The two Texas Tech faculty members will be inducted in June.
Anne Gorden, a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Wei Li, an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Chemical Engineering in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, have been named to the 2025 class of National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Senior Members.
They become two of the 715 Senior Members who are active faculty, scientists and administrators from NAI Member Institutions who have demonstrated remarkable innovation, producing technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society. They also have growing success in patents, licensing and commercialization, while educating and mentoring the next generation of inventors.
“Dr. Gorden and Dr. Li are leaders in their respective research fields, and their promotion to senior membership is a great recognition of their achievements,” said Joseph Heppert, vice president for Research & Innovation at Texas Tech. “Their research and mentorship of students and junior faculty is vital to fostering a climate of innovation at Texas Tech.”
Gorden’s research focuses on developing broad-ranging, inventive programs based on organic synthetic chemistry and inorganic coordination chemistry. One project is focused on developing new, selective actinide coordination ligands that can be used in the decontamination and detection processes for metals used with nuclear energy. A second project focuses on the selective coordination of lanthanides and lanthanide molecular complexes for 2 photon upconversion.
Li’s research is in responsive polymer nanofilms, cell capture and profiling, microfluidics, soft materials, and biomedical microdevices. His lab focuses on developing novel functional polymer surfaces and devices for cancer diagnosis in resource-limited settings, as well as smart sensors to reduce waste and increase quality control for energy and agriculture applications.
“To see this program grow year over year is a testament to the dedication our member institutions have to fostering innovation on their campuses and supporting their inventive staff and faculty,” said Paul R. Sanberg, president of NAI. “This year’s class comes from a multitude of impressive fields and research backgrounds from across the world. We applaud their pursuit of commercialization to ensure their groundbreaking technologies can make a difference by tackling the world’s most pressing issues, improving quality of life across society and advancing the economy.”
The 2025 class of Senior Members will be inducted at the 14th Annual NAI Conference June 23-26 in Atlanta. The induction of Gorden and Li brings Texas Tech’s number of NAI senior members to seven as well as 13 Fellows, including a joint appointment from Texas Tech and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
About the NAI
The National Academy of Inventors is a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutes with more than 4,600 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 260 institutions worldwide. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate its members’ inventions to benefit society. The NAI has a close collaborative relationship with the USPTO and is one of three honorific organizations, along with the National Medals and National Inventors Hall of Fame, working closely with the USPTO on many discovery and innovation-support initiatives. The NAI publishes the multidisciplinary journal, Technology and Innovation.