USF Chapter of the NAI

Benefits of Joining the NAI

Primary Benefits:

  • Honors, encourages and publicly recognizes academic inventors who hold patents, including faculty, graduate students, staff, alumni and affiliates.
  • Encourages the disclosure of intellectual property and the translation of inventions to benefit society.
  • Promotes and enhances the development and commercialization of university patents and innovations.
  • Provides a vehicle by which to encourage change in the culture at the university (if having a patent does not currently count toward promotion and tenure).
  • NAI connection with the USPTO, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM).
  • Provides a mechanism for potentially enhancing innovation both locally and nationally.
  • Promotes interdisciplinary groups for fostering new ideas.
  • Provides the opportunity to publish in Innovation and Technology, Journal of the National Academy of Inventors.
  • Provides a mechanism for developing relevant invention-based activities, such as workshops or symposia on innovation and invention, in collaboration with the university's technology transfer, Patents & Licensing administration.
  • Encourages creative thinking, a spirit of innovation and promotes entrepreneurship.
  • Puts the chapter in a position to provide advice and guidance to new and existing inventors in their work.
  • Enhances the visibility of university technology development, promotes entrepreneurship and provides a means to be advocates for university innovation in the local community.
  • Creates a resource for the local university area community to facilitate greater industry research contracts and interactions with companies and organizations in order to increase economic impact.
  • Helps shape society by being in a position to understand the translational use of inventions at the university and elsewhere; and to be a role model in such endeavors for students, staff and faculty.

Secondary Benefits:

  • Provides social networking among members.
  • Listing of chapter members names on the website including listing members' patents.
  • Provides a means to recognize and honor others important to innovation at the university through honorary membership.
  • Provides an opportunity to educate and mentor innovative students.
  • National publicity via press releases through the NAI about the chapter.
  • Specially designed NAI lapel pins provided for all inventor members.