Central Region

Richard A. Houghten, Ph.D.

Founder and CEO
Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies

91 U.S. patents

Richard A. Houghten is the founder and CEO of Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (TPIMS), headquartered in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He has made a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry through his research and patents related to his groundbreaking approaches that enable millions of compounds to be searched while requiring the actual screening of only 250-500 samples. These approaches have revolutionized drug discovery across the nation by identifying ligand receptor interactions, which are the cornerstone of drug discovery. Because of his work, vaccines and diagnostic devices were created and have greatly contributed to science and medicine world-wide. Houghten’s inventions and commercial success led to the creation of TPIMS, recognized internationally for its scientific contributions in a wide range of fields including chemistry, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, immunology, infectious disease, heart disease, and pain management. His dedication to both academia and industry has made him an effective ambassador for Florida and the nation around the world. Houghten has over 450 peer reviewed publication and holds 91 issued U.S. patents.

Sudipta Seal, Ph.D.

Trustee Chair
Chair, Materials Science and Engineering
Pegasus and University Distinguished Professor
University of Central Florida

55 U.S. patents

Sudipta Seal is Trustee Chair, Pegasus and University Distinguished Professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF), whose materials manufacturing expertise creating unique nano cerium oxide led to the discovery of its antioxidant properties and groundbreaking therapeutic applications in regenerative nano-medicine. Seal also developed multi-functional nanomaterial additives for aerospace nanoenergetics and his research in power plant fly ash waste has created unique chemistry of ash particles with nanostructures that can be used to clean up oil spills. Former director of the Nanoscience Technology Center (NTC) and Advanced Materials Processing Analysis (AMPAC), currently Seal is chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Department with an appointment at UCF College of Medicine. The academic units that Seal oversees are continuously creating new inventions and technology at UCF. Seal has published more than 400 journal papers, conference proceedings papers, book chapters, and three books on nanotechnology. His many accomplishments have impacted the wellbeing of society and created a productive ecosystem of economic development in central Florida. Seal is a fellow of the American Society of Materials, American Association of Advancement of Science, American Vacuum Society, Institute of Nanotechnology-UK, National Academy of Inventors, Electrochemical Society, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and was recently elected to the World Academy of Ceramics. He holds 55 U.S. patents and his technology is licensed to multiple companies.

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.

William S. Dalton, Ph.D., M.D.,

Founder and CEO of M2Gen®

10 U.S. patents

William Dalton, former president and CEO of Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, is the founder and current CEO of M2Gen®, a subsidiary of Moffitt, recognized for his revolutionizing developments in cancer treatment. His research in molecular mechanisms of drug resistance led to the creation of Total Cancer Care™: personalized protocols for the treatment of cancer and information/decision tools used by clinicians worldwide. To date, Total Cancer Care™ has impacted the lives of over 120,000 patients and includes one of the largest bio-repositories and data warehouses in the U.S., dedicated to the improvement of personalized medicine.

Dalton holds 10 U.S. patents and is regarded as a health policy expert on the study and development of the most effective approaches to cancer research and serves at the state level in an advisory role to the Governor, the Chief Justice, and Legislature, to promote the economic growth of Florida and improve the quality of life of the citizens of Florida.

D. Yogi Goswami, Ph.D.

Distinguished University Professor in Chemical Engineering
Director of the Clean Energy Research Center
University of South Florida

40 U.S. patents

Yogi Goswami is a Distinguished University Professor in chemical engineering, and director of the Clean Energy Research Center, at the University of South Florida, known for his pioneering contributions and technology development related to solar energy and indoor air quality. Goswami’s contributions in combined power/cooling cycles have impacted global research in a new class of thermodynamic cycles. He has invented nano-scale antenna technologies to convert sunlight to power and thermal energy storage technologies. He also founded Molekule (formerly Transformair, Inc.), which is commercializing his technology to destroy indoor air pollutants including viruses, bacteria, mold, airborne fumes and allergens, which is helping allergy and asthma sufferers worldwide. The Molekule air purifier has been named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of 2017 for its ability to not just trap harmful pollutants but eliminate them.

Goswami holds 19 U.S. patents and has served as an advisor and given testimonies on energy policy and the transition to renewable energy to the U.S. Congress and various Governments around the world. He has published 19 books and is the Editor-in-Chief of Solar Energy journal.

Jacqueline W. Quinn, Ph.D.

Environmental Engineer
Research Scientist
Project Manager for Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen Lunar Volatiles Extraction (RESOLVE)
NASA Kennedy Space Center

12 U.S. patents

Jacqueline Quinn is a NASA environmental engineer who leads diverse environmental chemistry research at the Kennedy Space Center and invented NASA’s most licensed and recognized technology for groundwater remediation, Emulsified Zero Valent Iron (EZVI). Additional environmental remediation methods created by Quinn include AMTS and SPEARS, used for removal of cancer-causing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in materials, soils and sediments.

Quinn holds 12 U.S. patents and her technologies have been licensed by companies throughout the United States and internationally. In 2005, she received both NASA’s Commercial and Government Invention of the Year awards. Quinn received the Federal Lab Consortium’s Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer in 2006 and was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2018 she was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

M.J. Soileau, Ph.D.

University Distinguished Professor of Optics and photonics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics
University of Central Florida

6 U.S. patents

From 1998 until 2016, M.J. Soileau led the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) sponsored research activities. He is known for his pioneering research in nonlinear interaction of laser pulses with optical materials and for leading the development of the internationally recognized Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at UCF.

Soileau holds 6 U.S. patents, the applications of which have contributed to the advancement of high energy laser optics used by the United States Department of Defense. His expertise is sought by high technology corporations in the areas of photonics and lasers, and by legal firms in the area of patents. His leadership has helped UCF become a catalyst for the region’s high-tech development, stimulating the local economy in central Florida.

Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D., D.Sc.

Founder and President, National Academy of Inventors
Executive Director, Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair
Distinguished University Professor
University of South Florida

54 U.S. Patents

Neuroscientist Dr. Paul R. Sanberg’s work has been instrumental in understanding and developing new pharmaceutical and cellular therapeutics for stroke, Alzheimer’s, ALS, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s disease and Tourette syndrome. His research has involved discovering innovative ways to repair the damaged brain and has helped lead the team that demonstrated the use of umbilical cord blood-derived cells for neurological disease. He holds 163 U.S. and foreign patents.

Sanberg trained at York University, University of British Columbia, Australian National University and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and held faculty appointments at the University of Cincinnati and Brown University, among others, prior to joining the University of South Florida as a professor in 1992. He was a long time member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health and has served on numerous scientific advisory boards for health-related foundations and companies. He has industry experience as a founder or director of a number of companies involved in cell therapy for degenerative disorders. He is the author of more than 680 articles and 14 books, with over 33,000 citations to his published work, has served on editorial boards for more than 30 scientific journals, and is editor-in-chief of Technology and Innovation: Journal of the National Academy of Inventors.

Sanberg is president and a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He is the 2015 Medalist of the Florida Academy of Sciences; a Fulbright Specialist; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and Royal Societies of Chemistry, Public Health and Medicine; and AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador. He serves on the nomination evaluation committee of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Smithsonian Innovation Festival selection committee, and advisory board of the APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Economic Prosperity.