Michael Bartlett, Steve Rowson named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors

Associate Professors Michael D. Bartlett and Steve Rowson have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors. The award recognizes Bartlett and Rowson as rising leaders in their fields with success in patents, licensing, and commercialization and for producing technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society. These tenets are central to the mission and goals of the academy.

Bartlett’s team has produced a steady flow of innovation from his lab and led a team of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers. The work includes shape-shifting robotics, self-healing soft electronics, octopus-inspired underwater adhesives, engineered adhesive films, and a host of other projects.

In addition to peer-reviewed publications, Bartlett’s research has resulted in 17 patents and 12 additional patent applications. These patents are licensed by companies producing electronic and adhesive products to commercialize his different technologies.

Bartlett has been recognized for his innovative accomplishments both locally and globally, as he has been the recipient of an National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award and a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award and Director’s Fellowship. He is a John R. Jones III Faculty Fellow and faculty fellow of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, among other honors. 

Rowson began his time at Virginia Tech as a master's degree student in biomedical engineering in 2006. Since then, he has gone on to earn his Ph.D. in the same field and become an associate professor in the College of Engineering and Virginia Tech Helmet Lab director. 

The National Academy of Inventors award recognizes Rowson’s outstanding contributions to the field of injury biomechanics and his pioneering work in developing the Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk (STAR) helmet rating system used by the helmet lab.  

This five-star rating system helps consumers choose helmets that best reduce concussion risk. The number of stars varies between one to five, with five stars being the best. The ratings provide an evidence-based way for consumers to know which helmets offer the best protection, made possible by the lab’s rigorous analysis of what happens during a head impact in a particular sport and which impacts are most likely to turn into injuries. 

In the lab, Rowson and his team investigate the human tolerance for impact loading with specific interests in brain injuries, skull fractures, protective designs, and safety evaluation systems. Their primary focus is geared toward investigating the causation and prevention of concussions.

Over the course of his career, Rowson has received recognition as a leader in research, leader in scholarship, and outstanding new assistant professor - all from the College of Engineering – in addition to the Brain Trauma Foundation’s Science and Prevention award, and two Editor’s Choice awards from the Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 

Rowson holds one patent for the STAR system, three patent applications, and four pre-patent intellectual property disclosures in addition to his peer-reviewed research. 

National Academy of Inventors senior members are rising stars who foster a spirit of innovation within their communities and institutions, while educating and mentoring the next generation of inventors. There are currently 553 senior members from more than 100 member institutions worldwide.