National Inventors Hall of Fame Announces Vaccine and Surfboard Innovators Among 2025 Class

Honorees' Contributions to Society Are Centerpiece of May Event

NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Jan. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventeen innovation pioneers whose inventions range from cancer treatments to satellite-based imaging will be honored in the 2025 class of National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductees.

In partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Hall of Fame will honor these Inductees on May 8 at one of the innovation industry's most highly anticipated events — "The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation^®."

"It is an honor for the USPTO to recognize the 2025 class of the National Inventors Hall of Fame," said Derrick Brent, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the USPTO. "These amazing visionaries have not only changed the world through their inventions, but they also are paving the way for future generations of STEM innovators."

THE CLASS OF 2025

• John R. Adler Jr.: CyberKnife^® Stereotactic Radiosurgery
  Neurosurgeon John Adler invented the CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) system, which enabled precision robotic, image-guided therapeutic radiation without skeletal fixation. Today, the CyberKnife is used worldwide to noninvasively ablate tumors and other abnormal lesions anywhere in a patient's body.
• James Fujimoto, David Huang and Eric Swanson: Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
  James Fujimoto, David Huang and Eric Swanson invented optical coherence tomography (OCT), a method for imaging subsurface structure of biological tissue in unprecedented detail. OCT has had a transformative impact in ophthalmology, improving the detection and management of sight-impairing eye diseases. OCT also is used in cardiology and across a growing range of applications in the medical field and beyond.
• Barney Graham and Jason McLellan: Structure-Based Vaccine Design
  Immunologist and virologist Barney Graham and structural biologist Jason McLellan used structure-based vaccine design to stabilize and modify surface proteins of viruses. They applied their discoveries to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, contributing to billions of doses administered since 2020. The first vaccines approved for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are also based on their work.
• Kerrie Holley: Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
  Kerrie Holley pioneered service-oriented architecture (SOA), a software architecture and programming model for large enterprises. Guiding the creation and use of business processes, packaged as services, and defining the information technology infrastructure that allows applications to participate in these processes, SOA has benefited organizations across many industries.
• Pamela Marrone: Biological Pest Control
  Entrepreneur and entomologist Pamela Marrone has developed and brought to market effective, environmentally responsible, nature-based products for pest management and plant health. An industry leader, she enthusiastically champions the use of biological pesticides and educates the public about their benefits.
• Richard Schatz: Palmaz-Schatz Coronary Stent
  Cardiologist Richard Schatz collaborated with fellow National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee Julio Palmaz to invent a vascular stent suitable for treating coronary artery disease. Since 1988, the Palmaz-Schatz coronary stent and its derivatives have been used to treat millions of patients worldwide.
• Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan: Tubular Steel Track Roller Coaster (Posthumous)
  Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan engineered the world's first tubular steel track roller coaster. Matterhorn Bobsleds, which debuted in 1959 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, set the standard for roller coaster design technology and paved the way for future innovations in the amusement park industry.
• Tom Blake: Surfboard Design (Posthumous)
  Tom Blake designed the first lightweight, hollow surfboards and paddleboards – some of the earliest boards to be commercially produced. A record-breaking swimmer and surfing pioneer, Blake helped make surfing more accessible and more popular, provided a vital tool for ocean lifeguards and influenced the future of board design.
• Emil J Freireich and George Judson: Continuous-Flow Blood Separator (Posthumous)
  Oncologist Emil Freireich and engineer George Judson developed the first continuous-flow blood cell separator. Devices based on their invention have been vital for improving outcomes for leukemia patients and developing new approaches to treating cancer and other diseases.
• Virginia Holsinger: Dairy Product Innovations (Posthumous)
  Virginia Holsinger made healthier dairy products accessible worldwide. Her research on enzymes and digestion advanced the dairy industry, improved nutrition in American schools and international food donation programs, and created the foundation for Lactaid^® brand products, making milk digestible by those with lactose intolerance.
• Virginia Norwood: Multispectral Scanner (Posthumous)
  Virginia Norwood invented the Multispectral Scanner (MSS), the first in a series of satellite-based instruments that have been imaging our planet for decades. Launched in 1972 aboard Landsat 1, the first satellite designed to study the Earth's surface, the MSS provided invaluable data and sparked a revolution in remote sensing technology.
• C.R. Patterson: Carriages (Posthumous)
  Charles Richard (C.R.) Patterson was an inventor and entrepreneur whose successful carriage company, C.R. Patterson & Sons Co., evolved to become the first and only Black-owned and operated automobile company in the United States.

For biographies of each Inductee, visit https://www.invent.org/inductees/new-inductees.

THE CELEBRATION
The 17 Inductees in the class of 2025 will be honored at "The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation," held in our nation's capital. 

• May 7 – Illumination Ceremony at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum at the USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, where new Inductees will place their names on illuminated hexagons in the museum's Gallery of Icons^®.
• May 8 – The 2025 National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., where the new Inductee class will be honored for its contributions to society during an evening event including a black-tie dinner and ceremony. To learn more about the event, visit https://www.invent.org/induction.

"Through events, exhibits and education programs, the National Inventors Hall of Fame honors individuals every year whose creativity, ingenuity and ability to overcome obstacles have transformed our world," said National Inventors Hall of Fame CEO Michael Oister. "The remarkable innovators in our Class of 2025 have made significant contributions to our lives in fields as varied as vaccine design, cancer treatments, sensing technology and coronary stents. These innovators have made significant advances in our daily lives and well-being."

The 2025 National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is sponsored by the USPTO; Qualcomm; Ted and Judy Hoff; PhRMA; The Amos E. Joel Young Inventors Fund; Mary Beth Carroll and Dr. Keith Wilson; and Richard W. Pogue.

About the National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is the premier nonprofit organization in America dedicated to recognizing inventors and invention, promoting creativity, and advancing the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Founded in 1973 in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Hall of Fame is committed to not only honoring the individuals whose inventions have made the world a better place, but to ensuring American ingenuity continues to thrive in the hands of coming generations through its national, hands-on educational programming and collegiate competitions focused on the exploration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For more information, visit invent.org. To nominate an inventor for Induction, visit invent.org/nominate.

CONTACT:
Ken Torisky
National Inventors Hall of Fame
[email protected]
234-901-6085

SOURCE National Inventors Hall of Fame