Darryll J. Pines, president of University of Maryland, College Park, will be inducted as an NAI Fellow in 2026, according to the National Academy of Inventors. NAI Fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors.
Pines is one of 169 U.S. distinguished academic and institutional inventors and 16 International Fellows to the 2025 cohort named in the NAI list of fellows.
In 2019, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his “inspirational leadership and contributions to engineering education.”
Pines made the cover of USBE magazine's education issue when he took the helm of the University of Maryland as the 34th President. He has spent more than three decades on the College Park campus and served as both dean and professor of aerospace engineering at the Clark School.
As dean, Pines led the development of the school’s 2020 Strategic Plan and achieved notable successes in key areas, such as improving teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses and raising student retention, achieving success in national and international student competitions, placing new emphasis on sustainability engineering and service-learning, promoting STEM education among high school students, increasing the impact of research programs, and expanding philanthropic contributions to the school.
Together, the 2025 NAI class holds more than 5,300 U.S. patents and includes recipients of the Nobel Prize, the National Medals of Science and Technology & Innovation, and members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, among others.
This year’s 169 U.S. Fellows represent 127 universities, government agencies, and research institutions across 40 U.S. states.
Spanning every major field of discovery, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and regenerative medicine, NAI Fellows are tackling the biggest and most pressing issues of our time.
Their success in translating research into products and services that improve lives demonstrates the continuing importance of the U.S. patent system.
The NAI Fellows program was founded in 2012 and has grown to include 2,253 distinguished researchers and innovators, who hold over 86,000 U.S. patents and 20,000 licensed technologies. Their innovations have generated an estimated $3.8 trillion in revenue and 1.4 million jobs.
The 2025 Class of Fellows will be presented their medals by a senior official of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at the NAI 15th Annual Conference on June 4th, 2026, taking place in Los Angeles, California.