The faculty innovators are selected for one of the nation鈥檚 most prestigious honors for academic inventors.
TAMPA 鈥� Three OB体育官网 faculty members whose inventions in engineering, molecular medicine and chemistry are shaping drug discovery, environmental sustainability and modern dental care have been selected as new Fellows.
USF College of Engineering Professor Norma Alcantar, USF Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation Professor Sumita Mitra, and Morsani College of Medicine Professor Subhra Mohapatra were selected for the honor, which is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.
鈥淭hrough their brilliant ideas and tireless efforts, these three inventors have created an incalculable impact on our world that is as impressive as it is inspiring,鈥� USF President Rhea Law said. 鈥淭he honor of being named an NAI Fellow not only recognizes their achievements but also celebrates them as trailblazing women who continue to encourage and mentor a new generation of innovators in pursuing the fullest measures of their abilities and ambitions.鈥�
The three new Fellows from USF are among 164 distinguished academic inventors from 116 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes worldwide who make up the 2021 class of Fellows. The new Fellows will be formally recognized in June at the NAI鈥檚 2022 annual conference in Phoenix.
The new selections bring USF鈥檚 total number of NAI Fellows to 26. Meet this year鈥檚 honorees:
Norma A. Alcantar, PhD
Professor of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering
USF College of Engineering Associate Dean for Research
Alcantar is a global pioneer in developing innovative natural technologies for environmental, medical, and industrial applications who this year was named a new inductee to the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. She is to filter contaminants from fresh water and provide clean drinking water in areas around the world lacking access to clean water; creating new technologies for clearing up oil spills; implementing a hybrid technology to remove bacteria and ammonia from aquaculture systems; and creating novel therapies for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and treatments for cancer tumor cells. She holds 22 U.S. patents.
Alcantar has published more than 50 articles and book chapters; presented at more than 100 national and international conferences; and served as guest editor and reviewer for numerous journals, as well as for granting agencies such as the National Science Foundation and Alzheimer鈥檚 Association.
She is a Fellow of AIMBE (American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering); Chair of the AIMBE Committee of Underrepresented Minorities; Member-at-Large of the Engineering Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); and Member of the Council for Racial Justice, USF.
Previously, she has been recognized as an NAI Senior Member, AIChE Senior Member; and recipient of the Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award, Jewish National Fund Fellowship, and a USF Excellence in Innovation Award; among many other honors. She was recently named the USF College of Engineering鈥檚 associate dean for research. She also was selected for the National Science Foundation I-Corps Program to advance commercialization of her cactus mucilage technologies.
Sumita B. Mitra, PhD
Professor, USF Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation
Mitra is a and is a faculty member in USF鈥檚 Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation, which brings together internationally recognized senior leaders 鈥攁cademics, industry heads, and innovators from diverse fields 鈥� to advise the administrative leadership of the university, share insights with USF's high-achieving faculty, and mentors promising students. Mitra previously worked for more than 32 years at 3M Company as Corporate Scientist in the 3M Oral Care Division where she led the new materials/products research and development efforts.
Mitra is the first inventor to incorporate nanoparticle into dental materials to produce stronger, more durable and more aesthetically pleasing fillings in products used by more than a billion people worldwide. She is the recipient of 100 US patents and their corresponding global equivalents and has more than 100 publications in the areas of polymer science, nanocomposites and dental materials. She is an internationally recognized lecturer on these topics and has given numerous presentations and courses in various universities and colleges in 45 countries. Additionally, she has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, was named the winner of the highly-prestigious in Non-EPO countries, and recognized with the EPO Inventors Award, American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry Award, Peyton-Skinner Award for Innovation in Dental Materials, and the Hollenback Memorial Prize from the Academy of Operative Dentistry.
She is the co-founder of Mitra Chemical Consulting, LLC, and for more than a decade served as Industrial Director of the Minnesota Dental Research Center of Biomaterials and Biomechanics at the School of Dentistry at the University of Minnesota. A part-time Florida resident, her passion is in mentoring activities for STEM education at all levels.
Subhra Mohapatra, PhD
Professor of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine
Research Career Scientist, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital
Mohapatra is a pioneering scientist/researcher whose work over 26 years has been instrumental in advancing the frontiers of drug delivery of therapeutics for cancer, traumatic brain injury and COVID-19. She developed a novel 3D scaffold for cell culture, now universally known as 鈥渢umor-on-a