Titus Honored By National Academy of Inventors

Titus is professor and chair of biomedical engineering, a joint program between the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The NAI Fellows Selection Committee said it chose Titus for induction as he “has demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.”

Election to NAI fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.

“To be elected to be a fellow in NAI is recognition of many years of creative activity with the goal of positively impacting society. I am truly honored to join the ranks of the NAI fellows,” Titus says.

“It is a recognition of many years of hard work as well as perseverance, which is needed to move a concept to reality to obtain a patent,” he adds. “But, as with all things, I did not work alone. I had and have great colleagues, students and institutional support that enables me to continue to develop new solutions to important problems.”

“Additionally, I have had the opportunity to work with great individuals at private companies who saw the value of the inventions I have created.”

“Albert Titus is a prolific investigator whose innovative research record spans a diverse array of fields including artificial vision, hardware and software for artificial neural networks, optoelectronics and integrated sensor systems. He is a recognized leader in his field, with patents and scholarship that have contributed greatly to the advancement of technologies with great societal benefit,” according to a joint statement from Kemper E. Lewis, PhD, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School.

His research interests include analog very large-scale integration (VLSI) implementations of artificial vision, hardware and software artificial neural networks, optoelectronics and integrated sensor systems.

He is an expert on how the miniaturization of electronics and the design of electronic systems, including biosensors, wearable devices and other technological advancements, are revolutionizing health care and health maintenance by improving diagnosis, monitoring and therapy.

Titus holds eight U.S. patents:

• two patents for “Microfabricated Calorimeter for RF Power Measurements”
• “Temporally Addressable Detection Array”
• “Sensor and Method of Sensing Having an Energy Source and Detector on the Same Side of a Sensor Substance”
• “pH-Change Sensor and Method”
• “Low Power Glare Sensor”
• “A Method and Apparatus for Correcting a Phase Shift Between a Transmitter and Receiver”
• “A Method and Apparatus for Multiple Document Detection Using Ultrasonic Phase Shift and Amplitude”

Titus earned his doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University at Buffalo.

He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service in 2017, the UB Teaching Innovation Award in 2010 and the Exceptional Scholar Program: Young Investigator Award at UB in 2006.

Titus has had numerous research grants from federal and private sources, including a National Science Foundation CAREER award.

He has been a reviewer for many journals and conferences, and he is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society and the American Society for Engineering Education.

Titus has been invited to attend the Fellows Induction Ceremony June 7-9, 2021, in Tampa, Florida. A senior representative of the United States Patent and Trademark Office will provide the keynote address for the ceremony.

The NAI Fellow Program has more than 1,200 fellows worldwide representing more than 250 universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes. 

Collectively, the fellows hold more than 38,000 issued U.S. patents, which have generated over 13,000 licensed technologies, 2,300 companies and created more than 19.5 million jobs. In addition, over $2.2 trillion in revenue has been generated based on NAI fellow discoveries.

The NAI was founded in 2010 to:

• recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation
• encourage the disclosure of intellectual property
• educate and mentor innovative students
• translate the inventions of its members to benefit society