Two UT Arlington professors named National Academy of Inventors Fellows

Two University of Texas at Arlington professors known for their innovation in the world of chemistry have been named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors.

Daniel W. Armstrong, the UT Arlington Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry, and Richard Timmons, a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, join eight other UT Arlington faculty and administrators previously named NAI Fellows. Armstrong and Timmons will be inducted on March 20, 2015, as part of the 4th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

"Dr. Timmons and Dr. Armstrong have gained international recognition with their creative, effective solutions to real-world challenges," President Vistasp Karbhari said. "Their election to NAI Fellow status elevates the University overall and is a signal to the world of the outstanding quality of the faculty at UT Arlington."

Armstrong joined UT Arlington in 2006. He is often called the "father of pseudophase separations" - a type of liquid chromatography that provides higher selectivity for substances with lower cost and less volatility and toxicity than previous analytical methods. He holds 23 U.S. and international patents and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Chemical Society Award for Chromatography.

Recently, Armstrong made headlines when his research team announced dramatically better methods for detecting performance-enhancing drugs, such as those used in the sports world. Technology he invented also was used to collect data as part of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission.

Timmons joined UT Arlington in 1977 and was chair of the Chemistry Department for 13 years. His research focuses on surface chemistry, specifically the development of and application of technology to provide molecular surface tailoring of materials. His recent contributions include a patented pulsed plasma surface modification process that has been used to functionalize nanoparticles for use in a variety of industrial applications, such as manufacturing improved inorganic/organic composite materials.

Timmons holds 10 U.S. patents and is a recipient of the UT Arlington Distinguished Record of Faculty Research Award, as well as the W.T. Doherty Research Award from the ACS North Texas Section.

Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.

Other UT Arlington NAI Fellows include President Karbhari, who also is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and of civil and environmental engineering; Carolyn Cason, nursing professor and vice president for research; Ronald Elsenbaumer, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and provost and vice president for academic affairs; Khosrow Behbehani, dean of the UT Arlington College of Engineering and a professor of bioengineering; as well as engineering faculty members Frank Lewis, Nai Yuen Chen, George Kondraske and Robert Magnusson.

The new Fellows announced today bring the total number of NAI Fellows to 414, representing more than 150 prestigious research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions.

Included among all of the NAI Fellows are 61 presidents and senior leadership of research universities and non-profit research institutes, 208 members of the other National Academies (NAS, NAE, IOM).

Source: University of Texas at Arlington