Earlier this year, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, in partnership with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), announced the 2018 class of inductees.

These visionary innovators each patented inventions that revolutionized their industries and changed people’s lives. Of the fifteen new inductees, five will be honored posthumously.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame was established in 1973 by the USPTO and honors monumental achievements by individuals who have contributed great technological and scientific innovations, as well as helped stimulate growth for our nation and beyond. The criteria for induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame requires candidates to hold a U.S. patent that has contributed significantly to the nation's welfare, and the advancement of science and the useful arts. The inductees are honored at the National Inventors Hall of Fame museum located in the Madison Building on the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia.

This year’s class of inductees includes:

• National Medal of Science winner Marvin Caruthers who developed the chemical synthesis of DNA
• Emmy winner Stan Honey for his work in sports television graphics, including football’s Virtual Yellow 1^st&10® line
• Sumita Mitra for invention of the first nanoparticle dental filling material
• Marconi Prize winner Arogyaswami Paulraj, who invented MIMO wireless technology, a foundation for WiFi and 4G mobile networks
• NASA scientist Jacqueline W. Quinn, for developing an environmentally safe water decontamination technology, emulsified zero-valent iron (EZVI)
• Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman for their invention of RSA Cryptography, used in almost all internet-based transactions
• Ching Wan Tang and Steven A. Van Slyke, who invented organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) now used in computers, cell phones, and televisions
• Warren S. Johnson, pioneer of temperature regulation technologies and co-founder of Johnson Controls
• Howard S. Jones, Jr. who developed antennas that conformed to shape of the object they were on, a breakthrough for rockets, missiles, and spacecraft
• Mary Engle Pennington, a pioneer in safe preservation and storage of perishable foods
• Joseph C. Shivers, Jr. who invented Lycra® fiber or spandex
• Paul Terasaki, for invention of tissue-typing for organ transplants and the Terasaki Tray

Be inspired by watching this short National Inventors Hall of Fame video on the 2018 inductees. 

NIHF will honor both the new and previous inductees in a two-day celebration in May. It will kick off with an illumination ceremony at the museum at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 2nd, followed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on May 3rd at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be emceed by CBS News correspondent and television personality Mo Rocca.

Strengthening intellectual property (IP) protection is one of the strategic objectives of the Department of Commerce’s 2018–2022 Strategic Plan. A strong, high-quality and balanced patent system ensures that innovators and creators can be rewarded for their inventions – helping create jobs and grow the economy.