Florida Inventors Hall of Fame

Florida Inventors Hall of Fame
Abbreviation FIHF
Formation 2013
Type NPO
Legal status Organization
Location
  • Tampa, Florida
Region served
 United States
Official language
 English
Website http://www.floridainvents.org/

The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame is an organization that honors Florida inventors. Housed in the USF Research Park at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, it was founded in 2013 by Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, senior vice president for research and innovation at USF. The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame is one of five state-specific halls of fame dedicated to inventors in the United States. It was recognized in April 2014, by the Florida State Senate. State Senator Jeff Brandes sponsored the resolution[1][2] honoring the hall of fame for its commitment to invention, discovery, innovation, and excellence.

History

FIHF founder Paul Sanberg got the idea for the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame while visiting the National Inventors Hall of Fame, located in Alexandria, Virginia. He noticed the scarcity of Floridians in the hall, and that was inconsistent with what he knew of active invention in Florida.[3] The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame was formed in 2013 and the first induction ceremony was held September 10, 2014, in Tampa Florida.[4] The first inductees included historic inventors Thomas Edison (who had a laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida),[5] Robert Cade,[6][7] John Gorrie, and William Glenn,[8][9][10] as well as currently active scientists, Shin-Tson Wu, and Shyam Mohapatra.[11][12] The second annual induction ceremony has been announced for October 2, 2015, in Tampa.[13][14]

Operations

The FIHF is led by an advisory board, chaired by Sanberg.[15] The FIHF inducts new honorees annually[16] through a nomination and review process. Eligible inductees may be alive or deceased so long as they at one time lived or worked in Florida and held one or more U.S. patents. They must also demonstrate that they have improved life quality for the state and people of Florida and the United States.[17]

The inventors inducted into the hall of fame are selected annually through an open nomination process. All nominations are reviewed by a Selection Committee, which is made up of innovation experts within the state. Nominees elected to the Hall of Fame are inducted at an annual ceremony.

Among the first inductees to the hall of fame[18] were optics physicist Shin-Tson Wu, a University of Central Florida professor.[19] Wu is most notable for improving liquid crystal displays which are used in the screens of appliances like computers, smart phones, and televisions.[20][21][22]

Another living inductee was Shyam Mohapatra, a pioneer in the field of biomedical nanotechnology and a USF Health Distinguished Professor at the University of South Florida as well as research scientist at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center.[23]

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame is made up of leaders and inventors from public and private businesses, research universities, nonprofit institutes, governmental agencies, and other areas. The current board includes notable members:

Judy Genshaft, University of South Florida President

Jeffrey P. Brandes, Florida Senate, 22nd District

Curtis R. Carlson, President & CEO, SRI International

Kathy Castor, U. S. Representative, Florida’s 14th Congressional District

Anthony James Catanese, President, Florida Institute of Technology

Margaret (Peggy) Focarino, Commissioner for Patents

Kenneth M. Ford, Founder & CEO, Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition

John Hitt, President, University of Central Florida

Richard A. Houghten, Founder, CEO & President, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies

Michael A. Marletta, President & CEO, The Scripps Research Institute

Mark B. Rosenberg, President, Florida International University

Dennis A. Ross, Congressman, Florida’s 15th Congressional District

References

  1. ↑ "The Florida Senate recognizes the florida Inventors Hall of Fame," Tampa Bay Newswire, 3 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Florida Inventors Hall of Fame Announces 2014 Inductees". The Business Journals (ACBJ). 8 July 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  3. ↑ http://www.flbog.edu/pressroom/did-u-know.php
  4. ↑ Gregory, Dale. "Florida Inventors Hall of Fame: First induction Ceremony Will Be In 2014," icoast.com, 5 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Hayes, Stephanie (11 October 2013). "USF launches Florida Inventors Hall of Fame". Tampa Bay Times (Times Publishing Company). Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.theledger.com/article/20140724/news/140729447
  7. ↑ http://www.gainesville.com/article/20140711/ARTICLES/140719943
  8. ↑ http://www.fau.edu/mediarelations/releases0914/091404.php
  9. ↑ http://www.ceecs.fau.edu/news/1407_glenn-hall-of-fame.php
  10. ↑ http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/lifestyles/fathers-of-invention/nhTxn/
  11. ↑ "Florida Inventors Hall of Fame Announces 2014 Inductees". Reuters.com (Reuters). 8 July 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "Florida Inventors Hall of Fame Announces 2014 Inductees Thomas Edison and the inventors of Gatorade and air conditioning among innovators elected as part of the inaugural class". wn.com (World News Network). 8 July 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  13. ↑ http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2306645
  14. ↑ http://www.850businessmagazine.com/Blog/News-2014/The-Florida-Inventors-Hall-of-Fame-is-Accepting-Nominations-for-its-Inaugural-Class-of-Inventors/
  15. ↑ "Inventors unite for recognition". Business Observer (18 April 2014) (Observer Media Group). Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  16. ↑ Trigaux, Robert (10 September 2014). "First six inducted into Florida Inventors Hall of Fame". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Florida Inventors Hall of Fame Issues Call for Nominations for Inaugural Class of Inventors". wn.com (World News Network). 27 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  18. ↑ Manning, Margie. "Lightbulbs to Gatorade, Florida Inventors Hall of Fame inductees pave the way". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  19. ↑ Burnett, Richard (10 August 2014). "UCF optics whiz turns lab work into marketable products". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  20. ↑ http://spie.org/x109037.xml
  21. ↑ "UCF Inventor Named to New Florida Inventors Hall of Fame". UCF Today (University of Central Florida). 9 July 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  22. ↑ Doan, Christine (11 August 2014). "UCF professor named to Inventors Hall of Fame". Central Florida Future (Gannett). Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  23. ↑ Parker, Elisabeth (24 July 2014). "USF professor says nanotechnology holds key to curing cancer". Tampa Bay Times (Times Publishing Co.). Retrieved 3 September 2014.

External links