FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Twelve faculty members at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture have been honored for their acceptance as members of the National Academy of Inventors. The faculty members were recognized at a luncheon on Sept. 21.

Faculty who are named regular members of the NAI are academic inventors who hold at least one issued U.S. patent. The NAI is an organization of U.S. and international universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions, with more than 3,000 individual inventor members and Fellows at more than 200 institutions. It was founded in 2010 to recognize inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"You all work on a variety of technologies, truly representing the breadth of agriculture - from our commodities and poultry to food safety and soils," said Clarence Watson, director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. "And you have shown your imagination and ingenuity in your inventions."

During an awards presentation luncheon, Watson told the NAI faculty that technology transfer fits well into the mission of land grant universities. Patents and tangible activities often lead to technology commercialization. "This is where you can get real-world impact from your research," he said, noting that licensing and marketing of inventions are the next steps.

Division faculty members who were recognized for their induction into NAI are:

• Karen Moldenhauer, professor of crop, soil, and environmental sciences at the Rice Research and Extension Center;
• Walter Bottje, professor of poultry science;
• Navam Hettiarachchy, University Professor of food science;
• Billy Hargis, professor of poultry science;
• Charles Rosenkrans, professor of animal science;
• Pengyin Chen, professor of crop, soil, and environmental sciences;
• John R. Clark, University Professor of horticulture;
• Phillip Crandall, professor of food science;
• Andy Proctor, University Professor of food science;
• Yanbin Li, distinguished professor of biological and agricultural engineering;
• Gisela Erf, professor of poultry science;
• Douglas Karcher, associate professor of horticulture.