2017 Inductees

Issa Batarseh, Ph.D., PE

Director of the Energy System Integration Division
Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC)
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Central Florida

35 U.S. patents

Issa Batarseh is the Director of the Energy System Integration Division at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) and professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF), in Orlando. Batarseh is being recognized for inventing and developing low cost, high efficiency micro-inverters for photovoltaic (PV) applications that led to the creation of the first compact single solar PV panel. The technology developed by Dr. Batarseh and his team at UCF have made significant contributions in smart solar energy conversion. As a passionate entrepreneur and innovator, Batarseh co-founded two successful solar-focused start-up companies: Petra Systems and Advanced Power Electronics Corp. (APECOR), both of which are now operating nationally and internationally. Petra Systems launched in 2007, by licensing Batarseh’s patents from UCF. Today, Petra design and manufacture the first smart-grid interactive solar power system for installation on utility distribution poles. And, the Florida-based APECOR is a leading designer of solar chargers for military applications. Batarseh is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, AAAS, and IEEE, and holds 31 U.S. patents.

Richard D. Gitlin, Sc.D.

State of Florida 21st Century World Class Scholar
Distinguished University Professor
Agere Systems Endowed Chair, Department of Electrical Engineering
University of South Florida

75 U.S. patents

Richard D. Gitlin is a State of Florida 21st Century World Class Scholar, Distinguished University Professor, and the Agere Systems endowed Chair in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida, in Tampa. Gitlin is being recognized for his innovative research and development in digital communications, broadband networking, and wireless systems that transformed communication technology. He has more than 40 years of leadership in the communications and networking industry. At Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies Gitlin performed and led pioneering research and development for 32 years. After retiring from Lucent as Senior VP of Communications and Networking, he was a visiting professor at Columbia University, and Chief Technology Officer of Hammerhead Systems, a venture funded networking company in Silicon Valley. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the IEEE, a Bell Laboratories Fellow, a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and a co-recipient of the 2005 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award and the S.O. Rice prize. Gitlin has co-authored a text and holds 65 patents.

Mary Helen McCay, Ph.D.

Director, National Center for Hydrogen Research
Florida Institute of Technology

14 U.S. patents

T. Dwayne McCay, Ph.D.

Former President and CEO
Florida Institute of Technology

15 U.S. patents

T. Dwayne and Mary Helen McCay, the first scientist couple nominated to the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, hold 15 joint U.S. patents in the area of metallurgical engineering, specific to laser-induced surface improvement (LISI) that has greatly contributed to increased patient safety and improved medical outcomes in facilities nationwide. Dwayne McCay is the former president and CEO of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne. Prior to coming to FIT in 2003, he held leadership positions at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory. Mary Helen McCay is a native Floridian, FSU and UF alumnus, former NASA Payload Specialist Astronaut, and director of the National Center for Hydrogen Research at FIT. Both highly regarded academics, the McCays’ life-long commitment to education, the ideals of invention, and the advancement of science has greatly impacted the aerospace industry and advanced STEM education in central Florida.