoping to produce more useful inventions and creative works to make a little bit of a contribution to society and humankind.”

In addition to NP Photonics, Jiang has founded and co-founded AdValue Technology, AdValue Photonics and Arizona Industrial Lasers. He has also edited 40 books and eight special journal issues as well as published 98 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Mahalanobis has published more than 190 journal and conference publications, is the owner of six patents, has co-authored a book on pattern recognition, contributed several book chapters and edited special issues of several journals.

“I am humbled and deeply honored to be recognized by the NAI as a fellow,” said Mahalanobis. “... In this capacity, I hope to foster creativity in our students, and contribute to innovative solutions for challenging problems in my areas of research.”

Mahalanobis worked previously at Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, has partnered with numerous small businesses on projects with the U.S. Army and Navy, and has returned to academia to help prepare the next generation of aerospace and defense engineers.

“The University of Arizona excels in many areas, but the commitment of faculty to moving inventions from the lab to the world impresses me every day,” said Doug Hockstad, associate vice president of Tech Launch Arizona, the UA office that commercializes inventions stemming from university research and innovation.

Jiang and Mahalanobis’ selection as NAI fellows “reflects their remarkable achievements in turning ideas into impactful solutions that serve society and inspire the next generation of inventors,” said Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, UA senior vice president of research and innovation.