University of Florida announces three 2025 National Academy of Inventors winners
The National Academy of Inventors welcomed three new Gators as NAI Fellows this month: Abdelsalam (Sumi) Helal, Ph.D., Chris Malachowsky, M.S. and Mark Sheplak, Ph.D.
These University of Florida engineering inventers are part of a larger cohort of 185 exceptional inventors — 169 from the United States and 16 international Fellows.
Helal is an emeritus professor who taught in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering until 2022. His research ventured into digital health, as well as mobile and pervasive computing.
He co-founded the Gator Tech Smart House, a real-world deployment project that identifies key barriers and opportunities to make Smart Home concepts commonplace.
“I am truly honored to be elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. This recognition is deeply meaningful to me because it reflects the real-world impact of the technologies and ideas developed with my students and collaborators over many years,” Helal said. “I never imagined that I would join this community of innovators, and I am grateful to the university for fostering an environment where research can translate into solutions that improve people’s lives.”
Malachowsky graduated from UF with his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1983. He earned his Master of Science from Santa Clara University in1986. He received an honorary doctorate in 2023 from UF.
He co-founded tech giant NVIDIA in 1993 and is the senior vice president for Engineering and Operations. In 2020 he and the company gifted UF $60 million to fund HiPerGator, an AI supercomputer. In 2024, construction was completed on UF’s seven-story engineering building Malachowsky Hall for Data Science and Information Technology.
Sheplak is a professor in both the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering whose research group, Interdisciplinary Microsystems Group (IMG), focuses on electrophysics, micromachined transducers, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), electroacoustics, aeroacoustics and fluid mechanics.
“I never imagined I would become an NAI Fellow, which makes this honor even more meaningful. It’s a reminder that persistence, collaboration and a commitment to translating research into reality can truly make a difference. This recognition encapsulates more than just my personal ambitions as an inventor, but rather the collective tinkering mindset shared by my lab,” he said.
He said the achievement would not be possible without dozens of students, mentors, colleagues and staff members “who have been integral in breathing life into these technologies.”
“As a MEMS researcher, I believe that a dissertation sitting on a shelf alone never solved a measurement problem," Sheplak said. “Technology needs to be transitioned into the marketplace wherein its true value to the measurement community is realized."
The 2025 class holds more than 5,300 U.S. patents and includes recipients of the Nobel Prize, the National Medals of Science and the National Medals of Technology and Innovation, as well as members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
The group spans every major field of discovery, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence and regenerative medicine. Their success in translating research into products and services that improve lives demonstrates the continuing importance of the U.S. patent system, NAI contends.
The U.S. recipients represent 127 universities, government agencies and research institutions across 40 states. They will be presented with their medals by a senior official of the United States Patent and Trademark Office at the NAI annual conference in June in Los Angeles, California.
“NAI Fellows are a driving force within the innovation ecosystem, and their contributions across scientific disciplines are shaping the future of our world,” said NAI President Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D. “We are thrilled to welcome this year’s class of Fellows to the academy. They are truly an impressive cohort, and we look forward to honoring them at our 15th annual conference.”
The NAI Fellows program was founded in 2012 and now includes 2,253 distinguished researchers and innovators who hold over 86,000 U.S. patents and 20,000 licensed technologies. Their innovations have generated an estimated $3.8 trillion in revenue and 1.4 million jobs, according to NAI.
See the full list of recipients visit https://academyofinventors.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-Fellows-List.pdf