Prolific and inventive UA professor receives national recognition
Dr. Frank Harris, whose polymer inventions helped generate billions of dollars in industry sales, has become the sixth University of Akron professor named as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). This organization recognizes the most prolific academic inventors in the world, and Harris joins an elite group of visionaries whose inventions the NAI considers having made a tangible impact on both quality of life and economic development.
Dr. Frank Harris
“Very few professors and scientists are able to have one large commercial success with what they do. To have two is rare – it’s been incredible,” says Harris, distinguished professor emeritus of polymer science and biomedical engineering." The first major achievement was a polymer coating applied to large screen LCD televisions. The coating allows for off-angle viewability, giving the screen its high picture quality no matter where the viewer is standing in the room. His second invention is a coating that improves the off-angle viewability of smartphone and tablet displays. It is especially useful on touch screen displays.
Harris has also received more than 50 patents, authored 225 peer-reviewed publications, acted as a consultant for over 25 industrial firms, and served as an expert witness in numerous patent litigations.
Harris is the sixth UA innovator named an NAI fellow. Others include: Darrell Reneker, Stephen Cheng, Joseph P. Kennedy, the late Alan Gent, and George R. Newkome.
The newest class of NAI Fellows will be inducted on March 20, 2015, as part of the 4th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Visit the National Academy of Inventors for more information.
Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu.