Announcing the 2023 Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame

We’re starting 2023 with big news! This week at CES in Las Vegas, we were thrilled to announce the newest National Inventors Hall of Fame^® (NIHF) Inductee class.

As we celebrate NIHF’s 50th anniversary this year, we are proud to recognize an exceptional class of creators, innovators and entrepreneurs who represent diverse fields, backgrounds and accomplishments. These visionaries have launched industries, advanced technologies, shaped society, and touched lives in meaningful and enduring ways.

Read on to meet our 2023 NIHF Inductees!

 

Rodolphe Barrangou and Philippe Horvath

CRISPR-enhanced Food Products

Molecular biologists Barrangou and Horvath discovered that CRISPR sequences and associated proteins comprise an acquired immune system in bacteria. Applying their research to enhance starter cultures in the dairy industry, they improved the world’s food supply and laid the foundation for the field of gene editing.

 

Angela Hartley Brodie

Aromatase Inhibitors

Brodie discovered and developed a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors, which can stop the production of hormones that fuel the growth of cancer cells. Aromatase inhibitors are among the world’s leading therapies against breast cancer.

 

Robert G. Bryant

LaRC-SI (Langley Research Center-Soluble Imide)

Bryant, a NASA chemist, developed the polymer LaRC-SI, which is used as an insulation material for leads in implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy devices. LaRC-SI enables small, flexible, reliable leads that are easier to implant, benefiting patient outcomes.

 

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna

CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing

Microbiologist Charpentier and biochemist Doudna co-invented the gene-editing system CRISPR-Cas9, creating a versatile technology that provided the means to edit genes on an unprecedented scale with extremely high precision. For this work, they won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.

 

Lynn Conway

Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI)

Conway and NIHF Inductee Carver Mead transformed the global microelectronics industry with their invention of VLSI. This revolutionary technology, detailed in their groundbreaking textbook “Introduction to VLSI Systems,” allowed small teams of individuals to design powerful chips.

 

Rory Cooper

Wheelchair Technology

Cooper, a biomedical engineer, developed innovations that have improved manual and electric wheelchairs, and advanced the health, mobility and social inclusion of people with disabilities and older adults. His research has been informed by his own experience as a disabled U.S. Army veteran.

 

Marjorie Stewart Joyner

Permanent Wave Machine

Joyner was an influential beautician, salon owner, instructor and executive for the Madam C. J. Walker Co. Not only did she patent a permanent wave machine in 1928, but she also established beauty industry standards and powerfully advocated for civil rights, education and Black beauty culture.

 

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman

Modified mRNA Technology Used in COVID-19 Vaccines

Biochemist Karikó and immunologist Weissman laid a critical piece of the foundation for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines with their fundamental research. Developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, these vaccines have been vital in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, and since December 2020, several billion doses have been administered worldwide.

 

Cyril Keller and Louis Keller

Bobcat^® Skid-Steer Loader

Brothers Cyril and Louis Keller played a key role in launching the compact equipment industry in the late 1950s and early 1960s with their invention of the world’s first compact loader, which became the Bobcat skid-steer loader.

 

James A. Parsons Jr.

Durimet 20 (Alloy 20) Stainless Steel Alloy

Parsons, a metallurgist and educator, created corrosion-resistant, stainless steel alloy Durimet 20, also known as Alloy 20. Invented in the 1930s, it became the basis for a family of stainless steel alloys still widely used today in a range of industrial processes that involve corrosive chemicals.

 

Roger Tsien

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Variants

Biochemist Tsien invented GFP variants, creating a full palette of fluorescent proteins that enable scientists to track multiple cellular processes simultaneously. For this work, he shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

 

Luis von Ahn

reCAPTCHA

Computer scientist von Ahn co-invented the website security program CAPTCHA, or Completely Automated Public Turing test for telling Computers and Humans Apart. He then developed reCAPTCHA, furthering this work while assisting in digitizing books and other archives, and co-founded Duolingo, whose online platform is the world’s most popular way to learn languages.

 

Learn More About Our 2023 Inductees

These world-changing innovators will officially join the NIHF family at our 50th Induction Ceremony in Washington, D.C., in October 2023.

As we look forward to this exciting milestone event, we invite you to visit our website to learn more about each of our newest Hall of Famers.