Texas State University will launch a chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) on Sept. 16, a milestone that marks TXST’s rising national profile in academic invention. The chapter’s 13 founding members will chart its course, establish future membership criteria, create opportunities to engage student innovators, and more.
“This is a significant milestone as we build our capacity to move university innovation and invention into the marketplace,” said TXST President Kelly Damphousse. “Texas State’s NAI chapter will help turn promising ideas into products, services, and solutions that improve lives, strengthen the economy, and create lasting impact for communities. Just as importantly, it will show our students what is possible when curiosity, creativity, and research are matched with the determination to solve real-world problems.”
TXST’s NAI community has grown rapidly since Edwin Piner, Ph.D., became the first faculty member elected to the academy from Texas State University in 2024. The founding group also includes NAI Fellows Ravi Droopad, Ph.D., professor in the Ingram School of Engineering, who was elected in 2025, and TXST Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Pranesh Aswath, Ph.D., who was elected while at the University of Texas at Arlington, as well as 10 TXST faculty members named NAI Senior Members in 2025 and 2026.
The chapter’s launch comes amid record research and innovation gains at TXST. In fiscal year 2025, research expenditures topped $183 million, the highest total in university history. During the same year, patent applications jumped 147%, and invention disclosures rose by 57%.
The National Academy of Inventors recognizes academic inventors and connects universities and research institutions through a national network. The TXST chapter will bring that mission to both its campuses by convening faculty inventors for events and peer-learning opportunities focused on invention, intellectual property, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and research commercialization (or moving discoveries from campus into practical use).
The Sept. 16 launch event will feature a keynote address by Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, Ph.D., university professor of technology and innovation and foundation chair in computing and augmented intelligence at Arizona State University and former director of the U.S. National Science Foundation.
The program will include remarks from Damphousse; Aswath; and Shreek Mandayam, Ph.D., vice president for research. Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D., president of the National Academy of Inventors, will provide a video message.
With its founding members at the helm, the chapter will connect the people and ideas driving research, invention, and innovation across TXST.
Founding chapter members
NAI Fellows
Pranesh Aswath, Ph.D.; Ravi Droopad, Ph.D.; and Edwin Piner, Ph.D.
NAI Senior Members
Bahram Asiabanpour, Ph.D.; Tania Betancourt, Ph.D.; Martin Burtscher, Ph.D.; Nihal Dharmasiri, Ph.D.; Sean Kerwin, Ph.D.; Oleg Komogortsev, Ph.D.; Alexander Kornienko, Ph.D.; Ted Lehr, Ph.D.; Christopher Rhodes, Ph.D.; and Jelena Tesic, Ph.D.