Srimathveeravalli Named Senior Member of National Academy of Inventors

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Govind Srimathveeravalli, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and director of the Center for Personalized Health Monitoring, has been named a Senior Member of the 2026 class of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The Senior Member recognition program honors active faculty members and scientists who have successfully produced, patented, and commercialized technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society and economic progress.

Srimathveeravalli holds several patents for medical devices for minimally invasive therapy and image-guided treatments. “My lab develops technology to advance image-guided therapy,” he says. “In these procedures, a physician—with a really tiny incision—inserts a needle or a catheter into diseased tissue to treat it. We use electrical energy as a therapeutic modality.” The catheter allows the electricity to reach deep within the body to kill the cancer cells without destroying the organ.

He highlights upcoming technologies that are based on this principle, including a diagnostic system that reimagines cancer biopsy, medical devices and energy delivery approaches for arresting early-stage bladder cancer, and a catheter-based system that can clear tumors or plaque from major blood vessels.

“We have these wonderful discoveries being made in the lab, and these discoveries must leave the lab and go out into the wild as products so that society can benefit,” Srimathveeravalli says. “This recognition [by NAI] provides me a platform to evangelize the importance of such research translation on our campus. I want to put out the word that, if anybody is thinking, ‘How do I take my technology out of the lab, commercialize? How do I navigate this process?’ they should knock on my door and talk to me.”

“UMass Amherst’s inductees in the NAI Class of 2026 Senior Members join a distinguished group of over 700 scientists and researchers from around the world,” says Sundar Krishnamurty, vice provost for innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity. “This honor recognizes their significant contributions to our innovation ecosystem as evidenced by their success in securing patents and bringing to life technologies that impact the welfare of our society.”

“This year’s Senior Member Class is a truly impressive cohort. These innovators come from a variety of fields and disciplines, translating their technologies into tangible impact,” said Paul R. Sanberg, FNAI, president of NAI. “I commend them on their incredible pursuits and I’m honored to welcome them to the Academy.”

Today, there are 946 Senior Members holding over 11,000 U.S. patents.

The 2026 class of Senior Members will be honored during the Senior Member Induction Ceremony at NAI’s 15th Annual Conference taking place June 1-4 in Los Angeles.

This story was first published by the UMass News Office.