Daniel Fleetwood named distinguished National Academy of Inventors Fellow

Daniel M. Fleetwood, Olin H. Landreth Professor of Engineering, has been named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow, the highest professional distinction awarded solely to academic inventors.

Daniel M. Fleetwood

Fleetwood, who is a professor of electrical engineering as well as physics, is best known for his research into radiation effects on microelectronic devices and materials, low-frequency noise, and defects in microelectronic devices and materials. His pioneering work has led to the identification of defects that limit the performance, reliability, and radiation response of devices and integrated circuits and to the development of international standards for the qualification of electronics for use in space and defense systems.

In recognition of these contributions, Fleetwood has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

He received R&D 100 and IndustryWeek magazine awards in 1997 for co-inventing a new type of computer memory chip based on mobile protons. The chip was recognized as Discover magazine’s 1998 Invention of the Year in computer hardware and electronics.

He is the author of more than 600 publications on radiation effects in microelectronics, defects in semiconductor devices, and low-frequency noise—more than a dozen of which have been recognized with Outstanding Paper Awards. These papers have been cited nearly 30,000 times.

Fleetwood and others in the 2023 class of NAI Fellows will be honored and presented with medals at the group’s 13th annual meeting on June 18th, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Since its inception in 2012, the NAI Fellows program has grown to include 1,898 exceptional researchers and innovators, who hold over 63,000 U.S. patents and 13,000 licensed technologies. NAI Fellows are known for the societal and economic impact of their inventions, contributing to major advancements in science and consumer technologies. Their innovations have generated over $3 trillion in revenue and created roughly 1 million jobs.