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Ashok Gadgil named National Academy of Inventors fellow
Election as a fellow in the academy is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors
Ashok Gadgil / Image- University of California, Berkeley
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has elected Indian-American professor Ashok Gadgil as a fellow. Fellowship in the Academy is the highest professional honor bestowed solely on inventors.
Gadgil, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has dedicated his career to developing low-cost new approaches to meeting the needs of underserved communities around the world.
He is best known for inventing safe drinking water technologies such as UV Waterworks, a low-cost, portable, and energy-efficient water purifier, and ECAR, a cutting-edge arsenic removal technology, as well as fuel-efficient cookstoves.
According to a university news release, Gadgil's numerous engineering solutions have proven transformative for low-resource communities, assisting more than 100 million people across four continents. One of his more recent projects included setting up an arsenic treatment system for a small, rural community in California.
Gadgil is the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Family Foundation distinguished chair in Safe Water and Sanitation and was recently named the 2023 R&D leader of the year. In October, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Joe Biden which is the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement.
This medal, bestowed at a White House ceremony, recognised Gadgil for “providing life-sustaining resources to communities around the world. His innovative, inexpensive technologies help meet profound needs, from drinking water to fuel-efficient cookstoves. His work is inspired by a belief in the dignity of all people and in our power to solve the great challenges of our time.”
He was among the twelve laureates to receive the award. Gadgil, who is also a retired faculty senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is considered as a “humanitarian inventor.”
“This year’s class of NAI Fellows showcases the caliber of researchers that are found within the innovation ecosystem. Each of these individuals are making significant contributions to both science and society through their work," said Paul R. Sanberg, president of the NAI, in sttement. Since its inception in 2012, the NAI Fellows program has grown to include 1,898 exceptional researchers and innovators, who hold over 63,000 U.S. patents and 13,000 licensed technologies.
NAI Fellows are known for the societal and economic impact of their inventions, contributing to major advancements in science and consumer technologies.
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