ORNL chemist recognized for advancing innovative materials and separation technologies
Sheng Dai, a prolific inventor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, or NAI. According to NAI, its fellow status is the highest professional distinction awarded to inventors and was granted to Dai to recognize his “exceptional achievements as an inventor and (his) significant impact on the innovation ecosystem, economic development, and society.”
Dai will be officially inducted as a fellow of the academy in June at NAI’s annual conference in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be led by representatives of NAI and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“This is a well-deserved honor,” said Associate Laboratory Director for Physical Sciences Cynthia Jenks. “Sheng’s commitment to innovation has resulted in 61 U.S. patents and more than one thousand published papers. His drive to translate scientific discovery to societal impact serves as an excellent example for others to follow.”
Dai, a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and head of ORNL’s Separations and Polymer Chemistry Section, joined ORNL in 1990 as a postdoctoral researcher in high-temperature chemistry. His current research focuses on ionic liquids, molten salts and porous materials, including their applications for separation sciences and energy storage as well as catalysis by nanomaterials.
Dai is also a professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is a fellow of the Materials Research Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
According to its website, NAI was founded to “recognize and encourage inventors with U.S. patents, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and to create wider public understanding of how its members’ inventions benefit society.”
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
